Alas, injury has put a major crimp in my legendary status (at least in my own mind) as a Guitar Hero. Like Joel Zumaya, the pitcher who had to sit out three games of the American League Championship Series last fall due to GH2-related injuries, I’m afraid I’m going to have to take a few weeks off, doctor’s orders, to recover from recently diagnosed carpal tunnel and tendinitis in both my wrists. Yes, that’s both carpal tunnel and tendinitis in both my wrists… Ugh, I really did a number on myself.

To be fair, I’m almost certain excessive Guitar Hero 2 playing is not the root cause of my repetitive stress injuries, though I’m sure it didn’t help things. My husband and I bought a house earlier this year, and my hands first started to go numb and tingly as the result of two weeks of intensive house painting, an activity I am not accustomed to. That’s the carpal tunnel. The shooting pains and stiffness in my wrists didn’t develop until Guitar Hero 2 was released in April, and I started furiously shredding my way up from Easy to Expert via a couple of hours of GH2 a night, another activity I am not accustomed to. That’s the tendinitis. The result: having never played Guitar Hero before, I made it to up “Psychobilly Freakout” on Expert and earned 37 of 50 achievements! Oh yeah, and I also have to wear highly fashionable braces on both my wrists to restrict movement and take three Ibuprofen three times a day for the inflammation. Three weeks of this will hopefully heal my injury. Hopefully.

I’ve been following doctor’s orders for about a week and a half now, and my wrists definitely feel better, though there’s still some pain. Last week, I foolishly attempted to play some Guitar Hero with my gimpy wrist brace on, and sure enough, my right thumb (the strumming thumb), got sore after only a few minutes. So, to avoid future temptation, I sadly packed up my guitar in its gig bag and hid it away in the closet. For now. I do need to rest up for Guitar Hero 3 and Rock Band after all!

In the mean time, I choose to wear my wrist braces with pride, a badge of honor that I am indeed a Guitar Hero, one who loves the game so much, she played through the pain! Plus, when I’ve got both of the braces on, they kind of remind me of Wonder Woman’s wrist cuffs. Hmm. Wonder Woman, eh? Maybe I can be both a superhero and a Guitar Hero!