Why this Blog, Why Now?

Today I want to introduce myself and give you a bit of background into why I set up this blog. I have been playing flute for forty years. In my late teens and twenties I was involved in a series of car accidents. (I have at this point been involved in almost 20 major or minor collisions!) By the time I was 34, I was experiencing pain every time I picked up the instrument, throughout the upper body, the back and in my wrists and hands. At times, it hurt just to breathe. I tried every allopathic treatment available at the time, ultra-sound, hot packs, pain medication that made my stomach bleed, physical therapy, and even at one point visualization. The latter worked but it was time-consuming and required a discipline that I did not have at the time. Out of desperation I started seeing a chiropractor, Dr. Seplow. He asked me if I wanted to just get some pain relief or if I wanted to fix the problem. I said I wanted to fix the problem. It took a while but now I play and practice every day, usually pain-free. And if I do experience pain, I know how to work on myself or who to call to fix the problem. I have worked with some amazing healers, who have shown me amazing results from therapies that I would never have considered trying before this. I have worked with acupuncturists, massage therapists, chiropractors, NMT and NAET practitioners, Bach Flower therapists, herbalists and those trained in homeopathy. All of them have had wonderful things to contribute to the healing process. Each person I worked with was patient with me and my seemingly endless questions. When the time came to do my doctoral work on alternative therapies and wind players, several of them graciously volunteered to be interviewed for my research. My own journey in healing and my observations of the struggles that other performers go through, has inspired me to put this blog together. I hope that it is a useful addition, and that those who read it find hope and useful information in the it.

One of the main reasons for this blog is that most information about musicians/performer’s health is presented by practitioners of a particular type of healing system, i.e. acupuncture, chiropractic care or allopathic doctors. These tend to represent the practitioner’s particular practice as the one that will cure most if not all ills. Every human being is different and what works for one person may not work for another. There will be nothing in the blog that has not had success with someone somewhere. So at the very least there is what is called anecdotal evidence for newer or lesser-known therapies. Also, in spite of the fact that musicians have been getting injured for over at least hundred years (think Robert Schumann!) traditional therapies are not always as effective as one might hope. Traditional physicians are generally not attuned to the special needs of the performing artist. Although this is changing somewhat, rest, immobilization, steroids, injections, pain killers and surgery are usually the options that are offered by allopathic physicians. And there is evidence that these are not always effective or even an option for the musician. Worker’s compensation, retraining or new technology like voice-recognition soft-ware may help the computer programmer, but these are usually not options for the musician or performer either. However, there are a lot of other options available through alternative therapies. I will present these option and how they can help musicians ( and of course anyone else!). Please let me know if any of these have worked (or not worked!) for you. And remember, every person is unique. What works for one person may not work for another. The important thing to remember is that there are lots of options. It may take a while, but if you are struggling with a condition that limits the expression of your art, it is worth it to keep trying until you find what works for you. Every musician/artist is unique and has a wonderful contribution to make. Just never give up! The world needs our contribution!

Wrist/Arm/Hand/Neck/Back Pain?

Okay, so the gig is over and your wrist and hands are aching. You go to bed and think, "It will be better after a good night's sleep". You wake up in the morning and your wrists feel swollen and and you can't hold a cup of coffee without pain. Panic sets in as your imagination runs wild........ No need to panic! First of all this has probably been building up over time. A little stiffness, a little aching, we take some Tylenol and forget about it. This may make the symptoms go away, but it will not solve the underlying cause of the problem. More likely than not, the problem is Repetitive Stress Injury. Even if the symptoms seem to resemble Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, the underlying cause may still be Repetitive Stress Injury, which can cause knots in the muscle that can pinch the nerve, causing symptoms that are almost identical to CTS. Repetitive Stress Injury is caused by repeated motion over time that is confined to a particular muscle group. Hmmm, sounds like just what we musicians do! Now here's the deal: because musicians work with pretty much all the muscles in the upper body, some of these muscle groups, (like in the hands or even the wrist and arms) are composed of relatively small muscles. This makes them even more susceptible to this type of injury. A large muscle, like the thigh muscle, may take quite a bit of punishment before it develops RSI (Repetitive Stress Injury) but smaller muscle groups can develop this condition relatively quickly.

Okay so next is what to do about it. There are a number of options available that can help with this. We will start with the least invasive and most readily available option. If at all possible, get yourself a really good professional massage. This is the first line of defense against this type of injury. Just as sports teams have their massage therapists for all those big muscles groups they use, musicians should have massage therapists for those pesky small muscle groups we use over and over. If you are a student on a college campus, the college health center may offer massage for a reasonable fee. If you live near a massage school, this is a great way to get a massage for a good price. Sometimes, a certain amount of massage therapy will be covered by insurance, you just have to check with your company.
So what is massage?
Massage is used by traditional and alternative practitioners. The practice of massage is one of the oldest forms of therapies for which there is a record. Massage is mentioned in Chinese texts written as early as 2700 BC. The Greeks and Egyptians also show massage in their artwork. Hippocrates referred to massage in his writings in the fifth century BC. Currently, many doctors and physical therapists are beginning to recommend massage as an adjunct to their therapy. It has been recommended for conditions as varied as joint injuries, neck and back pain, arthritis and migraines. Many athletic teams have massage therapists on staff, as do many professional dance companies. Because massage therapists are trained in massage, not medicine, many of them refer to their patients as clients rather than patients. This helps prevent any misunderstanding as to the relationship between the therapist and the client. The Western and Eastern traditions have developed different theories and techniques of massage. The first type of massage that will be addressed in the next post is the Western tradition of massage.