Anybody ever had an injury that prevented them from playing?

[paintballjunkie]

Has anybody ever broken an arm, wrist, or anything else that prevented them from playing? How did it affect your ability to play once you were able to again.

[DeLorean]

I had a Cadillac HT-4100 engine block (the 8-6-4 engine from the '80s) crush my left wrist. I was the only one in the parts department at the time (lunch...), a customer had already been waiting 6 weeks for the repair and the truck driver gave me a "take this off my trailer now or I'll see you again in a few weeks" line. I was preparing to lower the crate to the ground when the driver decided I needed a hand and pushed the crate out before I was ready. The doctor was impressed, he had never seen those bones broken before (most of the carpals). Over 10 months in a cast, elbow to fingers length. I was told I'd not have full use of the hand, and the weakness after removing the cast didn't make me think the doctor was wrong. I sure couldn't play like I had before (guitar, I didn't pick up bass until much later) the incident.

It took a lot of work to get my hand working well again, let alone playing acceptably again. I got to the point of thinking I really wouldn't be able to, and sold off most of my gear in '94 and '95. I only miss one of the guitars, and have a nice bunch of basses now. There is only one little odd spot in my wrist rotation that reminds me of the incident, and the interruption in my playing would have been much shorter if I hadn't given in to the depression. It was playing bass that helped me come back at all, now I am happy on both instruments. In 1999, my now ex-wife encouraged and helped me to pick up bass and I got on the road to recovery. I picked up bass because I had always wanted to, and didn't have the nagging memories of how I used to be able to play holdng me back (ah, the joy of mental foibles...). That isn't to say bass is easier, just different.

[leadfootbassman]

Fortunately, the only injury that I have had the even "hindered" playing is the sprained foot that I have right now. But, come time for the show on Saturday, I'll use a bar stool if I think I can't stand for very long. It just means that I won't do my usual jumping around.

[AxtoOx]

I had a robber in my house while I was sleeping. I woke up. While I was in the prosses of physically showing him what a terrible mistake he'd made, he almost bit my index finger off.
Took a little break and picked it right back up.

I broke a collar bone once and had to relearn how to throw a football though.

[IcedEarthWOM]

Try burning the tips of all your fingers . Stupid grills at work . Well, stupid me as well

[Chunk-O-Funk]

I ripped a big chunk of my finger off of the side of a running miter saw blade. My index, plucking finger to boot.

I just got this miter saw and was making some practice cuts on some scrap wood. This piece of scrap I used had gotten pretty short, wood will do that when you cut it. When I made a 45 degree cut on it, the wood slipped up and went with the direction of the blade and my fingers when with it and bounced of the side of the blade. It took out a chunk of the outside of my index finger and put a slice through my thumb nail and into my thumb.

Okay, now here's the gross part. You know when you say, smash you finger and instinctively put it in your mouth like it's going to help or something. Well that's what I did, I ran upstairs with my ripped up fleshy appendage in my mouth and went to run it under some cold water, I had to spit out a mouth full of blood and it went all over the sink. Yhea! Gene Simmons would have been proud. Well, at least I didn't bleed all over the place.

An even longer story short. You can't get stitches for this type of cut, so I had to keep them rapped and soak them in peroxide a couple of time a day. I was out of commission for a while with that one finger but was thumping with my rapped up thumb in a couple of weeks. It was a little painful but I gotta play.

[Minger]

Worst I've had is some ripping of the skin on my finger due to pole vault - I gotta stop slipping.

It hurt, and thats when I found out about super glue...

[Bob Clayton]

broke my left ring finger (fretting hand) twice.

i didn't stop playing so it didn't pose that much of a problem for me to relearn.

but playing bass lines while one finger has to stay straight is hard!

(althought i could easily play power chords on guitar in drop d or c)

[Trevorus]

Sliced my fingers, a lot. That's most of it. Even then, though, I just changed my technique to compensate. I couldn't use my left thumb for a few weeks, but I still managed to play some.

Thankfully I hadn't taken up bass yet, but I have two permanently jammed fingers in my right hand from playing basketball (an accumulated injury, didn't just happen in one incident), the index and pinky. I'm not completely sure though if the injury has "hindered" my playing in any way, but any lack of chops I have right now (abundant and plenty) seem to be easily correctable given time.

[pklima]

Broken collarbone, out four weeks. No problems afterwards though my left shoulder is now about an inch shorter than it was before.

[addylewis]

Yeah - try having to play keyboards on a gig coz of a fractured, plastered fretting-hand wrist!

(hell - it worked, did the gig on keyboards, got the money, I'm back on bass now...no problem)

[Mon Rominee]

Once. I was remodelling my bathroom, and while taking down the old medicine cabinet (I mean old, pre-safety edge days mind you) a piece of chromed sheet metal trim fromthe top light fixture dug its way into the meat on the side of my thumb where it meets the palm. talk about a gusher. Well, my hand, while not suffering "major" muscle damage, WAS impaired nerve-wise. I couldn't hold a pick, couldn't tell if I was anchoring or even hitting the string sometimes, as it was numb for over a month or so.... even now, it's still numb at times, and my thumb locks up if I get too agressive with a pick, and springs open. So, I have taken new appreciation to fingerstyle playing, and have gotten much better as a result...

[Sundogue]

The day of my first gig with a band I joined (about five years ago), I threw my back out...BAD! I couldn't even walk, and crawling made me wish I were dead.

My wife had to drive me to the gig and my new bandmates had to setup everything and do things like pick my cord up off the ground for me so I could plug in. Lots of shots of Jose Quervo gave me just enough "pain killing" to be able to play without affecting my playing too much. I pulled it off, but I would never, ever want to go through that again!

This last Sunday I was putting up a plastic tub surround and while running my hand along the top to make sure it was "stuck on" tight, the edge of it sliced right into all four of my fretting fingers...right where the strings go! Thankfully I don't have a gig until Saturday, but practice Monday night was quite painful. I used Super Glue to "suture" them closed and provide some protection.

But hey, the show must go on, right?

[Ray-man]

Does non-stop diarrhea count as an injury?

[The Golden Boy]

My back is bad. During some of the times that it's been severely painful I haven't been able to play.

Then again, I'm a wuss, if I get blisters on more than 2 of my fretting fingers I won't play until they're popped and superglued.

[mark beem]

Originally Posted by paintballjunkie

Has anybody ever broken an arm, wrist, or anything else that prevented them from playing? How did it affect your ability to play once you were able to again.

Ummm.. Yeah, I was out of commission for a bit..







Took about 8 months before I could play again. Had four fractures in my right arm (protruding bones and all that good stuff), fractured collar bone and four fractures in my hip...

Still have trouble with my arm on occassion... Took away some speed and dexterity in my plucking hand..

[MikeyFingers]

HOLY @$*&!! That must've hurt!
BTW, what kind of car is...was that before the crash? Just curious about how much of it got flattened.

[mark beem]

Originally Posted by MikeyFingers

HOLY @$*&!! That must've hurt!
BTW, what kind of car is...was that before the crash? Just curious about how much of it got flattened.

GMC Sonoma pickup.

[MikeyFingers]

Oh my god. Dude, I thought it was like a Honda hatchback or something like that. How did you get in that bad of a crash?