Painful calluses

[e2c]

...the pain is an indication that something is wrong and ignoring this sensation or trying to push through it may lead to prolonged or even permanent injuries.

[bkidd]

if we go back to the original post by Brian Lynch, he was asking for suggestions or people's experience for how to deal with painful calluses. while repeated pressure and friction between a drum and hands can lead to calluses, the "really painful" part is what caught my attention. in my experience calluses themselves are not painful, but splitting, tearing, and blistering can be. in addition, bone bruising or joint damage caused by hitting the drum can also be very painful. the suggestions for using shea butter, soaking one's hands, and rest seem to be the best strategies for dealing with acute pain associated with drumming. however, i read Brian's post to be that he's having chronic pain so this might be a technique and drum issue. trying to play through this type of situation, as Bops has pointed out, won't help.

cheers,
-brian

[bkidd]

one other thing, it would be good to hear back from Brian on how things are going. this thread is a few months old at this point. i hope Brian has found a solution that has allowed him to continue to enjoy drumming (both during and after). if this is something that comes and goes, then maybe your hands and joints have become hyper-sensitized, which might require more vigilant attention and care/retraining.

Best,
-Brian

[e2c]

An MD who was in a drum class with me told us that there is some danger of developing what the medicos call "felons" - actual infections in the palms and fingers - from the kind of thing Brian Lynch talked about in his opening post.

These kinds of infections can have very serious consequences - bone loss was one thing the doc cited. (This came up after our teacher mentioned that he wanted to get his fingers calloused all the way down to his palm. The doc advised him not to, and described what Brian talked about.)

I'm no MD, so I can't verify, but this guy had treated people with infections in their hands. That's why he warned us about them.

(and afaik, soaking one's hands in salty water is helpful with healing... can help keep infections at bay if there are oozy blisters and the like.)

[e2c]

Info. on many kinds of hand infections (includes felons and other problems that can affect anyone doing lots of work with their hands):

http://www.assh.org/Public/HandConditio ... tions.aspx

here's the intro. -

Urgency of treatment of hand infections

Hand infections can cause severe problems that persist even after the infection has resolved, such as stiffness, loss of strength, and even loss of tissues such as skin, nerve and even bone. Thus early and aggressive treatment of hand infections is essential. When seen early, some infections can be treated with antibiotics, local rest, elevation and other nonoperative measures. However, even after a day or two, many infections can cause severe problems, unless treated with a combination of antibiotics, surgical drainage, and removal of infected or dead tissues. Any drainage or pus should be sent for laboratory testing to determine the type of bacteria causing the infection and the appropriate antibiotic for treatment. Infections resistant to commonly used antibiotics are increasingly common (known as methicillin-resistant staph aureus infections, MRSA, see Figure 1). They may require comprehensive care rendered by hand surgeons, infectious disease specialists, and hand therapists.

The point of all this being that it's very possible to develop problems underneath the skin when you're playing hand drums. Dunno if anyone has seen or touched the hands of a conga or bongo player, but if you have, you know that they feel like rocks - from playing hard on cowhide. But not all conga and bongo players follow that "blood on the skins" philosophy... (I've written before about my conga teacher - the guy who wrecked his hands and nearly ruined his professional music career before taking time off to heal and learning how to play without injuring himself. Music is his livelihood, so you better believe he took this seriously!)

To my mind, there's a big difference between what I'll call "normal" calluses and the kind the OP is talking about - with pain, bleeding and the like.

Which is when you've gotta stop playing for a while and get some help. Otherwise there can be damage that cannot be fixed - or, at very least, might sideline you for a long time.

Hope that helps explain my concerns here. Like bkidd, I hope Brian Lynch's hands have improved and that he's now able to play pain-free.