Injury


tammielyn.ts
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Joined: 11/11/19
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tammielyn.ts
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Joined: 11/11/19
Posts: 81
02/16/2022 11:16 pm

Hey everyone. Feeling pretty depressed and need a bit of encouragement. I fell on the ice yesterday (one other reason to hate winter, sorry to those who love it) and i fractured my medial radius. My wrist. I'm 2.5 years into my guitar journey and am doing so well and love it so much. I am so stressed about how I'm going to heal. I've got a cast and I'm not in horrific pain. I was when it happened. Just need some pep to stay positive. I've made a new practice program involving theory and my song writing. But watching my calluses soften I'm I'm just really emotional stress at the moment. Its my fretting hand btw. Anyway just reaching out to my guitar family for some encouragement


# 1
snojones
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snojones
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02/17/2022 12:26 am

So sorry you fell on that ice. Sorry you hate winter (considering your situation I understand... even if it is my favorite season;-) Which hand is it?

Your idea to study theory is a really good one. No wrist involved! Writting lyrics about how pissed you are at being laid up, could be a great way make lemonade out of crappy situation. Both of these will provide a great way to keep in the game until that @#!% cast is cast out.

Your callus building will not be as painful as it was when you started. That cast will come off soon and you will charge back into playing without a lot of difficulty. You dont' play like beginner any more. Beginners finger pain is usually as much a result of playing with a death grip as the lack of calluses. Your will return quickly.

Also, you know how to finger chords and your muscle memory won't forget that fast. A few weeks without practice isn't going to set you back that much. Even if you do chomp at the bit until the damn thing is gone. At this point I expect you will rebound quickly once "that damn cast" is gone.

I went for years without playing guitar due to chronic pain in my forearms. Finally I was able to start playing and to my surprise my muscle memory remembered most every thing. Not all at once.. but surprisingly quick, I was back playing my original compositions which involve a lot of weird jazz chords. I had written lead sheets with chord names. But I didn't recognize any of those jazz chords on paper! However, I found that if I practiced I was amazed how fast my fingers found them by feel. I have way more faith in my muscle memory than in the organ in my skull. I heard an interview with Kieth Richards (rated one of the best rock guitarist of all time) where the interviewer asked "How do you remember all those songs?".Kieth came right back and said with a big smile "I dont... My fingers do" He was talking about muscle memory.

Your have a good plan to help you through the nest few weeks. Trust returning to your instrument won't be as bad as you think. You will get those calluses back quicker than when you started. What your brain doesn't remember, your muscle memory will. In my opinion Muscle Memory is the greatest force in playing music competently. Yours won't abandon you just because Winter smacked you down!


Captcha is a total pain in the........

# 2
davem_or
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davem_or
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02/17/2022 2:37 am

Which hand? Fretting or struming?

Are they sure there's been no displacement? Even a little?

I'm saying this because I broke my wrist about a year and a half ago. Fretting hand. What the doctor thought was fine was not fine for the extreme movements required for fretting. I can still play but some movements are hard/impossible. I should have had surgery when it happened to bring it to normal and I'm too old now to go through the hassle so I live with it. Tell your doctor what's important to you and find out if your break will still allow that once healed.

ETA: I see it's your fretting hand. Make sure everything will heal back the way it was.


# 3
William MG
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William MG
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02/17/2022 2:12 pm

Sorry to hear of your fall, but things will heal given time. Not sure of your age but the older we are the longer it takes to recover, but we do recover.

Good idea to dig into other aspects of the guitar to keep you engaged.

Good luck!


This year the diet is definitely gonna stick!

# 4
tammielyn.ts
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tammielyn.ts
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02/17/2022 4:54 pm

THANKS so much to all three for your tips, ideas and encouragement. It was exactly what i needed. I go back next week for my first assessment, this just happened 4 days ago, and i will definitely let the doc know i want to see an orthopaedic surgeon just for a proper assessment to see the union of bones will be smack on. Glad you mentioned this. I feel much better snojones with the positive comments about muscle memory. Feeling at ease hearing that. I'm doing mental visualization seeing myself play and change chords etc to keep the mental aspect up. [br]I'm glad i reached out, really appreciate the wise words!


# 5
Rumble Walrus
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Rumble Walrus
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02/17/2022 11:22 pm

Hang in there tammielyn. It'll all come back.


# 6
tammielyn.ts
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tammielyn.ts
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02/18/2022 8:56 pm

thanks again to everyone! i see ortho this week and will definitely make sure he knows my goals and that my bones have a good union, and that there are not any angulation issues so i can get full use back. i am so full of gratitude for all the expert advise, encouragement, i feel very hopeful. thanks Sasha for the pic. i have been doing this, but i'll give it another week. i am such a fighter, so going after things too soon is my problem. im doing mental memory playing, to try to keep myself where i am at best i can anyway cheers


# 7
mjgodin
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Joined: 11/23/19
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mjgodin
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02/18/2022 10:04 pm

Sorry to hear about your injury Tammielyn, but from reading your last reply sounds like your mood is picking up so thats good.

One thing I would suggest during the downtime aside from studying theory might be to take up fingerpicking. Lisa has a great program and Chris has some easy classical exercises to help getting your right hand picking fingers into the motion. There are many patterns you can learn in Lisa's program and in the begining your not fretting chords just learning the patterns. By the time your fretting hand gets stronger even if you can just make two simple chords you can start to get some cool melodies down.

Something to think about. Good Luck.

Moe


# 8
innocci
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innocci
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03/29/2023 6:29 pm
#0 Originally Posted by: tammielyn.ts

Hey everyone. Feeling pretty depressed and need a bit of encouragement. I fell on the ice yesterday (one other reason to hate winter, sorry to those who love it) and i fractured my medial radius. My wrist. I'm 2.5 years into my guitar journey and am doing so well and love it so much. I am so stressed about how I'm going to heal. I've got a cast and I'm not in horrific pain. I was when it happened. Just need some pep to stay positive. I've made a new practice program involving theory and my song writing. But watching my calluses soften I'm I'm just really emotional stress at the moment. Its my fretting hand btw. Anyway just reaching out to my guitar family for some encouragement

So sorry to hear about your injury, I hope you have a quick recovery. I had to take quite some time off do to a knee surgery, so I spent my time with the mental side of guitar, such as theory studies. I know it's not as fun, but I was continuing with mental practice.


# 10

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