Mallet finger, anyone?

[jeff_75]

About a month ago, I managed to tear an extensor tendon on my left index finger. Closed finger injury - I didn't cut it, but rather it popped off the bone. #Doctor says the standard treatment is to splint for 6-8 weeks, and then, well, take it off and hope for the best. #This is confirmed with lots of internet research and a second opinion. #Obviously, I'm quite concerned that my index finger will never function properly again. #And I have no interest in pioneering a three-finger mandolin method. #Anyone else experience such an injury? #Any advice, thoughts, suggestions?

[Nolan]

I don't have any advice Jeff except I know how you feel and want to encourage you to stay positive! #A month ago I had a dog clamp down on my arm and tear me open pretty good, I had a nice puncture wound on one side and a #deep three inch tear on the other. #The first thing I did after the dog bit it was to close my fingers together to see if I could hold a pick. #I was lucky and he didn't do any tendon damage but it still took time to heal and get back up to speed. #I still don't have all the feeling back in parts of my forearm but as far as playing goes, I'm better than ever. #Hang in there, you can do it.
One positive for me was since I had to play at a slow speed I could work on correcting some bad habits I had developed over the years.

[C. Carr]

Make sure you adhere to your doctor's instructions and keep it splinted. I did the exact same thing to my right index finger in 1999. The next day we left on a week long cycling trip to Nova Scotia. Foolishly, I didn't keep up with the splint -- as a result I have a nice mallet finger. Great for picking: glad its not on my left hand, doubt it would work for fretting.

Regards,

Charlie

[jim_n_virginia]

+1 on exactly following the doctors advice. Hopefully it will heal ok. My brother-in-law had the same injury as you have and he didn't keep the splint on and went back to work early and now his middle finger in very bent at the first joint. He cant still do everything that he always did only he does it with a crooked finget. His doctors says if he wants they can fuse the joint in any position he wants but he declined.

Also one last thing if you do have to work around a finger disabilty. One of my best fiddler friends was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had a double mastectomy and they took out some muscles under her arms. The doctors told her she would never play the fiddle again.

Guess what? She's playing up a strom now, she had to relearn how to do things and holds the bow with a closed fist but I jammed with her last Tuesday and she is still a great Old Time fiddler.

good luck!

[Jim Roberts]

I had a the same injury to my ring finger on my left hand several years ago. #I had to play mandolin for six weeks Django style while the splint was on. #It did encourage me to learn two finger chords! #Leave the splint on for six weeks...never remove it! #I took the doctors orders and my finger is fine. #You may want to consider physical therapy one time after you get the splint off to learn some excercies to insure you get full mobility back.

Oh, the way I tore my tendon? #My wife and I were hurrying to get ready for an Allison Krause concert. #I was tucking in my boxer shorts full speed ahead with hands not quite dry from my shower and as I stuck my hand into the left leg of my Levi pants my ring finger somehow got caught on the jean material...pop goes the tendon!

[James P]

It's a frustating thing to go thru, I know. #When my left index was screwed up, I was still able to play keys. #So I killed the time working on notation reading and making ambient-ish backing tracks in Ableton Live. # #

Good time to work on your cross picking too, I guess. #Best of luck with the comeback. #Take it slow to avoid re-injury.

[bratsche]

My stand partner in the viola section in the opera orchestra had this same injury happen just before last season. #She said it was very freakish to see her finger go like that from just an unexpected ordinary movement, but that didn't hurt, either when it happened or at any time afterward. #But she did have to keep it immobilized like everyone has said here. Her doc told her that if she so much as moved it once, she would have to start the clock all over again on keeping it immobilized for the full amount of time required. #She missed the first 2 opera productions, but has been fine since it healed. #So, keep it in the splint!

bratsche

[jeff_75]

Thanks for the stories, folks. It is good to know that other musicians have suffered this injury and made a full recovery. I was reading some pretty dismal stuff on the web about these injuries. So far, I've been faithful about keeping it splinted and straight. About a month left to go.

I'd like to at least be able to tell a good story to explain the injury, but alas, I did it washing my Jeep.

[TonyP]

With all the docs that are around here and lurkers, I'm surprised there is not someone expain this. I was into volleyball years ago and one day while playing in Golden Gate park in SF. One of the players, just got up from the grass where he was resting and just fell over. His hamstring had come detached from the bone. They did surgery and to my surpise said it was actually going to be stronger than new! Do they not do that with hand tendons? Or like it looks like, it's possible to have it heal so nobdy does surgery(not that I'm into ANY kind of surgery, just curious). You know, you get to be 50 and the warranty is up and they don't make the parts anymore so throw that on the pile about things to worry about.

[Duc Vu]

I'm no orthopod, but here is some info:
Mallet finger,see pic. Splint to let tendon re-attach itself, premature flexing will tear it off again.