Lefty Guy Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 A week ago I broke my left shoulder whilst on a biz trip abroad. Bummer....quite apart from the pain, no driving for a month, can't write & worst of all no guitar playing for at least 6 weeks! Hell, one week in & I'm bored & frustrated. Dr said it could take 6-9 months to get back near normal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 Oh my God! I'm deeply sorry for you, mate. Staying calm and serene might help best. Healing takes patience. My best wishes for your complete recovery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lefty Guy Posted October 3, 2015 Author Share Posted October 3, 2015 Oh my God! I'm deeply sorry for you, mate. Staying calm and serene might help best. Healing takes patience. My best wishes for your complete recovery. thx and guess where i did it? Munich! visited Oktoberfest one evening & tripped on tram lines running across road to hotel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 Oh no! :o How long did you have to stay in Munich for medical care? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuroAussie Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 Must have been one rough meeting .... don't supposed it was with the VW board .. ? get well soon Lefty ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 thx and guess where i did it? Munich! visited Oktoberfest one evening & tripped on tram lines running across road to hotel. My wife fell and got her nose jammed in the tram line. Couldn't pull her out. I had to grab her ankles and push her back to the terminus. Get well soon Lefty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duluthdan Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 Going to be a long six weeks, and probably a little more. bog time bummer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boyd Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 Wow Lefty, that's too bad. Get well soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 My wife fell and got her nose jammed in the tram line. Couldn't pull her out. I had to grab her ankles and push her back to the terminus. Get well soon Lefty BBG, Wow! I hope she's alright. That happens more than you would think. That's why they have 2 rails: so the faster husbands can pass the slower ones and ge their wivest to the terminal before the train. Lefty, any chance of diddling with a left handed, or even a right handed uke? Just to keep from going crazy. If the docs say 6-9 months, I'd think optimistically. But, in reality - your muscles will lose much of their tone (no pun intended) and your coordination will be affected. If you have a wide body (guitar) you might find it less comfortable to play for even longer. I did something minor to my right shoulder (i'm a righty) maybe 'rotaor cuff injury". But I had a hard time playing because the wide lower bout tends to pull the upper arm out from the joint. It took 3 or 4 months to 'heal', and it seemed rest, moderate exercise and laying off the SJ200 completely may have been what finally fixed it. Of course - your injury is different. Still, you might want to consider shopping around for an extra thin body acoustic. G'Luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaiser Bill Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 Truly sorry to hear this. Reminds me of the time I sliced off all my callouses while making cole slaw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lefty Guy Posted October 3, 2015 Author Share Posted October 3, 2015 Oh no! :o How long did you have to stay in Munich for medical care? managed to get a flight home next day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lefty Guy Posted October 3, 2015 Author Share Posted October 3, 2015 BBG, Wow! I hope she's alright. That happens more than you would think. That's why they have 2 rails: so the faster husbands can pass the slower ones and ge their wivest to the terminal before the train. Lefty, any chance of diddling with a left handed, or even a right handed uke? Just to keep from going crazy. If the docs say 6-9 months, I'd think optimistically. But, in reality - your muscles will lose much of their tone (no pun intended) and your coordination will be affected. If you have a wide body (guitar) you might find it less comfortable to play for even longer. I did something minor to my right shoulder (i'm a righty) maybe 'rotaor cuff injury". But I had a hard time playing because the wide lower bout tends to pull the upper arm out from the joint. It took 3 or 4 months to 'heal', and it seemed rest, moderate exercise and laying off the SJ200 completely may have been what finally fixed it. Of course - your injury is different. Still, you might want to consider shopping around for an extra thin body acoustic. G'Luck. uke is a good idea, thx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly campbell Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 Wow that is too bad best wishes to you and a quick recovery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 managed to get a flight home next day Thank you for your reply. This relieves me a bit. I hope your flight was as convenient as possible under the given circumstances. I keep on crossing my fingers for you, Lefty! