I used to be an avid cyclist. Back in 2010 I blacked out in the middle of a ride for unknown reasons. I woke up in the hospital with a bunch of broken bones, including hip and collar bone, but the worst part was the head injury.
I was originally told I’d be out of work a minimum of six months and may never fully recover. Then the psychiatrist learned I played drums. He told me to play as long and as often as I could, play Mensa games and anything that would challenge my mind. It was tough playing drums. I could somewhat move my left foot without hip pain and balancing on the stool was tricky. I could move my left wrist, but only enough for the snare. My right side was fine, so that’s what I did.
On my second month follow up doc was amazed! First, he didn’t think I actually would do the things he asked, as most will just sit around and go into a depressive state, but because of the amount of brain activity required to drum, my brain injury had healed. Doc said it’s rare to see anyone recover that fast or fully and said it was because of my dedication and drumming and forcing my brain to reconnect the cells in the damaged area.
I still remember the shock of it like yesterday. Waking up in the hospital fully aware of myself and my surroundings, but not being able to transfer that to my surroundings. It was like there was no connection. Most of my drumming therapy was frustrating. I sounded like I was in elementary school picking up sticks for the first time. It took a while to just be able to play a beat and fills would come and go by and nothing! I’d just miss them entirely and never change anything. Slowely things improved and I would get fully sucked into a song and forget the pain I was in. Ghost notes started coming back as my motor skills started going back to normal.
I honestly don’t think I would be where I am without drums. There really is something to drumming therapy and how it forces you to build focus, independence and motor skills. I think if it’s between hand drums and say guitar, either would have the same effect, but adding two more limbs playing a set does even more.