Any hopeful stories of hand tendon damage/repair and concertina playing?

[richard]

Hi Folks

 

Yes I recently did damage to my index finger extensor tendon. I will be having a repair this week. I am trying ever so hard to be hopeful and not despondent!

 

Any encouraging personal experiences out there??

 

Thanks,

 

Richard

[Leonard]

Do you have a so called 'Mallet finger'?

I had that once. See my reply to a comparable question in 2009:

https://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?/topic/8921-now-is-the-winter-of-my-discontent/&do=findComment&comment=88386

 

[lukmanohnz]

I never had a traumatic tendon injury the likes of what you've described, Richard, but many years ago during a particularly stressful time in my life and while working long hours for several months at a workstation with poor ergonomics I sustained a quite severe repetitive strain injury. I had bilateral tendonitis at such a level of severity that I lost significant strength and endurance in both forearms and hands and feared I would permanently lose the ability to play guitar (which was and remains a passion of mine). I still have some residual scarring in my forearm tendons from that injury but through much physical therapy, Alexander Technique, cranial work and other traditional and non-traditional treatment modalities I did regain nearly full use of my forearms and hands, and I play music (and work at a computer workstation) pain-free and with full mobility.  There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Keep your eyes and your spirit focused there, find healers you connect with and trust, and you will play music again. That is a given if music is solidly imbuing your spirit - and even as briefly as I've known you I certainly sense that to be true.

[larryjhs]

I had a benign carcinoma aka Mr Lump in my forearm years ago. The lump was removed, but there was nerve damage as they hat to cut it out so I lost some feeling for years in some fingers,  so it was hard to write. I was not playing at the time. But the nerves have responded over time. I think any exercise such as playing is good. I also had therapeutic massage after my operation. That was great. 

[adrian brown]

I'm another who got a mallet finger and participated in the above mentioned thread in 2014. It took 6 weeks with my finger in a splint, living under the threat that if I once bent my digit in that time, I would have to start all over again! I tried out a variety of splints over the period and found the least intrusive and comfortable to be the oval 8 plastic splints. I got three different sizes since the swelling started to go down after a while. Funnily after 4 years, that finger is still rather porkier than the others, almost as though my tendon has beefed itself up in the process. I kept playing all the while, trying to utilise the other fingers, while keeping the splinted one out of the way and I found myself using the splints for about 4 months after the injury, putting them on whenever I didn't need to bend my finger - that time period was the only time I had some pain there and putting the splint back on helped control it.

Before this happened, I was one of those who thought that socks were the most innocuous items of clothing and I had to learn the truth the hard way...

 

Hope this helps, and good luck,

 

Adrian

[LateToTheGame]

Take what ever time and Occupational Therapy you can.  No tendon damage here, but I had 2 fingers badly broken on my right hand and a third one sprained.  That was last June.  After surgically pinning one I got out of the splint by late August.  I was a highly motivated patient and did whatever my O.T. told me until I graduated in December of that year.  Take it easy, take it slow. Push it when they tell you to, how they tell you to.  Do whatever they tell you. Don't do stuff you're not supposed to. Your Occupational Therapist will be your guide.   Tendons are tricky.  Healing is possible.