OT: Painful occurances...

burnsbyrne · Post by **burnsbyrne** » Wed Mar 26, 2003 7:41 am

Ten years ago next week I fell while rollerskating and broke my left wrist badly enough to require two surgeries. I also permanently damaged the ulnar nerve at the wrist. I tried to keep playing guitar for about 8 years and eventually gave up when I could only play for 5 minutes at a time. I took up the whistle to keep music making in my life. I'm doing OK but when my hands get tired they stop obeying the commands coming from my brain. Nothing to do then but rest. For quite a while I've been convinced that the really great musicians, athletes, etc. are not neccesarily the most talented but the ones who stayed healthy and avoided injury during their careers. Musicians are micro-athletes and we have to be careful to keep our bodies in shape.
Mike

Flyingcursor · Post by **Flyingcursor** » Wed Mar 26, 2003 1:49 pm

I have a torn shoulder muscle. It only effects my whistling if I wave it around maniacally. I can feel it pull a little when I'm playing flute.

Blarney Pilgrim · Post by **Blarney Pilgrim** » Wed Mar 26, 2003 1:56 pm

When I was rear ended on my motorcycle, I came down on top of the bike, and my left palm came down on the hot exhaust pipe. I wasn't whistling again for about 3 months after treatments and physical therapy. Sulfadine is great stuff!

Steve

mamakash · Post by **mamakash** » Wed Mar 26, 2003 2:22 pm

wow . . . who knew so many CFers were dealing with old injuries. Now I won't feel lonely when a bad day hits. You guys are an inspiration, thanks.

Jack · Post by **Jack** » Wed Mar 26, 2003 3:40 pm

HDSarah · Post by **HDSarah** » Wed Mar 26, 2003 4:38 pm

Cranberry wrote: I don't want to have anybody try to help me because it's...just something that I have to try to do myself, I think. It's good to know that somebody would be willing to try to help me . . .

All we humans can really do is keep each other company and provide encouragement (and sometimes a little distraction) while we each come to terms with our own problems. Realizing that you are the only one who can solve your problem is a big first step. Hang in there; stay connected to people; don't give up!

Cranberry wrote: I bet am the only person who is insane enough to talk about their medical problems to the entire world. *sigh*

Ha! Everyone on this thread is doing that too!

And on that note I'll add my own:

About carpal tunnel: Mine is kept under control by avoiding activities that aggravate it or, when I can't avoid it (e.g., driving, typing when it's sore) wearing a brace for those activities. Wearing a splint at night helps a lot. I've played whistle a few times while wearing the brace, and it feels akward at first but it works.

A RECOMMENDATION: Those with finger or wrist problems might want to consider taking up the hammered dulcimer. (Yeah, I admit, I'm obsessed with HD, but this is really true.) Playing my hammered dulcimer is the one thing I do that doesn't bother my carpal-tunnel-affected wrist. (I interpret that as a divine message that I ought to play more music and work less.

) I play with straight, relaxed wrists, and I only need the thumb and side of one finger to hold the hammers. Grip strength and finger agility are not needed. I can play for hours and not get sore anywhere.

As for past injuries, what interferes most with my life and my music is headaches, related to a head injury decades ago. If I have a moderate headache, I can still play my dulcimer very softly with padded hammers, but even the thought of a whistle is painful. (I know, that's a sign that I need a LOW whistle.) If I get a bad headache, I can't do anything. Luckily, those are pretty rare nowadays.

Sarah

chas · Post by **chas** » Wed Mar 26, 2003 6:02 pm

HDSarah wrote:
Cranberry wrote: I don't want to have anybody try to help me because it's...just something that I have to try to do myself, I think. It's good to know that somebody would be willing to try to help me . . .
All we humans can really do is keep each other company and provide encouragement (and sometimes a little distraction) while we each come to terms with our own problems.

Yes, change must come from within (just ask anyone who's quit smoking), but a little friendly support is definitely worthwhile.

A RECOMMENDATION: Those with finger or wrist problems might want to consider taking up the hammered dulcimer. (Yeah, I admit, I'm obsessed with HD, but this is really true.) Playing my hammered dulcimer is the one thing I do that doesn't bother my carpal-tunnel-affected wrist.

Does it help the CTS or just not aggravate it? When my shoulder's acting up, sometimes the only thing that will help it is painting a room. Helps me and makes the wife very appreciative.

Also has been known to trash the knees, though. (I'm the poster child, or at least middle-aged man, for the local orthopaedic and physical therapy practices.

John Allison · Post by **John Allison** » Wed Mar 26, 2003 7:34 pm

As a computer programmer I've had frequent problems with CTS. Unfortunately I have to stay away from the keyboard for a few days at a time and things get better. Fortunately, as long as I keep my wrists fairly straight (as in smaller whistles), it doesn't affect my playing at all and gives me a few extra days of practice.

