6 Quick easy tips for Musicians. To keep you performing and doing what you love Heather Mogielnicki, OT/L, CHT

Healing Hands Therapy center https://healinghandstherapycenter.com/ Copyright © 2018 Healing Hands Therapy Center, LLC All rights reserved. ARE YOU SPENDING HOURS PRACTICING? ARE YOU DOING ANY FORM OF EXERCISE? ARE YOU EXPERIENCING PAIN OR DIFFICULTY PLAYING YOUR INSTRUMENT? DO YOU WANT TO DO EVERYTHING YOU CAN TO PREVENT AN INJURY OR RECOVER FROM ONE?

https://healinghandstherapycenter.com/ Copyright © 2018 Healing Hands Therapy Center, LLC All rights reserved. TIP #1 Questions to Ask Yourself How many hours a day are you practicing and playing? How much stress are you under? Did you recently bump up your practice time significantly? Have you changed your technique recently? Have you changed your instrument lately? Are you doing any other repetitive tasks during the day: lifting/typing, etc. Just to name a few. The point is, once you start really thinking about what you are doing (which we all take for granted and just go about our business) you will likely realize there are some circumstances and activities that are either the cause of OR are contributing factors to your symptoms. Figuring out what might be causing the pain and symptoms is the first step in getting better! Awareness is KEY!

This is CRUCIAL! Do NOT go to your practice room and practice for 2 hours straight. No instrument is built for our bodies and in order to play them we have to go into and maintain awkward positions. Staying in these positions for hours on end is horrible for our muscle/tendon/ligament system. Is it hard to remember to take breaks when you are really focused on a passage or piece? Of course, but it is vital to your body’s health to do so. Set a timer for every 30 minutes, when the timer goes off, put your instrument down and go for a quick walk around the house, building, wherever you may be. Your break only needs to be 5 minutes max but the point is to get you out of one position, get your blood flowing and the rest of your body moving. https://healinghandstherapycenter.com/ TIP #2 TAKE BREAKS Copyright © 2018 Healing Hands Therapy Center, LLC All rights reserved.

https://healinghandstherapycenter.com/ TIP #3 EXERCISE Copyright © 2018 Healing Hands Therapy Center, LLC All rights reserved. Who has time for exercise when you are playing 8 hours a day? Believe it or not, you need to think like an athlete. Every athlete prepares their body for their sport, you are no different. You need to prepare your body for your instrument and the hours you spend at it. Most important is some form of aerobic activity….walking, running, biking. Find something you enjoy and get your heart rate up and your blood flowing! You don’t need to go to crossfit or boot camp and do crazy weight……just move!!

https://healinghandstherapycenter.com/ TIP #4 Stress Management Copyright © 2018 Healing Hands Therapy Center, LLC All rights reserved. A musician’s life is filled with stress…..the goal of being perfect technically, the goal of playing from your heart and getting the emotional aspect of the piece across, the hours spent trying to perfect 2 measures, performance anxiety, audition anxiety…..It’s a highly competitive field that comes with lots of stress. Stress usually leads to muscle tension which can lead to injury! What are you doing to de-stress? There are lots of options out there, pick one that helps you! The more relaxed your muscles are the healthier they will be and more able to undergo the stresses you put them under.

https://healinghandstherapycenter.com/ TIP #5 Warm your body up Copyright © 2018 Healing Hands Therapy Center, LLC All rights reserved. I don’t mean go play long tones or slow scales or arpeggios! Though that’s a great way to warm up at your instrument and certainly should be done! Warm up your body! Just like a runner warms up before they go for a run, you need to warm up your muscles and joints before you play. A quick walk up and down the hall, some arm movements and forearm movements as well as some back stretches are great. If you have an injury already though make sure you talk to a therapist before doing any of them because you don’t want those warm ups to make things worse!

I CANNOT stress the importance of this!!! A therapist who is versed in the instruments and body mechanics/ergonomics can watch you play and take note of the ways you may be positioning yourself or playing that could be contributing to your issues or setting you up for injury in the future. Your neck may be bent too far, your elbow may be snapping with your bow changes, your wrist may be bent too far or you may be death gripping your strings or keys. These are not things you are typically aware of. You are thinking about the phrasing, the dynamics, the intonation, etc. But the way you approach your instrument can impact your body and it’s ability to perform! https://healinghandstherapycenter.com/ Getting YOUR body fitted to YOUR instrument Copyright © 2018 Healing Hands Therapy Center, LLC All rights reserved. TIP #6

HAVE A SPECIALIST CHECK YOU OUT! https://healinghandstherapycenter.com/ Getting to see a therapist quickly if you have symptoms is crucial! Getting coaching is KEY! Seeing someone who specializes with working with musicians and IS a musician makes a huge difference. . Copyright © 2018 Healing Hands Therapy Center, LLC All rights reserved. What can help the most

I have been working as an Occupational Therapist/Hand Therapist for the past 23 years, specializing in only the treatment of injuries in the upper extremity injuries. However, prior to my life as a therapist, I was a professional musician. I ended up with career altering injuries that led me down the path of Occupational Therapy and ultimately incorporating intuitive energy healing into my work with clients. As a therapist but also speaking as a prior patient, the first thing I want you to know is that if you are frustrated, feel stuck or just not sure what to do next, you are not alone. That’s how just about how everyone I’ve ever met in therapy starts out. That is how I started, I had no idea what to do or where to turn, (part of my prior symptoms were in fact ulnar nerve symptoms, so I have first hand experience). Dr. Google has made it easy to find information, the problem is there is SO much information out there it makes it hard to figure out what is right for you and who to trust. These tips I am sharing with you are strategies I have used over the years as a therapist, I personally have used them and these are tips that I give out to my private therapy clients. My goal is to start you on your path to recovery and to empower you! About the Author

I make every effort to ensure that I accurately represent the injury advice and prognosis displayed throughout this Guide. However, examples of injuries and their prognosis are based on typical representations of those injuries that I commonly see in my therapy clinic. The information given is not intended as representations of every individual’s potential injury. As with any injury, each person’s symptoms can vary widely and each person’s recovery from injury can also vary depending upon background, genetics, previous medical history, application of exercises, posture, motivation to follow physio advice and various other physical factors. It is impossible to give a 100% complete accurate diagnosis and prognosis without a thorough physical examination and likewise the advice given for management of an injury cannot be deemed fully accurate in the absence of this examination from me. Significant injury risk is possible if you do not follow due diligence and seek suitable professional advice about your injury. No guarantees of specific results are expressly made or implied in this report. https://healinghandstherapycenter.com/consultation/ [email protected] Health Advice Disclaimer