Injury prevention

smacks11

Member
Recently I have been having pain in my elbow and index finger joint. I have been stretching but it doesn't seem to help. I have also tried not playing for a few weeks. The elbow pain feels like the pain I used to get after pitching in baseball games. Are there anyways to prevent these injuries from further pain or methods to help them go away?

Also does anyone think weight training is a good idea to prevent injuries and build strength for the drums?

Thanks...
 
It's probably something baseball related, you may have injured yourself once and the injury never properly healed and now it's a recurring thing. You may want to get it checked out seeing as how you've tried not playing for a few weeks and the pain still occurs. In my opinion the cheapest solution would be pick up Jojo Mayer's Secret Weapons DVD. I got it recently and it has really helped me out with issues I've had with using the proper technique. It's cheaper than a drum teacher.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vE-aTHwIEzA

I hear that's something a lot of former pitchers (whether young or old) deal with is pains in their arms. I may be wrong but isn't that why they don't allow curve ball pitches in little league, because of the possibility of prematurely damaging tendons in kids?
 
Warming up and stretching are vital to preventing injury... this is true of any sport or physical activity... another thing to watch out for is proper technique... if you're not playing with proper grip and motions you can injure yourself alot easier too.
You might want to consult an instructor about it and see if you can get them to look at your technique... could be what's causing it or it could be an old injury like the previous poster suggested.
 
jojo's dvd is definately worth checking out like rollingstone000 suggested.

i think its important to always be relaxed, in whatever your doing and whatever techniques you choose to pursue. even playing really fast, or really loud, always relaxed.

in terms of weights as a whole, i wouldn't know. i havent done them.

i could be wrong, but doesn't doing weights build certain muscles not necessarily related to the ones you use for your playing? but working on certain excercies will help you improve those muscles that you're using while playing.
 
jojo's dvd is definately worth checking out like rollingstone000 suggested.

i think its important to always be relaxed, in whatever your doing and whatever techniques you choose to pursue. even playing really fast, or really loud, always relaxed.

in terms of weights as a whole, i wouldn't know. i havent done them.

i could be wrong, but doesn't doing weights build certain muscles not necessarily related to the ones you use for your playing? but working on certain excercies will help you improve those muscles that you're using while playing.

I'm echoing something Jojo mentions from that DVD, but he mentions a little thing about muscle development for playing. I'm paraphrasing here, but training a muscle with a weights creates a stronger muscle but not necessarily a faster muscle. As opposed to repetitive muscle training which may not be as strong, but allows for the development of speed.

Kind of like a body builder, big and strong and could probably put you through a wall, but it would take longer and more effort. As opposed to Bruce Lee, who could lay you out with a punch from an inch away, which if you ask me, is pretty damn efficient.
 
Recently I have been having pain in my elbow and index finger joint. I have been stretching but it doesn't seem to help. I have also tried not playing for a few weeks. The elbow pain feels like the pain I used to get after pitching in baseball games. Are there anyways to prevent these injuries from further pain or methods to help them go away?

You need to know what the cause is in order to stop/prevent it. Could be tennis or golfer's elbow. You feel it as pain at or around the elbow and tightness along the tendons that control the fingers. As others suggested, it could be the old baseball injury recurring. You should get it checked out by an orthopedic surgeon. Tendon injuries are a major bitch. Most likely, you'll be doing some physical therapy among other possibilities. Diagnosis is the first step.
 
I injured myself at practice last night. First drumming injury in over 30 years. Ok, getting older doen't help but I got caught out by ignoring a few basics. I should know better.
I started a complexed (rare for me) 1 bar tom fill and got the intro slightly wrong. That caused me to tense up. The fill goes from top to bottom toms quite quickly. Just as I'm due to exit from the floor tom, I felt a pop in the right side of my rib cage followed by a sharp pain. After a bad night, I've had an Xray this morning & I've cracked a rib!!! I have another practice on Sunday followed by gigs Monday & Tuesday. Oh that will be fun!

Tension is dangerous. Relaxing is key to preventing injury. I got everything wrong last night and I'm paying the price right now. Silly boy.
 
Let the old guys speak! Yeah,I didn't play sports or get injuries but I was having the usual 50 year old aches and pains in LOTS of areas.Since I began weight lifting at a moderate level and pace,then all the problems disapeared.ALL of them.Just don't lift too heavy and you won't even injure yourself at the gym.
 
Back
Top