I also have chronic headaches and migraine headaches. The only problems this causes is trying to toot on the GHBs. I really need to get a set of bellows-blown smallpipes for just such occasions.

Celtoid wrote:I was circumcised some time ago and it does not affect my playing much.

I've always wondered what that extra hole was for on the bottom of some whistles...but...don't you get backaches from leaning over so much???

Cranberry wrote:I'm weary of vitamins because of all the hidden animal ingredients and such

I think just because they come in animal shapes doesn't mean they actually contain animal parts. Otherwise we would have run out of Flinstone and Barney vitamins looong ago.
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spittin_in_the_wind · Post by **spittin_in_the_wind** » Wed Mar 26, 2003 8:32 pm

Childbirth....I know that, as badly as my whistle can shriek sometimes, I can shriek louder.

R.

michael_coleman · Post by **michael_coleman** » Thu Mar 27, 2003 2:06 am

Broke my neck playing football (American) in high school, so it hurts now and then when I am playing flute. I guess if I had good posture it wouldn't hurt so much, but hey.....every artist needs a vice right?

jim_mc · Post by **jim_mc** » Thu Mar 27, 2003 2:41 am

I had rotator cuff tenonitis, golfers elbow, tennis elbow and CTS all from excessive drumming. It was all painful, but I could still whistle through it. By means of physical therapy, occupational therapy, heat, ice and massage, it's all under control. I've had to cut way, way down on drumming, but I fill that time with fifing and whistling.

Then a couple of months ago I tore the radial band on the back of my left hand. It's a muscle that holds the ligament that controls your index finger in place. For four to six months I'll be wearing this thing that looks like half of a plastic mitten, held onto my hand with velcro straps. The good news is that I can use the top two joints on my finger - only the one between the hand and the bottom of the finger is immobilized. So I can still play. The bad news is that it hurts like hell, and if I play for more than half an hour or so, it begins to swell up again. I recently started on a pain patch, like the quit smoking patch except it pushes lidocaine through the skin. It works pretty well, but I have to be even more careful not to overdo things (hey, pain sometimes has a purpose).

Don't worry, this is not a repetitive motion injury caused by playing music or using a computer. It was a traumatic injury which I sustained while making my son's bed!

burnsbyrne · Post by **burnsbyrne** » Thu Mar 27, 2003 7:31 am

The problem I have had over the years is distinguishing between pain that is just a nuisance and pain that is a warning that severe, permanent damage will result if I don't stop what I'm doing. There is a third category of pain as well, pain that won't cause permanent damage but will result in my not being able to play for several days. Part of this is a natural effect of aging but previous injuries amplify the effect. I usuall play until 1) the pain is just too great or 2) my left-hand fingers stop doing what I ask them to. Anybody else have any suggestions?
Mike

Turner · Post by **Turner** » Thu Mar 27, 2003 10:17 am

Got into a bar brawl in the Falkland Islands (of all places), Got my head kicked in, and had lips like Mick Jager for a while!!

It seriously impeaded my blowing abilities.

PS: if ever in the Falkland Islands dont pick fights with the locals, theyre animals

fluter_d · Post by **fluter_d** » Thu Mar 27, 2003 11:52 am

Hi all -
I'm in good company here, I see! I'm just back from a visit with a wrist/hand injury specialist about my left wrist. He doesn't know what's going on, but thinks it's not too serious, and charged me €100. Encouraging, huh? On the plus side, I'm not in pain (at least at the moment). In the last 2 weeks, I've been playing for probably 4-5 hours a day, and it's still alright (flute, not whistles). Although I was a little concerned by Tyghress's post on page 1, when she mentioned that the Celebrex was just for the REALLY bad days - that's what my doctor gave me in case it got sore when I was playing that much! Ooops :roll: . However, reading the warnings on the label convinced me that it really wasn't bad enough to warrant taking any. I assumed that I'd been prescribed it because of my celebrity status...

Deirdre

jim_mc · Post by **jim_mc** » Fri Mar 28, 2003 12:45 am

burnsbyrne wrote:The problem I have had over the years is distinguishing between pain that is just a nuisance and pain that is a warning that severe, permanent damage will result if I don't stop what I'm doing. There is a third category of pain as well, pain that won't cause permanent damage but will result in my not being able to play for several days. Part of this is a natural effect of aging but previous injuries amplify the effect. I usuall play until 1) the pain is just too great or 2) my left-hand fingers stop doing what I ask them to. Anybody else have any suggestions?
Mike

My experience is that if the pain seems to get worse and worse as I continue an activity, and then gets even slightly better immediately when I stop, it means I should stop that activity, at least for the time being. Swelling is also a good indication that damage is being done. I learned this the hard way by playing drums through the pain. I'm being much more cautious with my current injury.