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Old 05-17-2010, 09:39 PM
Wade Hampton Wade Hampton is offline
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Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Chugiak, Alaska
Posts: 31,164
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I broke my left wrist two and a half years ago, and was pretty upset about it since I maintain an active paid music schedule, leading a church music group among other things.

Some gigs I had to flat out cancel, because they were too soon after the injury for me to fulfill. I kept leading the music group, and found that within two weeks I could start playing mandolin again.

Guitar took me about a month to get back to, and it was still difficult for at least a month or so after that. The last of my instruments that I got facile upon was the mountain dulcimer, which was actually the most painful to resume because I use all the fingers of my left hand and press downwards, in fingerings that are closer to piano fingerings than anything else.

But my doctor was astonished at the speed of my progress in regaining a full range of motion, and told me he was convinced that it was my musicianship that made the vital difference. He told me that others with the same injury generally take two to three times as long to make the same progress I made. I was fully functioning again as a musician within six weeks, and had been back to playing mandolin within two weeks, though I was still wearing the wrist brace until that six week mark.

This doesn't mean that you and I had the same injury: as you've no doubt learned by now, the wrist is an exceedingly complex collection of bones, nerves and sinews.

But I would urge you to make every effort to play as soon as you possibly can, however awkward it may be at first (and possibly for some time to come.) But keep your hand in, and it will probably help speed your recovery.

I know it did in my case.

Hope this helps.


Wade Hampton Miller
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