Hi all, as many may know i comment a fair bit on injuries and techniques that may cause injuries, so here is a personal look at a common problem.....I have injured my wrist and cannot play, so i am taking my own advice.
So what am i going to do about it?
I am going to follow my own advice, and with a few pictures, and a few updates, show you the correct way to deal with such an injury.
The Back Story.
Quite simple it was early Thursday morning..slipped on the stairs and fell backwards, and in breaking my fall i grabbed the hand rail on my right, this caused me to turn and fall to my left and as i put out my arm i landed on my out-stretched fingers on the edge of the stair tread.
As my weight came down to bear on the fingers, the wrist was bent back in a hyper-extension, and the hand then slipped off the edge of the stair tread on to the full tread below as all my weight settled into the fall.
The second impact was at the base of the palm next to the wrist...this was a spring loaded impact due to the nature of the first impact storing energy which was then released when the wrist hyper extended and released it in to the tread below.
First Reaction
I grabbed the wrist tight, and elevated it straight up, gave it a slight "twist" and manipulation within this tight grip and knew there was a problem. I ran a basin of cold water and put the hand/wrist in it and examined it further.
The cold water is to help reduce swelling and let me examine the injury.
After an examination that tested motion, felt for bone displacement, attachment/tendon damage (which i can do due to training and experience) i concluded that the damage was serious, but i could deal with it.
For anyone else suffering such an injury a visit to medical professional is advised as such falls can produce later complications if not addressed sooner rather than later. I shall be going to see an Osteopath to get my wrist checked out one the swelling and bruising reduces.
So it was ice pack from the fridge, wrapped in a tea towel and applied to the injury.
I also started with some anti-inflammatory tablets, Napraxin was the drug of choice.
Next step
I then put on the wrist support i have, it is a standard Neoprene one available from sport shops or pharmacies, put a little talc on the hand and in the support to help it slip on easily.
I then, due to lack of a strap, put my hand across my chest up towards my right shoulder and "tucked my hand in side my T-shirt and let the collar of the T-shirt support the arm, so now the injury is elevated above the heart line.
Elevating an injury slows down the blood flow, so will help reduce swelling and pain..not all injuries can be elevated, but in this case elevation is easy.
Next Step
After drinking fluids, as it was first thing in the morning after sleep taking on more fluids was important as i would be suffering a mild for of shock, i made a basic quick breakfast to get energy, and then made a hot drink, green tea in this case
I then sat down, laid back with the hand still elevated in the collar of the T-shirt and thought of my options.
My options were to play or not to play. Now as a professional musician not playing means no wages, but playing and making the injury worse means un-certain future on how the injury will heal and may produce complications...so i got in touch with the people this would affect and cancelled all work for the next seven days.
OK may seem a bit drastic, but rather than trying to play and letting people down at the last minute or on the night, the decision was give them time to make other arrangements.
Even if the injury got better quick in a few days i will still hold to the decision not to play until at least seven days, again this gives people later in the week more time to sort out a dep, or employ another player.
OK i may have let a few people down in the short term, but they will get over it, the same way as i get over being let down at the last minute, its life and such things happen.
So i applied more ice packs throughout the day, kept up the fluids and rested for the day by reading and listening to music. I continued the Napraxin, with food i may add, and as the day came to an end i took the final Napraxin for the day and removed the support and went to bed.
I put a pillow next to me and rested the arm/hand on it outside the bed, and went to sleep on my back.
Day Two
Woke up, washed the hand and arm in cool water, examined it again, dried it, applied the support, got dressed, tucked my hand into my collar again and preceded down stairs....very carefully.
Drank more fluids, made breakfast, made more warm drinks, and took Ibuprofen instead of the Napraxin and got ready to spend another day resting.
Usually my day starts with stretching exercises, then breakfast, then an hours practice split into 20 minute sessions of warm up, playing and getting ready for the coming day.
This will not happen over the next seven days, i will start the stretches routine when i decide the injury is well enough to be used in them. Reason for this?...Well stretching is a form of exercise that get he blood pumping to the muscles, which i do not want, i just want the blood to flow and the injury to repair.
