Today I've destroyed the tip of my left middle finger.

[Kitsto]

It depends on whether you've lost any bone. When I was a kid I cut the end of my left index finger off with an axe (it was an accident; I didn't do it because I wondered what it would be like!).

 

All that was left was a crescent of the bottom bit of the nail. I missed the bone but you could see it. My brother looked for the finger tip but couldn't find it. The hospital wanted to do a skin graft from my bum to my finger but I told my mum no. She agreed.

 

The skin and nail grew back and within about 18 months you couldn't tell. The pad of skin at the finger tip was still a bit thin. But I started playing classical guitar a couple of years later and I don't remember that being affected in any way.

 

From what you said (stitching the tip back on) it sounds as if you missed the bone. In which case the tip should grow back. This may take a while. But there's hope yet.

 

I always assumed Tony Iommi took off some of the bone too, hence the need for plastic fingertips and detuned strings. Still, he got a new type of heavy metal music out of it and a career.

 

 

Edited August 3 by Kitsto

[Horrorhiker]

On 22/07/2024 at 19:23, Jackroadkill said:

Whilst pulling up a fence post today, I caught my finger between the post and the chain that was being used to remove it.  One trip to A&E later and they've sewn it back on but there's every expectation that the repair will fail and I'll have no flesh left on that fingertip.  The Royal Shrewsbury Hospital team that did the job were absolutely brilliant - I can't stress this enough.  The efficiency and the skill that they worked with was humbling to watch.

 

As it stands though, there's not much hope for the fingertip (which is being held on by 11 stitches):

 

 

It looks like I'll be re-learning how to play bass when it has healed.  Does anyone have any experience of an injury like this and the road back to playing?

 

Thanks,

 

JRK

 

 

Hello! I just happened to catch this. 

 

(*GRIM FINGER INJURY STORY TRIGGER WARNING*)

 

Funny enough I was thinking lately about posting about my own finger injury. 

 

In 1999 I was in my first job at Tesco and left on the spur of the moment. The only job available locally was in an abbatoir packing plant. (I can't believe I did this as I'm now a fairly big animal advocate and a vegetarian). Anyway, after 1 week there, I was on a machine that derinded joints of meat, lost my concentration and felt a small tug to my finger. No pain to speak of. Looked down to find a lot of claret and the tip and one side of my right index finger absent..bone visible at the tip. Just stood there in a bit of shock I guess, until someone noticed, and called the first aider over. The event is imprinted on my brain and I really remember peoples faces as I was led out of the room. Sweet Like Chocolate by Shanks and Bigfoot was playing on the radio. 

 

I'd started playing bass in 1993 and was doing ok in a light touring metal band. We had a mini tour a fortnight after. I had a lightbulb of bandages on my finger like yours. My solution was that I gaffer taped a pick to my third finger and did the gigs. Every time it would result in the bandage failing and blood flying everywhere by the end of the gig. A bit painful, but fully metal. I don't recommend it obviously as this no doubt prolonged my recovery, but i did get through it. Also it got me and the band in the local press! 

 

Since then, I've found fingerstyle a challenge because I'm basically plucking with bone. So I switched to pick playing after my finger healed and played that way ever since. However, I've recently started relearning playing with my fingers as a challenge to myself and it's miles better after persevering a bit, and I'm wondering if a lot of it was always psychological. It's not painful per se, it just feels weird more than anything. It has been 25 years since I seriously tried to play fingerstyle and I wish I started straight after healing now, so that's a bit of advice I guess. Anyway, so that's why I was going to ask for tips on here myself (no pun intended).

 

So basically, I believe it is possible that you can play virtually as normal when healed, even if the tip goes as mine did. It'll feel a bit strange, but mine feels like very light pins and needles at worst. Cold is a bit of a problem, and can cause a dull ache.  I'm assuming thats your fretting hand? Which I would say is easier on the finger than if it was on the plucking hand too. I don't know the full ins and outs but I believe fully that it will be a much better experience getting playing again than you imagine. Different hand/finger but the most inconvinient thing I have is that I can't open ring pulls with my index finger, but I've been playing the bass with no real difficulty since it healed. 

