TromboneChat

Rats!! After 50 years of playing, now I get a hematoma in the middle of my lip? I was playing high, ff, accented. Anyone else ever get this? What's the recovery period/plan? And what in the world did I do wrong, in the first place?

That kind of playing is stressful to the lip, plus the air pressure required for loud and accented at that range causes a rise in blood pressure, plus you are probably using quite a bit of additional mouthpiece pressure on the attacks to seal against the sudden high air pressure.

The air pressure can cause other injuries too, like a hernia in the neck or neck puff. The rise in blood pressure is normal during exertion but can still be dangerous.

There are ways to play more efficiently.

Right now I would give it a couple of days to go through the natural healing process, and then play relatively normally but with much less volume and stress.

I don't suppose the daily Prednisone helps, either? Everything else bruises easier, but this is a first...

I'm not familiar with the side effects, but bruising easier is absolutely related...

Do you regulary have medications like aspirin or anti-coagulant like clopidogrel?
If not, and having symptoms of easy bruising, it is not normal and you might have to check blood labs for abnormal hematologic condition.
For lip hematoma, I think most doctors would say conservative management will do and would recommend resting until complete resolution of hematoma.

Four weeks later... how did this turn out?
Are you back to playing as before?

The swelling abated within two days, and the blood resorbed within four. From an abundance of caution, I waited a week, then resumed gently. Still not 100%, and some things feel different (not as "automatic" as before). But there is no pain, and I expect the feel will come back. Meanwhile, my accompanist is adjusting her sense of dynamic levels.

Doldom wrote: ↑Sun Mar 20, 2022 8:48 pm Do you regulary have medications like aspirin or anti-coagulant like clopidogrel?

Just prednisone, 7 mg daily. I do bruise easily as a result. But this is a first.