By the afternoon after another few ice packs i decided i will photograph and document this injury to show others that it is not an issue not playing for a week or so.
Now first off the decision not to play was mine, so i made the decision not to play, i did not decide to try and carry on, and end up in a situation where the injury deteriorated and i had no option but not not play..or use the hand in any capacity, because the injury has stopped me regardless of what i want to do.
This is an important physiological point, i have chosen not to play, i am not playing because i cannot play.
This simple point makes resting easier as my mind is calm and not racing away creating scenarios for me to worry about.
After another check on the injury i now decide to use Arnica.
Arnica is a natural remedy for reducing bruising and swelling.
In any injury where there is swelling, the swelling is a "soup" of fluid and damaged cells that protect the injury...they leak into the gaps and areas around the injury to immobilize and protect the damaged area. As the injury repairs this soup needs to be broken own and taken away in the blood stream. If it is not cleared then it well reduce a bit, then solidify. This will either be seen as a lump, or lack aof mobility, or both. In other words the fluid sets in the gaps it filled around and inbetween the injury and reduces the movement.
Using Arnica cream means rubbing it in, so massage, this massage will help breakdown this soup and stop it from solidifying, it will also help the blood stream remove the soup away from the injured area.
Also using the Arnica tincture in tablet form, gets the Arnica directly in to the bloodstream that is traveling through the injury, so a double pronged treatment, one for the injury and one for my bodies healing system via the blood.
The act of massage, even without the Arnica, will help break down the soup, but may leave bruising, the Arnica is just another layer that i consider a good option to help me recover better...and maybe faster.
So the pictures are from day two's afternoon, and at the time of writing the injury was feeling better inside to the touch, not as far as pain was concerned as the tablets will take care of that.
But motion is feeling a bit freer, and although the swelling has gone down and some slight bruising
is appearing, i am happy with its progress.
My day 2 will be the same, arm elevated, take the Ibuprofen, apply some ice, massage and rest it.
Sleeping will be the same process as before
So more on day three's progress to follow, but below in th thumbnails are a few pictures of the injury, as of day two mid afternoon, and all the associated treatments mentioned in the post.
As usual if this raises any questions, feel free to post them and i will answer if i can.
.
So what am i going to do about it?
I am going to follow my own advice, and with a few pictures, and a few updates, show you the correct way to deal with such an injury.
The Back Story.
Quite simple it was early Thursday morning..slipped on the stairs and fell backwards, and in breaking my fall i grabbed the hand rail on my right, this caused me to turn and fall to my left and as i put out my arm i landed on my out-stretched fingers on the edge of the stair tread.
As my weight came down to bear on the fingers, the wrist was bent back in a hyper-extension, and the hand then slipped off the edge of the stair tread on to the full tread below as all my weight settled into the fall.
The second impact was at the base of the palm next to the wrist...this was a spring loaded impact due to the nature of the first impact storing energy which was then released when the wrist hyper extended and released it in to the tread below.
First Reaction
I grabbed the wrist tight, and elevated it straight up, gave it a slight "twist" and manipulation within this tight grip and knew there was a problem. I ran a basin of cold water and put the hand/wrist in it and examined it further.
The cold water is to help reduce swelling and let me examine the injury.
After an examination that tested motion, felt for bone displacement, attachment/tendon damage (which i can do due to training and experience) i concluded that the damage was serious, but i could deal with it.
For anyone else suffering such an injury a visit to medical professional is advised as such falls can produce later complications if not addressed sooner rather than later. I shall be going to see an Osteopath to get my wrist checked out one the swelling and bruising reduces.
So it was ice pack from the fridge, wrapped in a tea towel and applied to the injury.
I also started with some anti-inflammatory tablets, Napraxin was the drug of choice.
Next step
I then put on the wrist support i have, it is a standard Neoprene one available from sport shops or pharmacies, put a little talc on the hand and in the support to help it slip on easily.
I then, due to lack of a strap, put my hand across my chest up towards my right shoulder and "tucked my hand in side my T-shirt and let the collar of the T-shirt support the arm, so now the injury is elevated above the heart line.
Elevating an injury slows down the blood flow, so will help reduce swelling and pain..not all injuries can be elevated, but in this case elevation is easy.
