Broken-wristed fiddler needs advice

Subject: Seeking advice on broken wrist
From: Terry
Date: 05 Aug 99 - 05:41 PM

Last week I broke my right wrist. The loathsome hard cast comes off on September 1. I'm concerned about the effect the injury will have on bowing. Can anyone tell me how long recovery will take and therapies that worked for you? I'm seeking advice and craving reassurance!

Subject: RE: Broken-wristed fiddler needs advice
From: Arnie Naiman
Date: 05 Aug 99 - 08:17 PM

Sorry about your wrist - You'll be fine, but you'll only be able to play crooked tunes from now on. Take care!

Subject: RE: Broken-wristed fiddler needs advice
From:
Date: 05 Aug 99 - 09:24 PM

Sorry to hear about your injury. I'm not any expert or a medical person at all.

However, I had a broken elbow a few years ago, and the specialist I saw, said the hardest part of being immobilized like you are, is the recovery of muscle tone and actual movement in the region.

Your best thing would be to follow the recommendations on physical therapy afterwards and try not to overdo it. It should come back but your muscles will have gotten "lazy" while it has been in the cast.

Good luck with it.

Subject: RE: Broken-wristed fiddler needs advice
From: catspaw49
Date: 05 Aug 99 - 09:56 PM

Terry...He hasn't shown up here yet, but we have a guy you need to send a personal message to ask advice. His name is Don Meixner, and through personal experience, he knows a lot about this subject. Send him a note and tell him your situation, or send him to this thread in case it's down the list and he misses it.

Spaw

Subject: RE: Broken-wristed fiddler needs advice
From: Jeri
Date: 05 Aug 99 - 10:18 PM

I've spent over 6 months of my life in casts, and I can do no harm by recomending people follow the advice of experts. George is right. There's a tendency to believe strength and range of motion will return naturally, even if you don't do the exercises a physical therapist will give you. It could happen, but it's not likely.

Your muscles will be weak and tire easily. Your arm will be a lot smaller than it used to be - enough to look scary. I can't quite remember how long it took my arm to look normal again, but it might have been a couple of months.

And don't stick anything down there to scratch! (Like I ever listened to that.)

Subject: RE: Broken-wristed fiddler needs advice
From: catspaw49
Date: 05 Aug 99 - 10:30 PM

Down where Jeri?

Spaw

Subject: RE: Broken-wristed fiddler needs advice
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 05 Aug 99 - 10:39 PM

Catspaw, why aren't you answering your phone?

Terry, about 4 years ago I broke the little finger on my left hand (from trying to bend a note on the guitar too hard. It's been a problem ever since then. I've tried to go easy on it and let it heal but it seems that every 3 or 4 weeks I'd forget and slam it down on the fingerboard and "crack", she'd break again. It was more like a "click" but it felt like a "crack". My advice is give it time to heal. Don't RUSH IT! Good luck
Rick

Subject: RE: Broken-wristed fiddler needs advice
From: SueH
Date: 06 Aug 99 - 07:56 AM

I can't see any reason why it should cause you any lasting problems, Terry. Was it a clean break?

I broke my wrist some years ago, & it had to be reset once & still slipped slightly to the side as it healed. This extended the time I had the cast on slightly, & I think it was about 6 weeks in total. My wrist was very weak when the cast came off, & as I had bruised all my fingers as well when I fell, I had to work hard at regaining a proper grip. I had the usual(?) physio - arm in a bucket of ice, playing table tennis, exercising with a rubber ball to regain a strong grip, etc. I would think it took about a month after the cast came off for it to start to feel normal again, & it continued to ache if I over-used it for a while after that. I would think you will 'know' when you are ready to start bowing again, & it should help restore the flexibility as well.

I have lost a small amount of mobility in my wrist, which has not caused me any problems generally but it does show up when bowing. (I should point out at this stage that I wasn't playing the violin when I broke my wrist, it was 14 years ago.) I have to adjust my bow hold slightly to try & compensate for this.

Recently I had a course of physiotherapy to try & loosen my wrist up a bit, which has actually helped quite a bit. However, it looks as though several of the small bones in the back of my hand were jarred out of place when I had the accident, & there is some fusion there which, after all this time, can't be completely corrected.

So when you have your cast off, make sure you do all your physio & concentrate hard on regaining grip in your hand & flexibility in your wrist - & if anything doesn't feel at all right once you are regaining your strength, get an xray done to check things out. If you wait too long they may not be able to do anything about it.

Good luck!

Sue

Subject: RE: Broken-wristed fiddler needs advice
From: Terry
Date: 06 Aug 99 - 01:11 PM

Thanks to all of you for your advice, reassurance and kind good wishes. I feel a lot more hopeful that my fiddling days aren't over. I'm afraid I'm guilty of scratching "down there." I broke the wrist the day before I left for a 7-day business trip to Japan. I found the 14-hour plane ride and 100-degree heat in Tokyo almost unbearable in a cast. Being unable to use chopsticks for their intended purpose with my left hand, I employed them for scratching! Thanks again for your messages. -- Terry