Lip injury

Gonzalez · Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2017 6:11 am Post subject: Lip injury

Hi, posting for a desperate friend! His lip was injuried last night, with not so much pain, but the vibration is almost gone! Hard to make a sound! Enyone experienced this? And if yes, what did you do? He has an audition on monday! No go? Posting on the other site as well! Need all info I can get!

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Gonzalez · Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2017 6:14 am Post subject:

It happend on a gig while playing!
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JVL · Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2017 8:05 am Post subject:

Hello
is it a cut, a bite ?
he should put some organic aloe vera on it; but this tends, during the cicatrization, to diminuish the vibration (i think because of the tissue renewing).
I don't want to be pessimist, but monday seems too early to be cured...
good luck to your friend
best

Brad361 · Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2017 2:57 pm Post subject:

Looks to me like a blood blister, but he should see a doc. I had something similar once, it took more than a few days to heal. And no way could or would I have tried to play on it.

If he got that from doing a gig, there might be some things he could consider changing. Sure, I will get an occasional minor cut from a tough gig, nothing of that severity though.

Brad
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Lionel · Heavyweight Member Joined: 25 Jul 2016 Posts: 783

Postpone the audition. Dont play until you're 100% recovered. Next?

Chat with someone well experienced with embouchure injury.

Next. stop the undue arm pressure until you're aware of you body's limitations. Consider working with mouthpieces which will reduce your need to jam. No trumpet player should settle for playing anything under a high E with added pressure. Through embouchure development and breath control it is possible to play from low F# to double C with the valve casing resting only on the palm. No excessive pressure.

I have done this many times and include it in my daily routine. About the only time I jam is to get loud volume above high G. And those notes are only a minority of anyone's performance. Even noted scream players dont constantly blow high G.

Mouthpieces to avoid,

Anything by Vincent Bach. Edges usually too sharp. Cup diameters and depth too large.

Other moutjpiece manufacturers who build with sharp edges and similar cup designs.

Who to look into? Marcinkiwicz is great. Al Cass was better but he's long dead. Curry might be okay. As my friend from high school used to go Cass but now plays Curry.

It is easier to find a commercial/jazz piece which doesnt cut your lip up than a more classically designed one. Which reminds me. I really gotta start making mouthpieces myself. Before Im dead lol.
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trpt.hick · Posted: Sun Oct 08, 2017 12:20 am Post subject:

I've seen these several times, once on myself. It is a small blood blister caused by pinching the lip between a tooth and mouthpiece, usually where an edge of a tooth meets the lip. Yes, it can hurt. Yes, it will need a few days to go away. It is not a permanent injury.

A pharmacist can prescribe a good over the counter medicine to put on it that will help it heal faster than normal, but I would not play on it until it is completely healed.

David Hickman

Brad361 · Posted: Sun Oct 08, 2017 9:29 am Post subject:

Self deleted.
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When asked if he always sounds great:
"I always try, but not always, because the horn is merciless, unpredictable and traitorous." - Arturo Sandoval

John Mohan · Posted: Sun Oct 08, 2017 10:22 am Post subject:

I think the statement about Bach mouthpieces usually having sharp, narrow rims and being too big and deep is an over-reaching generalization. There is a lot of variance in the Bach line (a 1C has a very low alpha angle and a fairly large and deep cup in comparison with its rim thickness, but that is certainly not true of the 3C with it's wider rim, less sharp inner rim contour, higher alpha angle, medium shallow cup and moderate width).

And when you consider the wide, cushion rimmed models, especially the small, extremely shallow ones like the 7DW, 7EW, 10-1/2DW and 10-1/2EW, such a generalization falls flat on its face.

To the OP:

Your friend needs to stop playing long enough for that wound to heal. Then, he needs to practice a good, well-balanced routine that builds up his strength (mainly air power) and endurance so he doesn't use so much mouthpiece pressure (just deciding to use less mouthpiece pressure doesn't work - proper practice and development needs to occur to replace the mouthpiece pressure).

And in particular, he needs to develop the proper use of tongue levels so as to allow the air to do more of the work, which would allow the lips (and mouthpiece pressure) to do less of the work.

As far as mouthpieces are concerned, I suggest a moderate approach. Personally, I spent more than half my career (1983 until 2003) playing on mouthpieces with Bach 1-1/2C rims with their inner rim edges rounded out a bit, but this still led to discomfort on long work days. Then finally I discovered the comfort of the slightly wider (thicker) Bob Reeves 43 rim and its softer inner edge, and have done most of my work playing on the Reeves 43C since 2003 and also a copy of a Bach Mt Vernon 3C (which also has a comfortable rim) some of the time recently.

Best wishes,

John Mohan
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TrumpetMD · Posted: Sun Oct 08, 2017 12:04 pm Post subject:

cheiden · Posted: Sun Oct 08, 2017 2:00 pm Post subject:

The only thing I've ever used to hasten the healing of a wounded lip is a cortisone cream that my dentist prescribed. I've only ever used it for canker sores but it might help here. Without that, I'd recommend ice to reduce the swelling.

I stay off of it till shortly before the audition, loosen up a but then play and hope for the best. Lips and gums are very vascular and tend to heal pretty fast.

Long term, think I see evidence of a sharp edge on that tooth. Having the dentist blunt it could help prevent future injuries.
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