Next Step
After drinking fluids, as it was first thing in the morning after sleep taking on more fluids was important as i would be suffering a mild for of shock, i made a basic quick breakfast to get energy, and then made a hot drink, green tea in this case
I then sat down, laid back with the hand still elevated in the collar of the T-shirt and thought of my options.
My options were to play or not to play. Now as a professional musician not playing means no wages, but playing and making the injury worse means un-certain future on how the injury will heal and may produce complications...so i got in touch with the people this would affect and cancelled all work for the next seven days.
OK may seem a bit drastic, but rather than trying to play and letting people down at the last minute or on the night, the decision was give them time to make other arrangements.
Even if the injury got better quick in a few days i will still hold to the decision not to play until at least seven days, again this gives people later in the week more time to sort out a dep, or employ another player.
OK i may have let a few people down in the short term, but they will get over it, the same way as i get over being let down at the last minute, its life and such things happen.
So i applied more ice packs throughout the day, kept up the fluids and rested for the day by reading and listening to music. I continued the Napraxin, with food i may add, and as the day came to an end i took the final Napraxin for the day and removed the support and went to bed.
I put a pillow next to me and rested the arm/hand on it outside the bed, and went to sleep on my back.
Day Two
Woke up, washed the hand and arm in cool water, examined it again, dried it, applied the support, got dressed, tucked my hand into my collar again and preceded down stairs....very carefully.
Drank more fluids, made breakfast, made more warm drinks, and took Ibuprofen instead of the Napraxin and got ready to spend another day resting.
Usually my day starts with stretching exercises, then breakfast, then an hours practice split into 20 minute sessions of warm up, playing and getting ready for the coming day.
This will not happen over the next seven days, i will start the stretches routine when i decide the injury is well enough to be used in them. Reason for this?...Well stretching is a form of exercise that get he blood pumping to the muscles, which i do not want, i just want the blood to flow and the injury to repair.
By the afternoon after another few ice packs i decided i will photograph and document this injury to show others that it is not an issue not playing for a week or so.
Now first off the decision not to play was mine, so i made the decision not to play, i did not decide to try and carry on, and end up in a situation where the injury deteriorated and i had no option but not not play..or use the hand in any capacity, because the injury has stopped me regardless of what i want to do.
This is an important physiological point, i have chosen not to play, i am not playing because i cannot play.
This simple point makes resting easier as my mind is calm and not racing away creating scenarios for me to worry about.
After another check on the injury i now decide to use Arnica.
Arnica is a natural remedy for reducing bruising and swelling.
In any injury where there is swelling, the swelling is a "soup" of fluid and damaged cells that protect the injury...they leak into the gaps and areas around the injury to immobilize and protect the damaged area. As the injury repairs this soup needs to be broken own and taken away in the blood stream. If it is not cleared then it well reduce a bit, then solidify. This will either be seen as a lump, or lack aof mobility, or both. In other words the fluid sets in the gaps it filled around and inbetween the injury and reduces the movement.
Using Arnica cream means rubbing it in, so massage, this massage will help breakdown this soup and stop it from solidifying, it will also help the blood stream remove the soup away from the injured area.
Also using the Arnica tincture in tablet form, gets the Arnica directly in to the bloodstream that is traveling through the injury, so a double pronged treatment, one for the injury and one for my bodies healing system via the blood.
The act of massage, even without the Arnica, will help break down the soup, but may leave bruising, the Arnica is just another layer that i consider a good option to help me recover better...and maybe faster.
So the pictures are from day two's afternoon, and at the time of writing the injury was feeling better inside to the touch, not as far as pain was concerned as the tablets will take care of that.
But motion is feeling a bit freer, and although the swelling has gone down and some slight bruising
is appearing, i am happy with its progress.
My day 2 will be the same, arm elevated, take the Ibuprofen, apply some ice, massage and rest it.
Sleeping will be the same process as before
So more on day three's progress to follow, but below in th thumbnails are a few pictures of the injury, as of day two mid afternoon, and all the associated treatments mentioned in the post.
As usual if this raises any questions, feel free to post them and i will answer if i can.
.
