Iommi tries to save his hands

Tomy Iommi has, effectively, buggered his hands with years of heavy-riffing, and now he's turned to stem cells to see if he can reverse the problem:

“I’ve had this problem with my hand and I’ve had this stem-cell treatment on it,” Iommi told the BBC Radio 2 Radcliffe and Maconie Show. “The cartilage [was worn out between] the joints, and the joints [were] rubbing on the joints. It was bone to bone and it was getting a bit painful.”

It turns out that there's a load of injuries guitarists get:

The Robens Centre for Health Ergonomics at the University of Surrey has researched musculoskeletal disorders that affect electric guitar players.

Peter Buckle said: “We have found a whole set of injuries affecting the hand, arms and wrist which you would normally associate with working on a hard, fast production line.

“Strain injuries result from overexertion and the way that guitarists hold their instruments. The temptation for younger musicians is to press too hard on the strings and try to force the frets.

“Holding the instrument away from the body to excite an audience may look good but it can put a huge pressure on the shoulder and upper arms.”

And that's before you factor in the splinters from all that guitar-smashing.

Our musicians end up with bad backs, blown ears, useless hands and - well, god alone knows what's happened to Ozzy, but that. Perhaps the money from downloads should be going direct to special hospitals rather than to fund their swimming pools?