I am looking for some suggestions for things you all do to blow off stress or fight off the blues other than weightlifting. Being the nimrod I am, I managed to slice my thumb with a cooking knife, which got be 4 stitches and instructions from the doc not to lift for about a week.
And of all the weeks I want to be in the gym working off stress and aggravation from my personal life, this has got to be the worst. So please let fly with the suggestions. Thanks.
Sorry to hear about this. But, hmmm: I like to use the heavy bag to “pummel” life’s frustrations away. Or, if I don’t have access to a heavy bag, I get down on the floor and perform knuckle push ups, and/or jump rope for a bit. But walking helps, too as well as getting into my studio and work on some art. Oh - stretching helps, too. So, with your injured hand, you could stretch, jump rope, go for walks, cycle, try Tai Chi - does this help?
Hmmm…only 4 stitches? I think your doctor may just be erring on the side of caution. Which is probably a good policy in general, but it doesn’t mean it’s the best policy for you. How about using this week to work out using machines that won’t put direct stress on that thumb? Use the pec fly machines, leg presses, calf raise machines, that sort of thing. Or for other machines that require some upper limb usage, try using your wrists as hooks instead of your hands. If your blood pressure goes up or anything else causes you to start bleeding, then fine, you learned a lesson, stop lifting for a week – but you aren’t going to die from the whole ordeal. Just don’t bleed on everything! 
I think your doctor is being a little to cautious. Stick to lifts that do not involve the thumb. If it hurts don’t do it.
Swimming long distances is great for fighting stress. But your thumb liits your activities. Why not try a long walk in nature if that is available. Yeah, sunlight, fresh air and alll that nature! Best of Luck.
Was that your right hand or you left? 
Put some gauze over the stitches and wrap it snug with duct tape. It will be sore, but shouldn’t burst the stitches. Your doc is just being cautious.
Go smokeyboo to release stress.
i couldnt agree with patricia more. beat the living fuck out of the heavy bag. youll feel better.
Are you from Boston and are you a lawyer?
If your doctor failed to tell you not to train until the tissues had healed sufficiently, you (any patient) might go right out and do something (if they are extremely stupid) that rips the stitches, then sue. With all the lawyers out there (hint, hint) we have to play as if everyone is extremely stupid.
DO NOT “wrap it snug with duct tape,” a loose fitting couple turns of gauze, with just enough tape to secure it will be enough. You just don’t want to catch the stitches on anything. There are many exercises you may do which won’t aggravate it, and, hey, if it hurts, stop that particular movement (that’s why God gave us pain). Also, within a few hours of the repair, no amount of BP elevation will make this particular injury begin bleeding. Train on!
Thanks for the advice. The doctor probably was being a little overcautious, and I was being pretty worthless and just accepting her prescription at face value. I’ll get to working on some bodyweight calesthenics, working on the jump rope, and some flexibility work.
To BS – I currently reside in Boston, and I guess I can call myself a lawyer as soon as the Bar results come back November, although I start work in about 2 weeks.
If you have been training hard up to this point it might do you some good to take a week off from the gym. I usually take a week off from the gym every 8-12 weeks and just go for long hikes with my dog’s every day. I find this to be a great stress reliever and I usually come back to the gym stronger and more motivated. I also find all the fresh air and walking helps me sleep better.
The doc was NOT being overcautious. She was being appropriately cautious, and it’s quite irresponsible of other posters to contradict that based on little information. Four stitches in a digit implies a nice little laceration. It’s probably one that needs to be rested so that he doesn’t go back to the ER when it fails to heal because he’s been lifting weights. If the doc who saw him in person thinks that he shouldn’t use it for a week or so, that’s good enough for me. Guys, I’m completely on the same page with the vast majority of you regarding docs’ knowledge of supplements, steroids, nutrition, and training where most of you have superior knowledge. This is one case where you DON’T, and, as I said before, it’s kinda irresponsible to contradict medical advice based on limited info from a post on the internet. Just IMHO.
Well when I cannot toss a keg around. I read, play the saxophone, draw, paint, and read up on routing, switching and network engineering.
What law school did you go to?
I understand where you are coming from (my brother is an ER doc), but I have been there (many times,some cuts worse, some not so bad),and have not had a problem. The doctor is being over cautious and with good reason,he/she does not want to get sued. This is the standard advice they give you if you have stitches(or burns). If I were to listen to them, I would be out of work (and the gym)for weeks at a time because of a small cut/burn.
I graduated from Vanderbilt in May.
Doc –
Her specific instructions were not to lift if I had to grip the weight tightly, and to abstain from said activity for 7-10 days. She didn’t mention any worries about elevating blood pressure or anything of that nature, so I should be OK with the push-ups, jump rope and whatnot, right?
I’m thinking jumping rope would not be a good idea, because you have to grip the handles tightly. Apply common sense: if it hurts, don’t do it. I trained all body parts once, over a two week period, while recovering from a laceration such as you describe, employing machines in such a manner that absolutely no grip was necessary. That is what I was suggesting to you. Some of the trainers here simply cannot live if they miss a single workout, are zeroing in on a show, etc. The tissues of the Integumentary system (basically your skin and lining of GI tract) heal to full strength in about one week. In absence of deeper injury to ligamentous structures, nerve damage, etc this should be fine. Of course, if you had cut yourself that deep, your doc would have put you out longer.