Hand/wrist Injury

[kazuki]

Hello guys,

Anyone had injured their hand during drumming/Not during druming in a sense that you have to stop playing drums for a period of time?


Recently i had a bad fall, sprain on wrsit and dislocated the other. It had been 2 weeks and i still can move my wrists without feeling pain.

was thinking whether they would they vever be able to recovered back to normal T_T

 

[Bor]

Hey kazuki,

hard luck.. Your condition sounds bad. I'd suggest you refrain from drumming for the time being until you're fully recovered. Then perhaps you could work your way back to the normal practise routine slowly by doing less strenous practises initially. I think that's what I'd do if I were you...

Years ago I also fell and sprained my RH middle finger. Although its probably not as serious as hurting your wrists, it still took me out of action for two weeks or so as I was almost totally unable to play techniques involving finger control like double strokes and so on. But after forcing myself to back down and not play through the pain barrier, my finger just recovered and went back to normal. Hence I do believe with proper rest and recuperation, you'll be up and drumming soon

 

[killerbee]

Aloha,

Vanhelsingh might be able to share about this foot injury. But he got Thomas Lang to "bless his foot" so it's getting better.

As for me, a couple of years ago, I suffered from a slight case of tendinitis on my right wrist. It was a case of wrong grip. I was holding my right stick way too tight and tensed and I was playing one of those hard and fast kind of groove. Had to wear an arm bandage for a while. But now I am fine but I shall never forget the importance of the correct grip.

If any of you heard of The Donnas (rocking U.S. all girl band), their drummer Torry Castellano suffered from a very serious case of tendinitis and had to go for surgery. Today, she slays those skins like no one's business!

Super sexy new video For "Don't Wait Up For Me" off their new album BITCHIN'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_f02lyIkUo

And a rather fun drumming ad for Target with Bun E Carlos of Cheap Trick:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gk-ooqB14kQ

Pearl Artist Link:
http://www.pearldrum.com/t_castellano.asp

 

[vanhelSINGH]

hahaha.. yeah thomas lang blessed my foot by signing on it..

Hey dudes.. Bet most ppl already know.. i sprained my ankle.. but this is the worse sprain i ever experienced. I dont wanna say how.. sounds really stupid.

Anyway, after checking it up, turns out, I have Damaged Ligerment at my right ankle.

i couldnt walk for 2 weeks.

i do feel the pain till now

But i aint gonna stop drumming man..

.

 

[mel80]

Physiotherapy helps. Not just drummers. Some musicians (like Dave Mustaine of Megadeth) almost had to stop playing their instruments altogether because of injuries and all. But they had the patience and perseverance to go through physiotherapy to slowly let their injuries recover.

Don't give up kazuki. You'll be back. It may take a little while, but you will be back. All the best!

 

[kazuki]

thanks so much for the encouragement guys!

I guess i had the worst luck of my life -.-

i think its gonna take a long long time before i can play anything.. i am getting a hand specialist appointment this thursday, hopes its nothing bad..

vanhelSINGH:
how did u sprain your leg?

Killberbee: tendinitis is muscle tear? i think my case is something similar.. should be ligament tear..

 

[spinninsticks]

Injuries are gonna be part and parcel of life, just gotta make sure that you're are well rested and taken care of. Perhaps in the meantime you can work on exercises that doesnt require too much stress on the injuries? (ie. coordination)

I also believe that physiotherapy helps. And you can probably do some light exercises to speed up recovery.

At the end of the day, just take good care and dont stop drumming! (not in a way that will stress your injuries of course:-D) Virgil once had an accident and injured his left shoulder. To make matters worst, he had a clinic to perform that very night. Instead of disappointing his fans by calling off the clinic, he went on to perform with three limbs and gave a blast of a show!

All the best to your recovery and stay rested

 

[jenocide]

mine's not as serious, but i do feel pain when i turn my wrists. its been on-going for a while, but i just practice anyway. after practice, it will hurt like mad and i have to surf forums and type with my left hand (i play open handed, even though i am a rightie, and that sucks), then i go to sleep, next day does not hurt that bad. i wear armbands to school to try to promote blood circulation (thats what my mommy says, dunno if its true, so i just wear it anywae cuz it makes my wrist feel comfy). then at evening, i start my practice as usual, and after an hour or so, it hurts real bad again.

the cycle goes on, and i have no intention in treating this problem as serious, but still, i took a one week break and it feels very "loose". dunnoe if thats good or bad. i just continue to wear the armband cuz it will hurt periodically. otherwise, drum practice has been going well.

recommendation to kazuki: wear an armband?

 

[Cheez]

Kazuki, are you sure you really dislocated one wrist? Dislocation of wrists are pretty rare - they usually come with a fracture. Did you have an X-ray done?

For sprains - rest, compress (use wrist guard), and elevate (if there's swelling). Can use ice packs in the first 48 hours of sprain. Playing drums at this stage will aggravate it.

