Last night I was not paying attention, tripped and fell and ended up with an injury known as mallet finger. It typically happens to baseball players and basketball players where the last bone in a finger is pushed too far and the tendon on the top of the finger either tears or pulls off a small piece of the bone. The end result is that the final section of the finger cannot be fully extended. This photo is a typical x-ray of the injury where a piece of bone has been pulled off. That is what happened to me although mine didn't look nearly as dramatic.
Treatment involves a splint for six weeks that keeps the joint completely immobile. If you move the joint even once, you're back to square one and the six weeks starts over. Then the splint comes off and you have a few weeks of a stiff joint but hopefully/normally with exercise, you get full use back.
I'm obviously not very happy. Playing guitar with a stack splint like the one in this photo will not be a fun exercise if it is possible at all. And I'm supposed to go on a work trip to New Orleans in two weeks... AARRGGGGHHHHH! And, of course, there is that nagging fear that I may not get the kind of motion back that I need to play guitar at the level I play.
1 comment:
My son Joel nearly lost his left middle finger two years ago. He broke it badly and had to have surgery, complete with pins. He's playing guitar again, though he would say, modified. He's getting some jazz progressions down now, but he feels the cold weather.
I'm sorry it's slowing you down.
-prayers for your healing...
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