Playing with pain

mcnaire2004 · #1 01-30-2008, 11:47 PM

A friend of mine accidentally hit my left hand between the thumb and the index finger on the top side of my hand. I am having much trouble grabbing with this hand, and I fear it may be worse tomorrow. And, BTW I have to play in the school opera tomorrow through Sunday.

My general plan is to wake up, ice it, and if it still hurts like crap come opera time, load up on the pain meds and hope for the best.

What do you guys suggest.

bribass · #2 01-31-2008, 12:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcnaire2004

A friend of mine accidentally hit my left hand between the thumb and the index finger on the top side of my hand. I am having much trouble grabbing with this hand, and I fear it may be worse tomorrow. And, BTW I have to play in the school opera tomorrow through Sunday.

My general plan is to wake up, ice it, and if it still hurts like crap come opera time, load up on the pain meds and hope for the best.

What do you guys suggest.

Any visible swelling or bruising? You may just wanna have it looked at by a Dr. rather than chance making it worse by overtaxing your hand. They'll be other operas to play, you only have one left hand.

If you end up playing try to think about the weight of your arm and hand coming down over the string (w/ correct finger arching) to depress the string rather than 'grabbing' or squeezing w/ your thumb.

Feel better, BG

mcnaire2004 · #3 01-31-2008, 09:53 AM

That is the weird thing, there is no visible swelling or bruising where I was hit. Though the pain still is there, and it shot through my ring finger. This morining my hand is more mobile, but I still can't grab to much with it.

Marc Piane · #4 01-31-2008, 11:46 AM

Loading up on pain meds and doing it anyways sounds like a terrible idea. There is a reason why things hurt. It is your body telling you not to do something. I actually think pain meds in general are a bad idea. Of course there are certain reasons to use them but they are, in general, overused and just mask your ability to listen to your body. My 2 cents.

TroyK · #5 02-04-2008, 05:53 PM

Ditto. Be careful. I know how important playing is to you, keep in mind you need to do it for years to come.

mcnaire2004 · #6 02-04-2008, 08:20 PM

Well the four night opera stint is over. I played. I did load up on the pain pills the first night. I found out that there is a major pressure point there and when I got hit, a nerve was struck and it really messed my hand up for a day. I would have backed out of it if there was another bassist who could pick it up.

Marcus Johnson · #7 02-05-2008, 09:33 AM

It's a real tough decision sometimes. I just started on a new CD project yesterday, pretty aggressive jazz pizz throughout. First tune, second take, I busted a blood vessel in my forefinger, right where it hits the strings, hurts like a mutha. Of course there's no backing out of that one! Long sessions every day this week, and gigs every night. Just gotta soldier on.

kurt muroki · #8 02-05-2008, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marcus Johnson

It's a real tough decision sometimes. I just started on a new CD project yesterday, pretty aggressive jazz pizz throughout. First tune, second take, I busted a blood vessel in my forefinger, right where it hits the strings, hurts like a mutha. Of course there's no backing out of that one! Long sessions every day this week, and gigs every night. Just gotta soldier on.

where can i get a recording!!!!!!! and it's nice to see Haiku Maui as your location... how I miss it there... my dad sent a clipping of the snow on haleakala! Crazy.

Marcus Johnson · #9 02-06-2008, 03:46 AM

Hey Kurt.. you need to come back,we can do some duos. You can scare the hell out of me!

I've been in Ha'iku for quite awhile... I remember when you won the HIJF scholarship here to help you get going down your path to success. Remember Les Horn? He told me you were going to be the Next Big Thang. Damned if he wasn't right.

I can't post any of this stuff as clips, since it's all recordings that are yet to be released. This is all with the Gypsy Pacific band.. the current one is with the drummer Les DeMerle. We're having a blast with him. We also did an album with Willie Nelson that's good fun. It should be out soon.

Come back and hang out, we'll talk story.

Marc Piane · #10 02-06-2008, 06:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marcus Johnson

It's a real tough decision sometimes. I just started on a new CD project yesterday, pretty aggressive jazz pizz throughout. First tune, second take, I busted a blood vessel in my forefinger, right where it hits the strings, hurts like a mutha. Of course there's no backing out of that one! Long sessions every day this week, and gigs every night. Just gotta soldier on.

The difference is his injury is of the musculoskeletal variety. Yours is not. That's how I draw the line. If is a blister or a cut or something then I keep playing and keep the tears on the inside. If it is a muscle or joint, or nerve thing I take the decision to play or not much more seriously.

Marcus Johnson · #11 02-06-2008, 09:13 AM

I hear you. I'm lucky to have not ever had to pull the plug on my career for even a short amount of time due to a serious injury. It scares me to even think about it. Me? Get a job?

scotty77 · #12 02-13-2008, 11:41 PM

I'd suggest seeing a chiropractor. He or she can help with diagnosis, give you some exercises to speed up the recovery and mobility of the joint, and, posssibly tape it up so that you can play easier.
I had a fairly good tear of my hamstring late this summer. Through seeing the chiro, he gave me excersizes to do, used intermuscular stimulation (acupunture), and massage. Enough so that I was able to run my first 1/2 Marathon about a month later. Although I didn't run as fast as I would have liked because of lack of training that last month, I finished 6 minutes faster than the goal that he and I set.
And although I don't usually take meds, I did take a couple of Ibeprofuns just before the race start.
Scott