music related injuries

shennie
Mon, 18 Jun 2007 12:15:18 +0000

My son had wrist pain his freshman year at Eastman. He dealt with it before he developed tendonitis. He finds stretching to be very helpful before playing. He also stops frequently when practicing to stretch out his hands, arms and shoulders. Also, when he started having pain he would ice his wrists in the evening after he was done playing for the day. He said the icing helped quite a bit.

This past year he has learned some about Feldenkrais

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feldenkrais_method

He has found that using some of the techniques helps him play much more relaxed and with more confidence. Many musicians find the techniques helpful. Son’s teacher had to stop playing for over year due to a nerve injury. He thought he would have to quit forever until he discovered Feldenkrais. He now plays again and is helping his students learn to play pain free.