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Posted:
Wed Dec 21, 2005 2:31 amby franc
to all members,
i don't know how to explain this. but about a month back it is been kind of painfull to strike the head of my conga with my right hand. on account feelling pain in my index finger. i am left handed. it is weird because i squezze hard my joints and don't feel pain. this is what i find strange. i position my arm horizontally with hand open, then i push down on my index finger without bending and it hurts like crazy. on open tone it does hurt much . is the slap stroke which is agonizing.has any of you gone through the same or similar pain??? do any of you know what could be wrong with my index finger??? any remedies or medicine that i can use??? áche and happy holydays 
franc
Posted:
Wed Dec 21, 2005 3:30 amby ABAKUA
Hey Franc,
brother, anda a un chiropractor or un medico que te lo miren, quizas te has hecho daño y no te das cuenta?
I had something similar happen years ago, due to a non playing related injury I had on my finger, I developed a hairline fracture in one of my fingers, after constant playing it worsened and I had to get some professional treatment. I felt pain but didnt know why, it wasnt till an xray revealed I had a hairline fracture, that had worsened as a result of me playing on an injured finger. I had smacked my finger a few months back and had forgotten about it.
This happened several years ago now, but it put me out of action for around 8-9 weeks before I was fully healed and able to play congas/bongo/bata again. Lucky for me, I went to get it looked at as soon as I felt discomfort, had I of left it, it wouldve been much worse.
Get it looked at asap brother!
Posted:
Wed Dec 21, 2005 4:12 amby franc
abakua,
thanks a lot. i will see the doctor. as you said, it could be a hairline fracture. never though of that. gracias ,mi pana. áche y muchas felicidades, salud y mucha rumba this coming new year. 
franc
Posted:
Wed Dec 21, 2005 7:00 amby Cuidado
Hi Franc,
Like Abakua, I've a fracture. It is in the little finger. It happened 9 years ago.
When I began playing congas, I had this fracture. Today, I always have this fracture. However it is not annoying. I hope that you will continue on playing percussion.
Hasta pronto y mucha suerte.
Posted:
Wed Dec 21, 2005 7:00 amby Cuidado
Hi Franc,
Like Abakua, I've a fracture. It is in one of my fingers. It happened 9 years ago.
When I began playing congas, I had this fracture. Today, I always have this fracture. However it is not annoying. I hope that you will continue on playing percussion.
Hasta pronto y mucha suerte.
Posted:
Wed Dec 21, 2005 2:56 pmby akdom
parece que estamos hablando de dolo aqui?
I would have that check to a doc too, for sure. Might be nothing, but us percussionists have to keep our little fingers in good shape.
I had a scafoid fracture which is a small bone in the wrist years ago.
It had been nicely fixed but I sometimes feel some pain when playing a lot. The only way for it not to hurt is to play in a good position (hand position). It actually forced me to have good strokes on my drums.
I also have some kind ok artritis (not sure about the spelling here since english is far from being my first language).; Anyway, it creates a pain in the fat part of the thumb. It happens sometimes when I play or when I hammer down something etc.... I then just need to relaw mu hands for a few minutes.
But one thing is sure, we need to take care of our hands so have it checked.
See ya and feliz navidad a todos y suerte para el ano nuevo!
B
Posted:
Wed Dec 21, 2005 9:12 pmby zaragemca
Saludos and Happy Holydays, beside the injuries related to other affairs,the main reason for injury individuals fingers is not keeping them together when playing,(something which I have observed many times in percussionists).When the fingers are together, the impact of the stroke is shared by all of them at the same time,but when they are separate, each finger is receiving in dividual impact with each/strokes,so the weak one is going to suffer.Also what about the diet which fortify the ligaments,muscles and bones like,Calcium,Potasium,Magnesium,Iron,etc.Dr. Zaragemca
Posted:
Thu Dec 22, 2005 2:05 amby franc
thanks guys,
mine does hurt a lot when i pull my index right finger with force. when i pull to right it hurts some. when i push down on my finger is when it becomes agonizing. when i squeeze the joints. no pain. i don't understand. i have been like this , i guess about a month.
Cuidado, thanks a lot. best wishes this coming year.
Akdom, thanks and take care. my best to you this coming year.
Zaragemca, my best also. yes, that could happen. probably i messed up my finger, since i play most is the bongo. i do a lot of slap with my right . maybe i did just that . i slap with fingers apart. i am left handed. will check with my doctor. 
franc
Posted:
Thu Dec 22, 2005 7:44 amby akdom
Hi again.
Just a word about zaragemca's post.
I am sorry, but I don't really agree when you say that you hurt yourself when you don't keep your fingers joined when playing. Nothing personal of course. There are many ways to play percussions in general and congas in particular. Some play with their fingers joined some don't. And look at djembefolas, they beat their drums with their fingers widely spread. And this doesn't hurt. The djembe slap is played with fingers spread.
Now if we want to talk about injuries related to bad hand position, we can mention thumbs joints. If hit the drum in a bad manner, you can have your thmbs joints hitting the edge of the skin/rim of the drum and this hurts like ####. But as I said earlier, this helps you to correct your hand position too. As long as you don't break your fingers...
Happy holidays to all
B
Posted:
Thu Dec 22, 2005 12:27 pmby Smejmoon
akdom wrote:And look at djembefolas, they beat their drums with their fingers widely spread. And this doesn't hurt.
Djembe slap is realy relaxed stroke. Only fingertips strike skin.
Tone both on djembe and conga requires fingers to be put together, but I have learned to play it also with fingers open (not spread). Difference between tone and slap then becomes just this relaxation. You can not realy see it, but you can hear it.
Maybe this is where comes legends about players changing from tones to slaps just by their mind?
Posted:
Thu Dec 22, 2005 2:15 pmby franc
guys,
really i can't say that my injurie happened while playing conga. i have all the tones pretty good established. probably happened while doing mechanic work in my car. will see my doctor. my best to all, franc
Posted:
Wed Dec 28, 2005 6:31 amby pavloconga
Franc,
I had something similar happen about 8 or 9 years ago. Injured right index finger and went to a chiropractor as well as a kinesiologist who also used healing through what he called the 'human energy field'. The healer explained to me that if you are not relaxed in your body/mind this may manifest as tension in your body, which can then turn into an injury in your body.
It made sense to me - I was in a band and was seeing one of the girls in the band for 2 years. We had a very painful break up, yet we were still in the same band. It took several months to heal but I have not had any problems since.
Pavlo