Black Sabbath Guitarist Had Stem Cell Treatment On Hand

11/04/09 2:24pm

by Kate Harper (CHARTattack)

Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi is recovering from stem cell treatment to fix joint pain in his right hand.

Iommi told BBC Radio 2 that he'd sought the treatment six weeks ago because he had worn out the cartilage between his joints and "it was getting a bit painful." He says he's still able to play guitar, but was resting his hand in a strap just in case.

"I'm just wearing this now because if people shake your hand I don't want to push it, I want to take it easy for a bit," he said.

"But it's been really good, and I'm glad I went that route before having any kind of operation."

Stem cells are cells that haven't fully matured. They can change into different tissue, and the stem cells Iommi used were turned into bone.

Iommi hasn't had the easiest time with his hands throughout his life. He lost the tips of two of his fingers on his right hand at age 17 when he was in an accident. He nearly gave up playing guitar, but opted instead to attach plastic tips to the ends of his fingers.