In January of this year I was diagnosed with Cubital Tunnel Syndrome in my left arm which is the displacement of the ulna nerve (the funny bone nerve). There’s nothing funny about it. The symptoms are constant numbness in the pinky and ring fingers, and atrophy of the muscle between the thumb and forefinger. The surgeon informed me that it would take up to two years for normal feeling to come back in the fingers, and the muscle may or my not come back. After the surgery which moved the nerve back in place, I attempted to play a couple of short gigs and it was not good. I could not hold on to the stick with my left hand. My left hand grip was gone. I play traditional and matched grip. Sticks were flying out of my hand because that muscle IS the main factor in the grip. I’ve always played with a “loose” grip-a floating traditional grip-and would switch between controlling the stick with just my thumb, or with the the first two finger, and sometimes all three depending on what kind of stroke the playing called for. That weak grip also affected every day things like turning a key in a door lock, picking up heavier things with my left hand, etc.
I had resigned myself to not playing for a couple of years until I totally healed. I had gone through voluntary periods of not playing before, and I have plenty to do in the meantime but it was still a drag. I can still teach (I would tell my friends that I don’t need my left hand to yell at students!) And I have a publishing deal with Hudson Music for my book, The Missing Rudiments. I’m writing new books constantly. I hired great drummer Bill Ray to do the videos for the online book because I didn’t feel comfortable doing them with my hand in such bad shape. So I had plenty to keep myself occupied while convalescing. AND THEN…
A former student of mine, Nashville drummer Jon Marion, called me with some great news. Jon works as a therapist for injuries like this. He told me about a device that he developed for drummers with grip problems. It’s a fairly large foam tube with a hole for the stick through the center. It fills the hole that the atrophied muscle created. Voila! I can hold the stick again! I’ve had to alter my grip and control, and it’s a continual process of adapting to a different way of playing but, hey, no one on stage is having to dodge sticks flying out of my hand.
I started booking gigs again and have been playing them for about a month now.. The pictures above tell the story. I want to thank Jon for sending me this “grip prosthesis”.
I have a handicap parking placard for my car that I use when the arthritis in my ankles makes it hard to walk. Now I can hang that handicap placard on the front of my drum set!