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 So sorry to hear about your injury. Of course, it had to be the left shoulder for a lefty. Most all of us wonder what we would do if we were no longer able to have the guitar as a musical/creative outlet. The ideas suggested above are good ones, and another possibility would be the travel guitar. I've found the Wasburn Rover to be the most guitar-like of them all: Described nicely by this reviewer, the Rover (~$175), unlike the Martin Backpacker, has a 23.75" bound neck that actually feels like a guitar neck, nice open-back tuners, and even can be found in a 'burst. As with any travel guitar, they are a quieter instrument, and playing in a car at open highway speeds in anything other than a Rolls or Bentley would probably benefit from a pickup. Best wishes (and patience) for a speedy recovery- your guitars will sound amazing when you return to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lefty Guy Posted October 3, 2015 Author Share Posted October 3, 2015 So sorry to hear about your injury. Of course, it had to be the left shoulder for a lefty. Most all of us wonder what we would do if we were no longer able to have the guitar as a musical/creative outlet. The ideas suggested above are good ones, and another possibility would be the travel guitar. I've found the Wasburn Rover to be the most guitar-like of them all: Described nicely by this reviewer, the Rover (~$175), unlike the Martin Backpacker, has a 23.75" bound neck that actually feels like a guitar neck, nice open-back tuners, and even can be found in a 'burst. As with any travel guitar, they are a quieter instrument, and playing in a car at open highway speeds in anything other than a Rolls or Bentley would probably benefit from a pickup. Best wishes (and patience) for a speedy recovery- your guitars will sound amazing when you return to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jannusguy2 Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 I have a pal here in Fla. who regularly traveled in Europe. Sightseeing and skiing. He had a skiing accident in Germany and really messed up his leg. So bad they had to put a pin in it. Anyway, he was hospitalized for around 6 weeks before he was well enough to go home. He told me he gathered his things and was shown to the "cashier" where he was presented with a bill for approximately $200.00 for some meds I think he said. At that time they made him an appt. to return year later for a follow up also, essentially, at no charge.. Might have been wiser to have your injury treated over there unless you have some screaming insurance over here..just a thought. Get well soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse_Dylan Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 Lots of wishes for peace of mind and healthy, speedy recovery. The main thing is to find a healthy replacement behavior. It sounds like guitar is pretty darn important to you. These alternate instrument ideas are all pretty smart. I suppose multiple healthy replacement behaviors would really be the thing. I've had long periods of busy-ness and depression where I didn't play guitar at all (longer than 6 weeks). Vicious cycle, because not playing guitar can be depressing as well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikeo Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 A week ago I broke my left shoulder whilst on a biz trip abroad. Bummer....quite apart from the pain, no driving for a month, can't write & worst of all no guitar playing for at least 6 weeks! Hell, one week in & I'm bored & frustrated. Dr said it could take 6-9 months to get back near normal. I fell on the ice on my own walkway. Jan 2015 I went down like old people, and didn't even know I fell till I hit the ground. Ouchie. My left shoulder pulled away bit, but I popped it back into place. Oh, did that hurt. I wasn't gonna go to ER, but 6 hours later I was at the ER, just to make sure things were in the right spot. I was ok as far as things being in the right place, but that where it all started. I couldn't drive, especially a standard shift. 2 weeks. I did a follow up at my primary physician and he asked me where I have been for the last 4-5 years. I told him I have been feeling pretty good up until the fall. He gave me some exercises to do so my shoulder would not freeze up. I could sleep well, but slept on the same side all night. Motion is all I took. 2 weeks into it I could finally close the car door. I took the local dirty cab to work for those 2 weeks. 6 bucks in 6 bucks back home. Hey, itt adds up, plus I was tipping the guy. One cabbie preached to me in the van, and told me about Jesus and how he could heal my shoulder. Anyway I ended up at an orthopedic surgeon about 6 weeks later, he said if it didn't get better in 2 more week do PT. This all started in Jan, but now it's ealry April and I was in PT. The PT girls were amazing. More evaluation, more exercises.2 times a day at home, and 2 trips to PT weekly. 4 weeks into PT, my now partially frozen should releases. The release didn't hurt, it just happens when they were stretching out my shoulder. I love these 2 girls so much if our spouses ever passed I'd look em up a marry both of in in a heart beat. :D I continued with PT till mid May with strength training and stretching. So what I did since I could not stretch my arm far enough to make chords on the open through about 3 fret position is I put on a capo and kept my fingers going at the 7th fret. I also wrote lyrics to possible songs play guitar around that. 6 weeks is a long time. My lesson through all of this, is to fall on work place property and not my own property :D It will go by quickly and do only what you can do. If the doctor says don't use it, don't use it. Some light daily paying actually helped me. I'm almost 100% now, but my shoulder still gets stiff and the range of motion may never be what it once was. Too top it all off when going to the primary doctor, they found out my blood pressure was slightly elevated. I have been on different medications while they tweak it all out. One trip to the ER caise my leg was gong numb. Might have been the wrong meds for me I think they got me on the right stuff now. I have been to more doctors appointment this year than in my total combined 53 years on earth. I have a colonoscopy this Friday too. They finally got me there. Better safe than sorry. If you can move it at all, the mandolin is quite a nice instrument to work with. I have been playing mandolin for 25 years. I bought another mandolin in May of this year. It's a Gibson F5G and it sounds great. Tuned by Dave Harvey. I feel your pain. Make sure once things get healed you do PT if it is recommended and do your homework Twice a if it is what is needed. The bonus with the 2 gals that I had at PT, they were cute and so lovely. Peace and best wishes in your