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April 2006
Posts: 1138
Location: CT | Tune each of your guitars to a different open tuning, then just bar (barre?) everything. SWEET!
I crushed the CRAP out of my right index finger over a year ago. Fractured the tip of the bone, and there was 'stuff' squishing out of several places. Nasty! Asked the Doctor if she was gonna cut it off, she said she would try to put it back. Big mistake(more on that in a minute). She had to make several attempts at stitching, because there was no integrity to the skin. It was mush, and the suture pulled right through it like wet tissue paper. Out of commission for several months, and it still aint quite right. A regular chord is fine, but when I roll the finger (when stretching to reach a higher fret with a different finger, or bend, or attempt a lame lead etc.) I feel a pain and the 'bump' which is the stuff she shoved back under the skin. I'm guessing it just turned to scar tissue, and I'm wondering if it will be there forever. Any Doc's out there know if it's permanent? |
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Joined:
June 2005
Posts: 231
Location: N.J. | Thanks for all the words of encouragement!! Turns out the doc was a guitarist before he got into med school so perhaps thats a good sign.I was just especially annoyed cause it happened on Sat. and my bday was Sun.and I was still in alot of pain when we went to dinner.On a lighter side, I can play America's "Horse with No Name" unaffected so all hope is not lost :) . The only slide I know is Freebird, played with an empty beer bottle over then neck.Besides,after hearing Templeman play slide I think thats enough for me anyways {lol}.The kicker is that damn bush looks WORSE now than before I went at it!! |
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Joined:
November 2002
Posts: 1300
Location: Madison, Wisconsin | We had a bush like that. right under the bedroom window. Looked like crap and always smelled like cat piss when it rained. I had a neighbor come over with his bobcat, hook a chain to it and rip it out forever. Looks great now. |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | It's always disheartening when you have to look at a stupid, annoying, utterly useless Bush day in and day out, and try as you may, you just can't get rid of it.
I feel your pain, Phil.
I hope y'feel better soon.
(Now that our guitar-playing ability has been "equalized", c'mon up North for a "Horse With No Name" marathon) ;) |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15678
Location: SoCal | Cute Cliff... I'm not takin' the bait... |
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October 2005
Posts: 5331
Location: Cicero, NY | Damn. And I had my popcorn and five gallon soda ready... |
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Joined:
July 2006
Posts: 19
Location: Maine | How about going to open tuning and taking up slide? Lots of pinky exercises? ~ ; >
How your digit gets better quickly. |
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Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 13996
Location: Upper Left USA | The Riggers motto is "stay out of the bite"!
That's "bight" to some and literally it means don't put any part of yourself between trouble and more trouble.
While I've happily retained 10 and 10 so far I recently started playing with a Shubb partial capo. These work on Ovation 12's and Widenecks where the Kyser doesn't.
Two fingers and the truth is all you'll need! |
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Joined:
November 2005
Posts: 4832
Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | Sometimes one finger. |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12759
Location: Boise, Idaho | I broke both bones in my left lower arm at the elbow from falling off a ladder. I wasn't playing much guitar then, so it wasn't too memorable. A few years later a friend died falling off a ladder under very similar circumstances. We are lucky to be alive.
I also broke the same bones at the wrist playing indoor soccer. That involved a couple months in a cast and then a surgery to rebreak the bones that weren't healing and several more months of PT. At the last session I asked the PT if I'd ever play guitar again and she said I should have told her because it would have been great therapy. I have most of the range of motion and feeling back, but I'll still use it as an excuse for my poor left hand technique when necessary. |
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Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 4075
Location: Utah | Originally posted by brainslag:Any Doc's out there know if it's permanent? I am not a doc, but I have had some issues with a surgical procedure that was very poorly done (and was the wrong procedure). Anyhow, what you need to do is get outside of your existing medical provider circle if they aren't helping you out. You know far better than any doc what is going on inside your body, so if the doc isn't going where you want, keep looking. There is a doc out there who will help you if you keep looking long enough.
My guess is that a good hand surgeon can help you out, but many will probably not want to go in. A minor inconvenience is not sufficient cause for them to risk surgery unless they have a definitive diagnosis. Many docs don't want to get outside of their normal half-dozen conditions they treat.
What I'm trying to say without much success is that you may have to be persistent to find the right doc. |
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Joined:
August 2005
Posts: 3736
Location: Sunshine State, Australia | I was planing down some timber last year when the chip extractor got clogged up. I had ear muffs on and I thought I'd shut the chip extractor off and I shoved my hand in the exhaust to clear the chips out.
It wasn't off, and a fraction of a second later, my fingernail on my left middle finger was off! Copped a lot of tissue damage as well as chipping the bone.
Took a good 8 weeks before I could put any pressure on it (ie pushing down steel strings) Downgraded to 10 gauge strings for a few weeks. The wierdest feeling was, until the fingernail grew back, the tip of my finger was wobbly.
My fingernail still hasn't properly grown back and the finger tip is still numb.
It was my own stupid fault. If someone said 'you're lucky', I'd think "yeah, lucky I was a crap guitarist to start with".
For those of you with a modicum? of talent, look after those digits! And don't take up woodwork! |
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Joined:
September 2003
Posts: 171
Location: Indiana | This thread is giving my ghost pains and flashbacks.... :eek: good luck on a speedy recovery! |
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Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 13996
Location: Upper Left USA | I removed a 70" by 34" piece of transom glass today, which was installed in 1965. I was working it just fine until...
pinnnnnk! :eek:
The shattering glass always falls towards the ladder. Not a scatch, just a lot of phew-w-w! |
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Joined:
June 2005
Posts: 231
Location: N.J. | Ya know.... Its been 3 weeks since this happened already. I know it could have been worse and believe I am thankful it wasnt.BIG TIME! BUT,only being able to use 3 fingers feels like I am breathing with only 3/4 lung capacity :mad: :( . I'm getting by with capos and open tunings but all in all its just not 100% and its driving me crazy.One positive thing is my 2nd finger is getting alot stronger and my stretch is improving. Again, I AM FULLY AWARE of how lucky I was, but maaaannnn.....I am losing it here!!! :( :( |
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Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 13996
Location: Upper Left USA | Shubb Partial Capo and some musical experimentation are in order... |
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Joined:
November 2005
Posts: 1126
Location: Omaha, NE | A good friend and fellow guitarist neatly nibbled off a fingertip last winter trying to clear a clogged snowblower.
Back in high school, I managed to break the last bone in my middle finger on my left hand. What that tought me was that finger injuries HURT! Tons of nerves in them I guess. My whole hand throbbed for two days. The bone didn't grow back straight, so that's why my playing sucks today (good to have an excuse).
Hope your finger mends quick! Good luck! |
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Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 208
Location: Illinois | Sorry to hear about your accident. But, when life feeds you lemons, make lemonade. Currently, you have a built-in 'Bottle Neck'. :D |
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Joined:
May 2003
Posts: 4389
Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | I almost chopped off from the first knuckle to the tip of my right index finger ala Jerry Garcia when I was attempting to move a fan. I still have the lump where all the skin and other stuff was bunched up. That was 5 years ago. Every year the scar tissue gets smaller and smaller. I hardly notice it now.
And yes, I'm so careful now with sharp objects. |
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I guess it could have been worse.
