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Hand Injury
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davidj
Posts: 46
Joined: Aug. 16 2004
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Hand Injury
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Hi all, I don't post so often, but I thought I might ask the forum's advice / encouragement on an unpleasant hand injury I have sustained, please: during a fall backwards whilst engaging in sports, I broke my fall with 3 fingers of my left hand, which bent backwards, also breaking my ring finger over my wedding ring! My 3 fingers effected are little, ring (broken near first knuckle) and my middle finger of my left hand. I have had an operation on my broken ring finger and the surgeon has tried to align the bones in the natural position by inserting a metal 't-plate'- which looks pretty good and correct. I have a 2 inch scar from above my nuckle to my middle joint, stitches are out but it is still sore around scar and middle joint. I'm having hand therapy to get the fingers to move and curl. I'm working towards making my hand into a fist and straightening it again, but its early stages (3 weeks) and the broken finger only makes it halfway so far - which I suppose isn't bad considering the bone itself takes 6 weeks to join up and heal properly. (the 't-plate' makes this possible, otherwise it would be immobilised for 6 weeks). I'm writing all this for 2 reasons (with my right hand only): - first any sensible advice from someone who has had a hand injury would be welcome second - I hope that I may encourage someone else if I can overcome this to play guitar again. best wishes davidj
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Date Nov. 4 2006 18:15:40
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troy
Posts: 4
Joined: Apr. 10 2006
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RE: Hand Injury (in reply to davidj)
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Hello David, Very sorry to hear about your injury..I too had an injury - As a classical guitar student in college, I broke a bone in my left hand and did not know that it was broken--well, the bone deteriorated to almost nothing. To try and make a very long story short, they used a piece of bone from my forearm and fused it with a very small screw and gave me a 70% chance that I would recover. After a year or so of therapy and several consultations, my movement slowly came back (not fully, but enough to play) I worked fiercely on my right hand during the cast era- mostly tremelo,some different tunings, and what would soon spark my interest in flamenco- the beginnings of rumba strumming and rasqueados. I also focused on a ton of theory- everything from exotic scales to transcriptions. I wish you the best of luck in your recovery..Keep in mind that this is not a setback- but instead, a chance to widen your perspective on this unbelievably demanding, and rewarding instrument.. troy..
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Date Nov. 5 2006 2:11:51
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davidj
Posts: 46
Joined: Aug. 16 2004
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RE: Hand Injury (in reply to troy)
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Hi Troy, Many thanks for your reply. It's great to hear how you overcame your injury to play again! I suppose I can't expect it to be exactly as it was before I had my injury, but I'm hoping for the best recovery I can get. I somehow wonder if I will have the same dexterity that I had, particularly in playing fast scales/picado etc. It's hard to know, but because the surgeon had to divide my tendon over my knuckle, so that he could slip in and screw in a 't-plate', I wonder if I may be left a bit of weakness in 'pull-offs' and hammers because of a weakened Extensor tendon. It will be a long time before I can even know the outcome! For now, I have to massage the scar to get rid of 'Adhesions' - where incorrect scar tissue wrongly connects my dermis with tissues underneath, causing the skin to be pulled along when the finger flexes therefore restricting movement. Massaging the scar has been a bit painfull, but I'm desensitising it now. Can I ask if your pain has gone away or is there still some discomfort on playing? I bet you've got a 'mean' flamenco right hand now with all that work you put in one the right hand. all the best, david
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Date Nov. 6 2006 10:44:58
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Jon Boyes
Posts: 1377
Joined: Jul. 10 2003
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RE: Hand Injury (in reply to davidj)
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Hi David, sorry to hear about your injury. Sounds nasty. quote:
ORIGINAL: davidj Fortunately, I can use my thumb and index normally, but its the remaining 3 that are effected. Functionally, I am in a very similar position as you although my 'injury' couldn't be more different. I have an overuse condition called Focal Hand Dystonia, which I have written about here in the past several times. I basically have full control of P,I and C and virtually no use of M and A. This happened before I got seriously into flamenco, so the last five years or so have been incredibly frustrating. Despite state of the art therapy, my condition shows no sign of improving and I have had to resign myself to working on non-orthodox approaches to technique to be able to play. Despite this I accompanied dance classes (only stopped when there was nothing for me to learn) and gigged regularly with a pro dancer before she moved back to Spain earlier in the year. I also managed to complete a CD - not flamenco but pretty demanding on the hands nonetheless. It is very early days and you are already getting movement. I am sure that your hand will make a great recovery. Even if you do not get back 100% control, take solace in the fact that if you want to make music its always possible to work with what you have, and find solutions that suit your anatomy. There's a disabled guy in the US that plays blues guitar with his feet! He has his own website out there somewhere. Cheers and good luck.
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Spanish Guitarist in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset
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Date Nov. 6 2006 12:40:37
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davidj
Posts: 46
Joined: Aug. 16 2004
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RE: Hand Injury (in reply to El Craic)
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Hi, Many thanks for your reply. Sorry to hear of your injury, but it is encouraging to hear of how you have coped, adapted and gone through healing with it. Yes, it is a different kind of injury, but in the acute stage, perhaps it effects us in a similar way in that it stops us playing and enjoying the guitar by temporarily disabling us? Yes, I think you're right about taking time over recovery, because we guitarists think we're going to pck up the guitar at any moment and rattle up and down the fretboard wihout a care in the world and the temptation I know for me is going to get stronger and stronger to expect my left hand to instantly do what it did before! However at this stage it really does remain to be seen what ability my left hand is going to be left with once it has healed. I do realise now just how much I took my guitar playing skills for granted, such as they were. If I get over this, I will do some recordings of my playing while I still can! all the best with your healing and playing. Please let me know how your doing if you wish to. david
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Date Nov. 6 2006 13:14:03
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