broken hand

[eloquentmichael]

hi, i'm new to this site and am hoping to hear other people's experiences.  i broke my right hand 3 weeks ago and i'm going to be in plaster for another few weeks yet.  i know that there will be some stiffness in my hand/wrist and possibly muscle wastage so it will probably take an age before i can return to the repertoire i'm used to.  i was just wondering whether anyone knows how long it's likely to take after i'm out of plaster before i'll be able to consider playing again.  days? weeks? longer?  i feel so bored and depressed at the moment although i'm trying to keep some sense of momentum by playing one handed.

cheers, m

[rc]

Whoa, just try not to go insane!

Well, just about everyone has a less coordinated left hand. This would be a prime opprotunity to develop a strong left hand, after the cast comes off you will be a superman for your weeks of LH training. Didn't Ravel write a concerto for LH only? You'll have cast iron patience by the end as well .

What'd you do to bust yourself up?

[eloquentmichael]

hi there,

i fell over which wouldn't have been too bad had i not got my arm trampled on.  hadn't even been drinking.  dammit i felt stupid.

i never thought of it in terms of an opportunity ... just goes to show you can put a positive spin on most things!  ravel did indeed write a concerto for one hand, it's underplayed somewhat but is really stunning, i have a cd with both his piano concertos on it.  i had thought about trying to find the part for that as ravel should provide me with a serious challenge.

do you know of any good piano exercises or anything to get the weak and probably sore hand back to normality once i'm out of cast?

cheers, michael

[gorbee natcase]

Which hand did you break, if it was your better hand then this is an opportunity to become real good with the other, Have to look on the bright side

[bearzinthehood]

I broke my right hand playing hockey 6 years ago.  Fortunately it was a only a mild fracture and didn't require any setting, and it healed just fine.

I don't remember the healing process too well, it's been a while.  I do remember that it still hurt for a while after the cast came off.   I went right back to playing piano though, and I played left handed while the cast was on.  I remember playing around with transcribing Bach inventions for left hand and the like.

Anyways, it's not really a big deal IMO, I don't really feel any permanent effects from the injury and I'm sure there are plenty of very good pianists who have had similar injuries.

[lombardian]

I fractured my hand as well playing baseball about 5 years ago. Metacarpal or something like that. Anyway, I was in plaster for about 6 weeks, and I worked on the brahms transcription of the bach choconne for the left hand during that time. It works just fine now, no problems. I wouldnt worry about it too much. And yes, there is a bit of muscle atrophy at first lol. My wrist was like, half the size it should have been when oi got the cast off... but that went away in about a week. So don sweat it...

[stringoverstrung]

How long will it take?

You have to learn to know your body well and then you will feel when it has healed. Be very careful though: persistent injuries often result from doing too much too soon. Avoid stretching your hand too far in the beginning. There is no hurry: practice your LH and it will benefit your right hand. One famous pianist (can't recall who it was) broke his hand when he was 12 and he had to practice 5 weeks with his LH alone. No damage done.

Good luck and get well soon.

[nsvppp]

I once broke my hand as well and when the plaster came off I could do "everything" with my hand again. But it was so very stiff, especially my pinky. So piano playing was a nice exercise to make my hand supple again.
I even tried to play with my hand in plaster. But as I couldn't spread my fingers that didn't work out well.

So good luck with your hand.

[eloquentmichael]

hi again,

thanks so much for all your replies.  i guess i have got what i really needed which was some reassurance that all will return to normal within a few months and that this injury won't affect my playing in the long term.  my orthopaedic specialist told me that this shouldn't stop me playing again in the future, but then again he's a doctor not a pianist.  it's good to know that other people have been through similar and come out the other side still playing.

i'm taking all the advice on board from people who have had similar injuries and practise left-handed for a while, and ease the right hand back into playing gently whenever i feel ready.  rach might have to go on hold for a while though....

great tips too for pieces you can play with one hand, so thanks for them.

cheers,
a relieved and very much happier michael

[jamie_liszt]

Hey, I havn't got a broken hand or anything but my whole third finger is a little red and swollen, a huge cut and an ingrown nail, its infected. so i cannot play, but i can still work on some left hand pieces

[ilsa]

Well, I didn't break my hand, but I've broken my arm before, above the elbow joint.  I spent 6 weeks in plaster and when it came off, couldn't even lift my hand on my own due to muscle wastage.  If you go through physiotherapy it takes a while to get back to normal, probably about a 3 weeks to month but it could vary according to different persons. 

All in all, I stopped piano for about 3 months, delayed an exam for half a year.   

[hodi]

i had my hand broken 2 years ago. (broken somewhere near the pinky)
i had plaster for 3 weeks, and after those 3 weeks i could barely move my hand. it took 2 months after removing the plaster that my hand was fully moveable and painless.

[eloquentmichael]

thanks for your replies.  it's really encouraging to hear that so many people have recovered well from such injuries and continue to play.
m