Well, maybe injury was a bit strong of a word, but do you guys ever have any strain in your fingers or wrists after intense practicing? I am relatively new to flourishes and I was finally getting the one-handed shuffle down pretty well, so I did it for a few hours while watching a movie recently. The next day, my middle and ring finger were sore because of how much they extend to make the initial cut. Is this normal? Does anyone else have any card flourish injuries?

Yea I think it is normal especially when you get used to a sybil cut routine. Like my middle finger is always strained when I reach a packet here and derre... and I feel like just dropping all the cards on the floor because my fingers hurt. But once you stretch and refresh your fingers, it's alright.

I think so! Just think of it as training just like any other sport, once your fingers get used to the workouts you'll be fine!

Pangea, I once kinda hurt my fingers while practicing the one-handed shuffle too (only a minor injury though). Yeah, I think that injuries are quite likely when practicing too much of certain demanding flourishes.

I think it's important to let your fingers take a rest every now and then. Resist the urge to practice non-stop (something I find quite hard to do at times).

Why don't you guys ask De'vo???
lol.

Doug.

It really is like working out. I work out with weights regularly, and you can't work the same muscle group for 2 days in a row, the muscles need time to heal and grow. So, while my fingers were strained from my practice session on Saturday, I used Sunday to practice less straining card feats, like boomerang throws, palming, and simpler cuts.

The one-handed shuffle was hard to stop practicing though, once I realized I was making progress, I just couldn't stop trying it!! It felt so cool to get it right!

Since the muscles in your hand are pretty small, it's easy to strain them without seeming to do hardly anything. Just like working out, your hands will be sore after their little "workout", but just keep going and your stamina will increase. There are exercises that work your hands specifically: gripping tennis balls, crumpling paper, twisting rope/towels etc. Just work through the burn!

Your hands are the only ones you have. Yes, you get hand strain from flourishes, muscle-passes and even tying balloons. RSI's (repetitive stress injuries) are painful and mostly permanent. You should take a break every half hour or so and do something different with your hands, i.e... work a different muscle group or rest. You will work up your stamina but not at the expense of mobility, flexibility and dexterity.

Go for it, but go for it wisely.

Guys,

Just make sure you are keeping your wrists straight. Keep those carpel tunnels open and let the blood circulate. Once you twist your wrist in a funky angle you are restricting blood flow.

But you are more likely to hurt your hands typing before you do something with the cards.

I work my hands out a lot because I'm a massage therapist. Before I started doing massage I thought my hands were strong, but I was dead wrong. Now I'm doing push ups on my finger tips... some crazy kung fu stuff... lol.

You can do a lot to condition your hands. Just don't work them too hard too fast. Once the damage is done it's really done.

I'm gonna have to second the take it slow note. While it takes a lot to damage your hands, it doesn't if you're doing the wrong things. If your wrists, in particular, are getting sore, stretch them out or take a break. I know a guy who used to juggle constantly. It was a large part of his life until he got tendonitis and had to give it up. It's a shame to see something like that happen. Take care of yourself.