Musicians' Health Matters: Discussing Music-Related Injuries and Prevention Strategies 🩺
As we all know, playing music can be a physically demanding activity. Whether it's from hours of practice, or performances, our bodies can take a toll. I wanted to start a conversation about the topic of music-related injuries, and invite all musicians to share their experiences and advice on how to prevent and treat them.
Have you ever experienced pain or injury as a result of playing an instrument or singing? How did you handle it? What steps did you take to prevent it from happening again?
I think it's important for us to have open and honest discussions about these issues, so we can all learn from each other and take better care of ourselves as musicians.
So please, share your stories and let's start a conversation!
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Thanks for posting this topic, Martin! I love it and I think we can help each other a lot.
I start the topic. Right now I'm injured. I have three trigger fingers because of the position of my back and from putting a little more stress on it than I should have because I bought myself a wonderful new guitar.
I recommend everyone to be careful with their posture, with body pain (which warns us, but we ignore it) and with being careful and delicate when playing.
The solution: Do Alexander Technique and yoga, as David Leisner says, give up inflammatory foods, acupuncture to help relax the mind so it stops tensing the muscles and unfortunately (it hurts a lot, but less than an operation - which is the other alternative -) EPTE, percutaneous electrolysis to erase the lesion.
I hope no one else has to go through this situation.-
Beatriz Hello Beatriz, I had a trigger finger on my left hand around five years ago. I got it from a sports injury when the finger did not heal well. I probably made matters worse because I kept playing guitar but I didn't have much choice because I teach guitar for a living. I tried every single alternative method that you mentioned, plus more, for two years and nothing helped. In the end, I had the surgery. If I had to do it all again I'd probably do the same thing. It's worth it to see if the alternative methods will help. I think it depends on the cause of the injury. I have recovered nearly full use of my finger. I say nearly because I can sometimes feel a slight pinch where the surgery took place and a little less strength and flexibility but I've also learned I don't need as much strength as I thought. It's mostly when I have to do hold a barre that includes a large stretch. I had a great surgeon and physical therapy so I think I got the best outcome. I encourage you to keep going with your alternative treatments but then don't be scared if you need the surgery in the end. It will be OK.
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Debbie
Thank you so much, Debbie, for sharing your injury and for the encouragement. Hopefully I don't have to get to the operation, I'll tell you. I stopped playing as soon as I had the injury.
Thank you!
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I injured my left hand severely in 1975 from a sudden increase in practice time and a Ramirez extra large 1A guitar. Tendinitis and distal interdigital joint damage (chondromalacia). The injury persists today, but to overcome it I have found turmeric useful, but mostly Gerbings S7 battery heated gloves that I wear while reading email before practicing. There are many cheaper electric gloves on Amazon, but these, while more expensive, have heating elements distributed all over the hand and really warm up the hands with incredible soothing heat. I add cotton gloves as a liner to make the heat more even. Far superior to molten paraffin or warm water, especially since they do not affect nails or callouses.
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Hello everyone! This is a really important topic for guitarists. I have recovered my left hand from a surgery five years ago and that is fine now for the most part. My right hand/arm is giving me problems now. During the summer my house required some renovations and I did a lot of painting which gave me tendinitis in my right hand and arm. Playing guitar seems to exacerbate it and it hasn't gone away. I think working a lot on Iznaola's arpeggio routine and practicing tremolo doesn't help. I have what feels like tennis elbow in my arm and soreness in my hand between the second and third fingers. I really feel like I'm relaxed when I play but I may not be as relaxed as I think I am. As Martin suggested I've already watched Drago's video and I'm looking forward to this course for more preventive strategies. One think I have found that really helps is Lee Holden's qigong video for arms, wrists, and hands. In the end, it seems it is activities outside of playing guitar that cause me problems, then I have to find a way of dealing with them as I play the guitar. Taking a break from playing is not an option because it's how I make my living and I love it. It is the one thing for me that makes life worth living. I don't mean that to sound morbid, it's just that it gives me more joy than I can possibly express.
End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
