Any recommended exercises for fractured left pinky and index finger?

January 25, 2011 at 12:31 PM ·

Best to keep the hand stable and not attempt to do anything with the fingers that might retard the healing process or interfere with it.  The fingers are among the weakest parts of our bodies.

Although I haven't had the hand injury you described, I did have a broken tibia, or shinbone, as a kid, the result of a skiing mishap.  It was totally preventable; but you know the way we can be as kids sometimes -- the little daredevil in me had gotten the upper hand out on the slopes.

The doc initially predicted that I would be cast-bound for 90 days -- although this ended up being only 60 days.  One of the things I remember him telling me about helping a fractured and re-set bone to heal is: Don't put any weight on it.

One of my violin teachers had a hand injury similar to yours.  I remember that he had a splint or some kind of support on the affected part of the hand for 3-4 weeks.  But he recovered and played just as great as always when the hand was sound again.

It can seem like the end of the world.  I know -- I was there.  But you will recover.  I did.  Whatever your level of playing ability before the mishap, this ability is still there, as my teacher's experience proved.  Work closely with the doc on this, give it the time it needs, and protect the hand.  "Better to want what you don't have than to have what you don't want."

Keep us posted.

January 25, 2011 at 04:54 PM ·

Make sure the doctor knows you are a serious violinist, and that regaining full strength and mobility are crucial.  (This should help you score a referral to a hand therapist.  If there's one in your area who specializes in musicians' ills, all the better.)  Ask if there are things you can do in the meantime, or if you just need to let it be.  Is your doctor a hand guy, or the knee specialist who happened to be on call?  If it's anything more than a simple break, it might not hurt to double-check with an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in hands now.

July 10, 2011 at 06:23 PM ·

I broke my left pinky three weeks ago playing basketball with the cub scouts. My physician, who consulted a hand specialist,  has me in a modified splint; just the top of the finger is protected, and it is taped only from the mid-joint to knuckle. He said that to keep my finger mobile for playing the violin/viola it needed to move as it heals (I know, completely unexpected advise given it's a broken bone). The metal splint had a 20 degree bend in it the first week, then straightened to 10 degrees, then in the third week he told me I was to remove it completely. I am trying to follow his advise but it isn't easy. Without the support the finger burns like crazy; when I can't stand it I resplint it and take a couple of Advil. With this method he said I would not need any specialized exercises afterward. Let's hope he is right. Three weeks from now I intend to start playing again, and I will find out if mobility is an issue.

July 10, 2011 at 11:18 PM ·

Greetings,

`staying in shape` has a very specific meaning which you can focus on to tremendous advantage.  Although mind and body are essentially the same thing (the Cartesian division is a fallacy in my book)   all movement orignates in mental signals the strength and clarity of which are reflected in the precision of our technique (Read that on a cornflake packet).

Thus, violin playing is not so much about moving the finger sas precision of programming in ciomputer terms.  So now is a great time to really work on vizualization and mental practice.   If you are sufficently motivated and thoughtful you can actually learn a cocnerto or two in this time and by mentally watching,  feeling and hearing yourself play the works in question you will be able to give thwem a remarkably good first shot when you actually paly them for the first time.

BTW there wa san old Eutrpean tradition of teaching in which one had to memorize a work before picking up the violin,. Compare this with Anne Sophie Mutter who learns things on the piano and I suspect Milstein did a lot of his work on the keyboard as well.  there is a connection.  The violinitslef is actually something of a hindrance.

Cheers

Buri

July 12, 2011 at 12:26 PM ·

If you tape your fingers together, you  can't palm the ball...

July 12, 2011 at 06:58 PM ·

 try to remember there are twelve year old adults reading this.

July 13, 2011 at 02:10 PM ·

Adults with the maturity of a twelve year old? ;)

July 13, 2011 at 07:05 PM ·

 that@s my ambition...

July 22, 2011 at 02:14 PM ·

Here's an update on the unconventional treatment of using a modified splint for two weeks then removing all support (see earlier message)..... I am now in week 5 of this treatment after fracturing my left pinky. Week 3 was painful and I re-splinted my finger and took two Motrin when my finger started throbbing. Week four was entirely without the splint, and I just took extra care not to bump it. Here it is week 5, and it is feeling quite good. I am typing this message without pain, the finger is flexing with some stiffness but I have started (gently) playing the piano again. I haven't tried the violin yet; I am waiting for week 6, when the bone is officially "healed".