recovery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissouriPicker Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 Damn, sorry to hear that, Lefty. Life has a way of getting in the way of what we want to do. The uke is a good idea. Maybe a lap guitar/dobro would work too. Hope you're back at your guitars sooner than expected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lefty Guy Posted October 3, 2015 Author Share Posted October 3, 2015 I fell on the ice on my own walkway. Jan 2015 I went down like old people, and didn't even know I fell till I hit the ground. Ouchie. My left shoulder pulled away bit, but I popped it back into place. Oh, did that hurt. I wasn't gonna go to ER, but 6 hours later I was at the ER, just to make sure things were in the right spot. I was ok as far as things being in the right place, but that where it all started. I couldn't drive, especially a standard shift. 2 weeks. I did a follow up at my primary physician and he asked me where I have been for the last 4-5 years. I told him I have been feeling pretty good up until the fall. He gave me some exercises to do so my shoulder would not freeze up. I could sleep well, but slept on the same side all night. Motion is all I took. 2 weeks into it I could finally close the car door. I took the local dirty cab to work for those 2 weeks. 6 bucks in 6 bucks back home. Hey, itt adds up, plus I was tipping the guy. One cabbie preached to me in the van, and told me about Jesus and how he could heal my shoulder. Anyway I ended up at an orthopedic surgeon about 6 weeks later, he said if it didn't get better in 2 more week do PT. This all started in Jan, but now it's ealry April and I was in PT. The PT girls were amazing. More evaluation, more exercises.2 times a day at home, and 2 trips to PT weekly. 4 weeks into PT, my now partially frozen should releases. The release didn't hurt, it just happens when they were stretching out my shoulder. I love these 2 girls so much if our spouses ever passed I'd look em up a marry both of in in a heart beat. :D I continued with PT till mid May with strength training and stretching. So what I did since I could not stretch my arm far enough to make chords on the open through about 3 fret position is I put on a capo and kept my fingers going at the 7th fret. I also wrote lyrics to possible songs play guitar around that. 6 weeks is a long time. My lesson through all of this, is to fall on work place property and not my own property :D It will go by quickly and do only what you can do. If the doctor says don't use it, don't use it. Some light daily paying actually helped me. I'm almost 100% now, but my shoulder still gets stiff and the range of motion may never be what it once was. Too top it all off when going to the primary doctor, they found out my blood pressure was slightly elevated. I have been on different medications while they tweak it all out. One trip to the ER caise my leg was gong numb. Might have been the wrong meds for me I think they got me on the right stuff now. I have been to more doctors appointment this year than in my total combined 53 years on earth. I have a colonoscopy this Friday too. They finally got me there. Better safe than sorry. If you can move it at all, the mandolin is quite a nice instrument to work with. I have been playing mandolin for 25 years. I bought another mandolin in May of this year. It's a Gibson F5G and it sounds great. Tuned by Dave Harvey. I feel your pain. Make sure once things get healed you do PT if it is recommended and do your homework Twice a if it is what is needed. The bonus with the 2 gals that I had at PT, they were cute and so lovely. Peace and best wishes in your recovery. thx....Dr basically told me not to try to use my left shoulder at all for 3-4 weeks...in case i displace the bone further....i'd better be patient Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 Sorry to hear that! Either a guitar free holiday begun or maybe online singing lessons or eeeeekk .....harmonica.... to keep you busy.... BluesKing777. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fullmental Alpinist Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 Lefty, sorry to hear that. Best wishes on a speedier recovery. Where's Mr. Gibs when we need him? He had shoulder surgery awhile back so maybe he could offer some insight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 LG, another piece of the marginally amusing info I specialize in. When you are at the stage of being ready for Therapy.... In the US, the Orthopedic docs direct you to a Therapist group and tell them in general what he did to you and what they need to work with you on. "Improve range of motion." Improve dexterity," etc. You will hopefully be assigned a Therapist (college graduate, professionally certified) permanently and not bounced from one to the other so (s)he can provide continuity of care. If not, you might request you get scheduled with the same one, even if it requires your being more flexible with your schedule. Finally, find out (from the Therapists name tag?) what kind of Therapist she is. If she is an OCCUPATIONAL Therapist, don't keep calling her a PHYSICAL therapist. That's as insulting as calling a guitar player a banjo player. In general, Physical Therapists deal with walking and sitting and getting up and down. Occupational Therapists deal with hands, arms, and all the things they do. Speech Therapists deal with eating, swallowing, drinking, and even speech! Sometimes there is overlap between the three specialties - but I imagine in your case you would be the exclusive property of what we call an OT here in the US. G'Luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flatbaroque Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 Yea hope the recovery goes well Lefty. I've broken my right arm once and my left wrist twice (needed a bone graft).So use of both is affected a bit...but not enough to stop me having some guitar fun...you'll be back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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