 

Just to say, One weird thing that happened to me is that when the finger healed, the skin pulled to the side, so that my scar moved round a bit from where the injury actually happened, so that could happen. The waiting game is the hardest bit, but once you actually get playing again, it'll feel great. 

 

Re the tip, I'd say fingers crossed, but maybe just a simple 'good luck' will suffice!

 

P.S Watch out for infections..get it seen at the merest hint of pain/redness/weird smell. My wound got pretty badly infected and I had to have it scrubbed after having a 5 injection nerve block in some very painful places. That was not the best day out!

 

I hope all goes well anyway! 

 

[Jackroadkill]

2 hours ago, Horrorhiker said:

Sweet Like Chocolate by Shanks and Bigfoot was playing on the radio. 

 

Just to add insult to injury - literally!

 

Thanks for the solidarity; my injury is fixing itself, it would appear, but very.... very.... slowly.  I'm doing as little with it as possible, and instead of having to go every week to have it looked at I'm now on three-weekly appointments.  The consultant seems happy, so I'm cautiously optimistic.

 

I have played my bass as much as I've felt able to, but three fingers on the fretting hand takes some getting used to, especially when the inoperable one gets in the way of the three that are having to work harder to make up for it.  Still, it's still attached, so I won't complain too much.

 

Cheers,

 

JRK

[rOB]

Wishing you all the best

[12stringbassist]

Good that you're managing to play. Rooting for you.
Be patient while you heal.
Keep us posted.

[PaulThePlug]

1 hour ago, 12stringbassist said:

Rooting for you...

🤣

[MoonBassAlpha]

2 hours ago, PaulThePlug said:

🤣

I fifth that!

[Desbass]

I feel and share your pain. I have started to develop

Dupuytren's contracture  in my right hand and was told that there wasn't much that could be done, except an operation on the hand when it became too restricting, I then broke my wrist in a bizarre gardening accident! (Usually happens to Spinal Trap drummers) and have lost the feeling in my left hand middle finger so no more Johny Cash poses! I struggle on with it but I do feel that I'll never feel the response from my hands when I'm playing that I felt before the accidents. An upside is whenever I make an absolute arse of any bassline I'm playing I can always play the "doing the best I can with MAJOR hand issues" card.

Edited August 28 by Desbass

[Downunderwonder]

2 hours ago, Desbass said:

then broke my wrist in a bizarre gardening accident! (Usually happens to Spinal Trap drummers) and have lost the feeling in my left hand middle finger so no more Johny Cash poses! I struggle on with it but I do feel that I'll never feel the response from my hands

You should get that seen to with a nerve conduction study to confirm and most likely an MRI so see if there is anything to be done about helping the nerve to regrow.

[Jackroadkill]

 

 

Okay, so this is the earliest juncture at which I felt I could provide meaningful picture without causing anyone to lose their dinner;  It's all still very delicate as well as only having a small amount of feeling in it.  I tried fretting a couple of notes just now and it didn't go well - it hurt like hell and I couldn't really feel what I was doing.  Now, neither of these came as a surprise, as the skin is still really thin after the whole lot was sloughed off in a oner during a dressing-change a couple of weeks back.  It's improving daily, though, which is good.  A week ago the finger was about 3mm thicker front to back than it is in the above pictures, and it seems to be getting less swollen every day, although any decent activity with it causes the rate to slow.

 

It's never going to look pretty but it does appear that given plenty of time and some faux-physio it'll come right.  I have a gig in December (only with a local Scout group!) so I'd like to be able to play a little at that.

 

Cheers,

 

JRK

[ezbass]

Looking ‘good’, at least it’s still there. Hopefully, it’ll harden up.

[Downunderwonder]

You won't need a post it note in your classifieds.

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

Looking good. I'm sure that will heal up nicely in time.

[Downunderwonder]

Or an action figure. You have an action finger.

[Desbass]

Hopefully it'll get good enough for a not too strenuous gig. I've found myself starting to alter the way I use my left hand if I notice a riff feeling "odd". It varies from gig to gig. It depends on a lot of different factors so just persevere and I'm sure you'll find a way to get "back in the saddle".

