Getting back into playing with metal plates in your hand...

[DouglasJB]

Hello everyone, Yesterday I managed to break the 4th and 5th metacarpals in my right hand. the doctor mentioned after putting a few plates in my hand I could possibly have trouble getting back into playing due to the tension or strength of what I am pushing down. My question is can this problem mean I am no longer able to play on a certain type of horn? Such as a piston horn or a rotary horn? I understand it's his possible to put lighter springs in a piston horn or put less pressure on the Springs of a rotary horn, for those who have ever experience this comma what did you do? would it be a good idea to switch to a rotary horn? Would that be easier on my hand? please feel free to p.m. me or post thank you everyone for the help

[Michael Bush]

My question is can this problem mean I am no longer able to play on a certain type of horn? Such as a piston horn or a rotary horn?

To me, it seems like the thing to do is do your PT with all your might, and forget about selling or trading either tuba for now. You have equipment that will let you try out several different things as the PT begins to wind up. See how things feel then.

[MaryAnn]

I'll just note that you can play a rotary with splints on your fingers holding them perfectly straight, except for the thumb valve if there is one. With pistons, you can't do that.

[tbonesullivan]

OUCH!!! That really stinks. Was there any tendon damage?

I would wait until you have gone through PT to make any real determination. The plates can sometimes interfere with the tendons though, so definitely take care. A violinist in my orchestra broke her wrist, and somehow a screw worked it's way out, and wore through one of her tendons. She kept having swelling after playing. Thankfully it was her bowing arm.

[DouglasJB]

Thank you for the input so far, voice text is my friend right now. I won't know all the damage yet until I go in for surgery on Wednesday.

[tofu]

Many orthopedic surgeons like to prepare you for the worst case scenario. Many are also conditioned by patients who just don't put the time/effort into rehab and thus never get the best recovery they could. Many are also very conservative in how aggressive you should be in pushing yourself (this may be the result of past bad experience with malpractice claims).

Wait before you do anything with your horns. See how your rehab goes. Your physical therapist after your first couple visits will probably be able to give you a realistic diagnosis of your condition and what if any effect it will have on your valve ability after you complete treatment. People respond differently to rehab. There are many factors: age, your own physical constitution/genetics, your determination, ability to follow direction and putting in the time.

After 5 decades as a competitive athlete I've broken virtually every bone in the body (some multiple times). My favorite ortho really likes that I really push to the edge on my therapy. Some recoveries have been so good that several years later I had to ask him to look up which achilles tendon I tore as well as which rotator cuff. I have busted both hands and I use both piston and rotary valve horns and it has not caused me to not be able to use them. There are days where my old 185 with old S style linkages does cause pain after maybe an hour of playing. This is most likely a result of arthritis after all these years and ibuprofen will usually take care of it.

So listen to your physical therapist and doctor, push yourself to consistently do the rehab and stay upbeat. You very well can have a full recovery. It may take a bit but you will get there. Good Luck!

[scottw]

All good advice! The biggest piece is to do your PT to the very best of your ability.I play a Mirafone rotary with a titanium plate 1.25 x 7" down the back of my hand and wrist, what's called a full fusion of the wrist. Prior to surgery, I went through with my surgeon exactly what movement I needed to do to play tuba. She then set the slight angle of the wrist so that I was able to easily access the paddles. The only playing "discomfort" I have is that the hand/wrist is tight from that extra metal in there taking up space. You may not need a plate but only screws. Other than "Do your PT", the other #1 priority for you is to make sure your surgeon is a HAND surgeon, not a general ortho. I cannot stress that enough: generalists just do not have the skills and experience to work on hands. To be a hand ortho specialist, you must be among the upper 2% of all ortho docs in med school--think about that one!
good luck!

[DouglasJB]

Had surgery on my hand yesterday morning and what the doctor said is everything went smoothly. He is going to try to get me into physical therapy for my hand as soon as possible. Thank you to everyone who has provided input or advice so far

[scottw]

Had surgery on my hand yesterday morning and what the doctor said is everything went smoothly. He is going to try to get me into physical therapy for my hand as soon as possible. Thank you to everyone who has provided input or advice so far

Excellent! Do your therapy [again, from an experienced HAND PT!] and enjoy the corn husk machine!
Scottw