Recurring finger "injury"

Technique
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Hi Everyone. I don’t think anyone in this forum has mentioned my bass-related problem before. Only I’m not sure if I can explain it clearly enough.

Since I started playing the bass, I’ve been keeping my plucking hand fingernails really short. A few weeks ago, the remaining part of the fingernail on my index finger got separated from the flesh, which caused a minor but painful injury that took over a week to heal. The worst thing about it was it stopped me from playing for many days. I thought I’d just trimmed the fingernail too short and decided to use an emery board instead of clippers next time. It seemed to work until yesterday, when I caught a similar injury again when practising.

Has anyone experienced a similar problem? Do you have any advice? Will the skin between the fingernail and fingertip get stronger over time? Is there a way to speed up the healing?

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If you could post a picture of your injury, it would be helpful, @Jarek . . . :slight_smile:

My best guess is that if you’re a brand-new first timer, your fingers just need to get acclimated to the extra stress brought on by playing. Your nails don’t have to be super short, either.

Like everything else related to playing bass, you just need to go slow and take your time with it. There’s no rush! :wink:

Cheers
Joe

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It might be a good idea to have it checked by a doctor if it keeps occurring. You could use a pick for a while to give your fingernails time to heal.

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If your nail is injured, try using a pick and keep on chugging while you figure it out

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That is really weird considering you are plucking the strings with basically the fleshy part of your finger.

I guess you could try using a pick, as others suggested, OR just pluck the strings with your middle finger.

If it continues I would definitely seek medical advice from a doctor.

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I’m going with, talk to a doctor. You could have some form of bacterial infection that is harming the nail bed.

Good luck, @Jarek.

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Yeah, I’m going to agree with @eric.kiser and @Celticstar what you described shouldn’t happen unless the nail is compromised, go to a doctor first

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Sounds like a good time to talk to a doctor and in the mean time, play with a pick!

Picks are awesome. You might not want to go back :slight_smile:

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It must be painful… Something like this happened to me once while working with modeling clay :grimacing::grimacing::grimacing:
I think you cut your fingernails too short which caused some micro injury which then increased with the pressure. Unfortunately, such injuries take a long time to heal, hence the recurrence of your problem.
Oh, and you don’t need to have super short nails (I am also a beginner and checked it on myself😀)

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I’ve been on a ‘pick only - finally learn to play with the thing’ kick and it is indeed loads of fun….so much fun that I over did it and now my shoulder is sore….damn moderation.

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Just can’t win, eh John @John_E ? . . . :grin:

Cheers
Joe

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As we most all know, getting older ain’t the funnest thing

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Nope it isn’t… Getting outta the shower and looking at yourself in the mirror when you’re old IS!! :rofl:

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:rofl: :joy: :rofl:

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Sometimes fingernails breaking easily is a sign of a bad diet. No, I’m not an MD, but this is a known fact.

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Hi Jarek,

I have severe nerve damage on my fretting index finger. I haven’t used it for a couple of years. There are gloves on Amazon. I don’t have a link but they were around $AU40.

When I put them on i couldn’t feel the frets so I cut every other finger off. It’s really helped but i need to relearn how to use that finger.

Yours problem might resolve but in the meantime it could help. Good luck!!