[12stringbassist]

Maybe occasional use of a rubber thimble might help.

[Bassfinger]

A one Mr T. Iommi of Birmingham is worth reading up on if you're after advice for playing with missing fingertips.

[TimR]

I think that will heal well. 

 

I shut my right mouse finger in my toolbox on Sunday. It's cut and sore and frustrating as I have a lot of cutting and pasting at work. No playing for a week or so. 

[ubit]

I  did this four years ago.

 

I went to the medic and he said I am going to have to stitch that. I nearly passed out.

 

I was lying down with my arm out and said to him when are you going to stitch it? Steeling myself for the experience.

 

Oh, Ive done it he said. I never felt a thing. He was brilliant.

 

It still gets numb and I don't think I will ever have feeling on the end of my finger pad, but I can play again. It took a long time before I could put pressure on

 

it though.

[ubit]

Many years ago I crushed my index finger of my fretting hand under a very heavy belly plate of a Cat D9 bulldozer. 

It was agony. I went to the hospital to get it checked and they just dressed it. No stitches.

It took ages to heal and at one point the doctor told me that it had become infected, and it was possible I would have to have the top of my finger removed.

We were very busy with playing at the time and I was terrified.

Luckily it was ok and gradually healed.

I have been left with a wonky looking finger tip now and the nail grows off to the side.

Again, this took a long time before I could comfortably play with it, but my mate, the guitarist insisted we play a gig we had booked less than a week after I had done this. I said I can't play with this. Oh, you'll be fine, he said.

Foolishly I agreed and had to play trying to avoid using that finger. It was a horrible experience and probably put my recovery back, because muscle memory kept kicking in and I would fret my index finger, which resulted in a lot of pain shooting up my hand.

I am also the singer so this made for some strange noises coming from the PA.

All I can say is let your injury heal itself and don't try to rush it. It will take time, but you will be able to play again.

Edited September 25 by ubit

[Jackroadkill]

Well, tonight I actually played using all four fingers for the first time since the end of July!  It hurt, my dexterity in that finger has gone to hell and I couldn't make it do anything like what I wanted it to do, really, but I played my bass...

 

I'm feeling a bit overcome, really.  Not like X-Factor "ohmygodthisissohugeeeee" overcome, but a bit of relief is definitely in evidence.  I only played for five minutes as the skin is as thin as tissue paper, but I think that a few more minutes each day, or maybe every other day, should be a good start.  The swelling is 90% down now and that weird hammer-head section in the second picture above is pretty much flattened out.

 

Cheers,

 

JRK

[Lozz196]

Good to hear your on your way Jack

[Desbass]

That's good news. Hopefully you'll continue to regain the feeling in your finger. Two years on from my own injury and the feeling is a whole lot better than it was.

[Nice Guy Rich]

@Jackroadkill I hope you're healing well.

 

This thread proves that whilst we can throw money at different basses, amps, pickups, leads and strings etc, the most important thing we have is our hands. 

 

Back in 2010 I had an accident at work and my left hand went through a window.  I completely severed the median nerve and completely severed both tendons, as a result I now have little to no feeling in my left thumb and the first two fingers on my left hand, I didn't play for over a year but now, I play in my church's worship team and I hardly notice the loss of feeling.

 

Look after your hands.

 

[Jackroadkill]

4 hours ago, Nice Guy Rich said:

@Jackroadkill I hope you're healing well.

 

This thread proves that whilst we can throw money at different basses, amps, pickups, leads and strings etc, the most important thing we have is our hands. 

 

Back in 2010 I had an accident at work and my left hand went through a window.  I completely severed the median nerve and completely severed both tendons, as a result I now have little to no feeling in my left thumb and the first two fingers on my left hand, I didn't play for over a year but now, I play in my church's worship team and I hardly notice the loss of feeling.

 

Look after your hands.

 

 

Cheers Rich - thanks for the encouraging tale.  My finger is healing reasonably well but it's still feeling very fizzy where the wound is, if you see what I mean.