Little Finger "Swan Neck Injury" - My high-tech fix

rockstar_not

rockstar_not

Sep 13, 2004
37
10
4,571
Colorado Springs, CO
www.rekkerd.org
#1
Situation: Worship Pastor calls you to say, "Hey - I've added The Meters 'Cissy Strut' as the opening song a few weeks from now, are you up for it?"

Answer: "Yes"
Reality: "No"

Due to an injury sustained years ago on my little finger. This song, and the 4th note in the run down which requires quite a reach, caused me to go see a hand surgeon. Finally got the fix I envisioned several months ago, put into action today. So excited about it I wrote a blog post about it, with photos of the rather low-tech Dr. office solution, and my personally designed 3D printed custom made splint.

Here's the blog post
 
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#6
Sorry to hear about your injury, ouch! Neat solution with the splint. :)

Have you sat down and watched some HD video of George Porter Jr. playing this song? Two things I'm struck by as I watch this performance. Number one, his hand looks very relaxed and he seems to avoid big stretches. Number two, it looks like he keeps his 3rd and 4th fingers close together, so the pinky doesn't have to do all the work, the ring finger is there to support it. Make sure you are using the correct fingerings and shifts from the video, not following some inaccurate internet TAB.

 
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#7
Mushroo said:
Sorry to hear about your injury, ouch! Neat solution with the splint. :)

Have you sat down and watched some HD video of George Porter Jr. playing this song? Two things I'm struck by as I watch this performance. Number one, his hand looks very relaxed and he seems to avoid big stretches. Number two, it looks like he keeps his 3rd and 4th fingers close together, so the pinky doesn't have to do all the work, the ring finger is there to support it. Make sure you are using the correct fingerings and shifts from the video, not following some inaccurate internet TAB.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the video. Unfortunately I can't see George playing the opening riff.

I learned it from this YouTube video lesson which seemed legit to me.

It's that 4th note of the riff with the slight bend that I couldn't play before the splint.
 
#9
rockstar_not said:
Situation: Worship Pastor calls you to say, "Hey - I've added The Meters 'Cissy Strut' as the opening song a few weeks from now, are you up for it?"

Answer: "Yes"
Reality: "No"

Due to an injury sustained years ago on my little finger. This song, and the 4th note in the run down which requires quite a reach, caused me to go see a hand surgeon. Finally got the fix I envisioned several months ago, put into action today. So excited about it I wrote a blog post about it, with photos of the rather low-tech Dr. office solution, and my personally designed 3D printed custom made splint.

Here's the blog post
Click to expand...
Excellent work. Sorry about your injury. The other name for it is a Swan Neck deformity. I think the name for that splint is an oval eight. Also, those injuries are tough to fix, so I'm glad you responded to the splint.
 
#10
rockstar_not said:
Thanks for the video. Unfortunately I can't see George playing the opening riff.

I learned it from this YouTube video lesson which seemed legit to me.

It's that 4th note of the riff with the slight bend that I couldn't play before the splint.
Click to expand...


Looks to me like there is a big difference between this lesson and how George plays it. This teacher leads with his 3rd finger, while it looks to me like George leads with his 4th finger. I'm not saying one way is "right" or "wrong" but if you're in pain, it might be worth switching it up. :)
 
#11
James Collins said:
Excellent work. Sorry about your injury. The other name for it is a Swan Neck deformity. I think the name for that splint is an oval eight. Also, those injuries are tough to fix, so I'm glad you responded to the splint.
Click to expand...
Actually, you are right - Swan Neck is the term the Dr. used. There are pre-made splints for this. This one I custom designed for myself. I actually have tweaked the design a little since writing the blog post and it fits just a tad better than this one in my profile pic.
 
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