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Should injured guitarists play on regardless?
6 injuries worse than Powderfinger's
Tom Porter, Fri 27 Feb 2009, 1:27 pm GMT
Ian Haug is the guitarist in Australian rockers Powderfinger. He's currently locked in a legal battle with a Brisbane casino that allegedly assaulted him, injured his wrist and, as a result, forced him to change his guitar playing technique.
Now, we're not going to concern ourselves with the ins and outs of the case, but when an established guitarist is forced to re-learn his trade because of an accident, we should sympathise. Or should we? Ian Haug is not the first, and certainly won't be the last.
In fact, some guitarists have overcome far worse, with astonishing results. Here are six guitarists who've overcome their injuries, adjusted their style and carried on regardless…
6. Pete Townshend gets impaled on a whammy bar
This is kind of self-inflicted, hence its early inclusion in the list. In 1989, The Who's Pete Townshend impaled his right hand on his Strat's whammy bar when performing the infamous 'windmill' move. While we're on the subject, he also broke several bones in his hand from 'punching a wall' in 1981 and shattered his wrist in 1991 from a bike accident. Luckily, he's still playing fine.
5. Johnny Greenwood's RSI
RSI (repetitive strain injury) is a common complaint among guitarists and can seriously hamper playing. Radiohead's Johnny Greenwood often wears a wrist support. It seems to do the trick.
4. Dave Mustaine's CTS
Dave Mustaine was diagnosed with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (an injury to the channel in the palm side of your wrist) apparently after 'sleeping on his arm'. The guitarist feared he would 'never play again' although his fears were unfounded: he's still knocking out Megadeth albums now.
3. Dorian Cox's 'bionic' arm
The former Long Blondes guitarist suffered a stroke aged just 27, but underwent neurological physiotherapy sessions with the help of a 'bionic' hand. Science is amazing.
