Two nights ago I got bitten by a stray cat. He sunk his teeth hard into the joint at the base of my left thumb. Yesterday evening I went to get it looked at and treated (got a really painful antibiotic shot in my butt)... I am on antibiotic pills for the infection (got some lovely vicoprofen as well)... I should be OK eventually, but for now I am kind of handicapped, being that I can't really use that thumb very much. Does anyone have any advice or anecdotes of their own about such an injury and how it affects the ability to fret notes? I have practice this evening, and a couple of shows coming up in a little over a week... I think I'll be fine for the shows, but right now I'm wondering if I'll be doing more harm than good by trying to practice with such an injury....

Just my 2 cents, but I really think that is something you should have asked the Doc :hmm:

That does make for quite the story though!

Just my 2 cents, but I really think that is something you should have asked the Doc :hmm:

That does make for quite the story though!

Yeah, I didn't think of asking the doctor, I was too busy making a lot of noise from the pain (that shot in the side of my butt REALLY hurt) and was kind of distracted by the whole ordeal. But I don't know if she would have been able to give me any tips on adjusting my playing technique to compensate for the loss of most of my thumb's ability....

I think, you should pick up a "chapman stick" in the mean time, or just tap out all of your lines.

but in all honesty, whenever I get any injury that can affect me musically, I let my band members know that I'm calling in sick until I get better.

Well, practice was cancelled yesterday anyway... And the injury is healing pretty nicely, so I should be OK to play very soon. Thank goodness for medical insurance!

http://z.about.com/d/paranormal/1/0/T/T/sniper_cat.jpg



Look out bass players! You could be next!