 

[killerbee]

Tendinitis is an inflammation, I think. Usually caused by repetitive of movement, especially wrong movement. The other term is like carpal tunnel syndrome?
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpal_tunnel_syndrome

Just concern for all injured fellows. If there's something wrong with your body parts, or if you feel uncomfortable drumming, do go see a doctor. Don't wait till it's too late. Drumming when you are still in pain for a long period of time is no heroic act.

Take care and be safe! \m/

 

[RudimentalDrummer]

Killerbee....Wah Thanks for the Torry's Video - That's My Favourite Female Drummer you know - Gosh thanks....

Got somemore PM me her link

Kazuki: - You must not exert your wrists or arm now - stop drumming for the time being till you are fully recovered - Very Important !

 

[Cheez]

Killerbee, carpal tunnel syndrome is not tendinitis. Both can be caused be repetitive stress although there are other causes.

Whatever it is, prevention is better than cure. Don't over-do your practicing routine, use correct techniques, and seek early medical advice if you do experience symptoms.

 

[mel80]

jenocide:
Better get your wrists checked bro. It MIGHT be a prelude to something more serious. Get it sorted out by the doc before it gets any worse. Take good care!

 

[Bor]

Jenocide,

I agree that you should go have your wrists checked by a doctor. Better safe than sorry. I remember Tama mentioning during the Pearl Clinic that as musicians, one consideration is how long you can last as a musician without your body giving way.

Also you may want to look into developing proper technique, as bad technique can cause injuries, like in Killerbee's case. You could perhaps look to doing some stretching exercises (Tony Royster does this) or doing proper warmup before you start trashing on the drums, to minimise injuries and stress on your limbs, just like with any other physical activity.

 

[Cheez]

Jenocide, at least 2 weeks of rest + wrist guard. It's not just playing drums. Too long at the computer keyboard can also cause stress to the wrist. If it doesn't get better by then despite rest, get it checked out.

 

[jenocide]

ouch. okay. anyway to kazuki, or anyone out there, invest in wrist guards if you have wrist problems. as for the computer, cant avoid it, cuz my course requires me to do programming and i am like tapping away in the laptop everyday.

 

[marcdadrummer]

tendinitis is caused when wrong grip is being used and all the shock of the wood comes straight to ur wrist and the whole shock is spread over ur wrist tendens (or something like that lah ah)

currently there's no cure for tendinitis, just operation to make it feel better so i guess what the donnas drummer has is something permanent unless they have found a cure to it already.... so practise good habits/grip.. i'e wrists and fingers and hold ur stick 2/3 back from the center...

ur fulcrum is important too and also don't bury ur stick when hitting something... all u want is ur stick to do your work for you so let it rebound!!! no rebound = tendinitis = operations!!!

also, use straight SOLID WOOD and same weight sticks....

recently i bought a peace 7a jazz baby sticks and from the naked eye it looks good but i didn't try it out since it looks good.. but when i tried to practise something on it, immediately after one stroke, i can feel all the shock on my wrist - which means the wood is NOT SOLID and this could be a cause for tendinitis too....

and when i roll it on a flat surface, the tip wobble which means it's not a straight wood so peace sticks are NOT GOOD!!! u've been warned

get sticks from major manufacturers as they have computer balanced them and their straightness and wood solidness is there even though u have to pay like 15 a pair. (9 dollars a pair during SL sale) be it vic firth, vater, or promark (so called the big 3)

and for TS, since ur two limbs can't be used atm, u can do air pedalling

have a speedy recovery.

 

[deon]

JIV,

injured your foot? maybe blessing in disguise, next time will be easier to get you to MDC after downgrading haha. Just joking man, but don't worry I'm sure you will only come back stronger!

Anyway guys, I experienced pain at my elbow regions before, especially my left hand. Everytime I aimed for a strong snare pop, I would felt a sharp pain at my elbows. Lucky for me, Ah Pek corrected my grip, I was too tense and almost holding the butt of my stick (5B Vic Firth). After that, I adjusted the point of my grip and also relaxed alot more, and immediately the pain was gone. I strongly recommend to relax while playing and also adopt the "right" grip.

 

[Cheez]

currently there's no cure for tendinitis, just operation to make it feel better so i guess what the donnas drummer has is something permanent unless they have found a cure to it already....

Treatment for tendinitis is pretty much the same as any related-injury - rest. Antiflammatory pain killers. More rest. Some may need steroid injection.

Operation is only needed if the injury is severe - ie it becomes a tendon rupture or severe tear. So don't worry - it's not that bad...

 

[kazuki]

thanks everyone for all yuor replies and encouragement!

i went to do a X ray scan again today, and the results came out to be a scaphoid fracture.

Scaphoids bones are a series of bones located on the lower palm, a series of pebble like bones horizontally. It seemed that i fracture one of the bones which is closer to my thumb..

Well doctors says it takes about 6 months to recover.. and physio therapy is needed.. I cant beleive i cant drum for 6 months.. its worst than not having sex =X


P.S The doctor which i consults told me he plays piano with a passion, and he gets his hand insured -.- I think all musicians should get their hands insured. They are MORE important THAn me life T_T