Body maintenance for performing artists

Body maintenance for performing artists
10 steps to maintain good health in your profession

By Ida Wakely, guest lecturer of the HKU
Physical therapist of the Geldersorkest since 1998. Specialist in diagnostic and treatment of complaints of musicians.

Ten steps to prevent injury

Step 1
Exercise and keep in good general shape.
Invest in a good general condition, do some sort of cardio training. This will ensure you’ll have enough stamina during your instrument practice and performances.
During exercise you’ll make lots of diverse movements with your joints. This will help lubricate them. They need full lubrication, not just in the range of motion of playing your instrument.
Also: use every opportunity to add movement to your day.

Step 2
Practice as a musical athlete
Warm up before playing, stretch, pay attention to areas that feel a bit tense or sore.
Cool down after a performance: play an easy piece, relax your body, repeat warm-up stretches.
Like athletes, use visualisation: perform your practice in your mind, as exact as possible as you would do with your instrument. It enhances your performance without any physical load.

Step 3
Pay attention to your posture (always).
Make sure your posture is balanced and without excessive strain. Relax muscles you don’t have to use. Breathe.
A proper seating posture for performing:

1. Sit on the palms of your hands, feel the bones you sit on.
2. Make a hollow back, stretch your torso. You feel your weight moving forwards on your sitting bones.
3. Roll back until you feel the most weight of your sitting bones on your hands: this is a way to experiment to find a good, comfortable upright position.

Step 4
When rehearsing, consider the sequence of the pieces you are going to play.
Start with an easy “warm up” piece and build up to the most difficult piece. Have a mini-break every 15-20 minutes (1 minute) and a larger break every hour (5-10 minutes).
Don’t endlessly repeat a difficult passage. Move on to something else and then come back to it.

Step 5
Analyse your technique, play without excessive strain.
Analyse your playing technique. Make sure you play without excessive strain. Have someone else filming you from all sides while you are playing and take a close look at your posture and playing technique.

Step 6
Analyse the ergonomics of your working environment.
Chair, music stand height, instrument supports, oxygen in the room, a window to look out of….
However small the adaptations of your environment, they can make a big difference. Have you got enough space for moving your (bowing-) arm(s)? Can you see the conductor? Is your chair too high/low? Can you read the music without straining or putting your head forward? Is there enough light? Is there a draught?
Make sure you carry things with you to improve your working environment: wedge pillow, small light, beer mats to put under a wobbly chair etc.

Step 7
Adapt your instrument to suit you wherever possible.
If you adapt yourself to your instrument, this may lead to problems. There are more possibilities for ergonomic adaptations than you think!
Get advice from your musician’s health teacher and main subject teachers.
Ask her and the HKU librarian about our ergonomic collection, for instance saxophone straps, etc. See HKU study for violinists at: www.violinistinbalance.nl.
More info: criss.taylor@hku.nl

Step 8
Build up towards peak performances.
Keep a close eye on your agenda and prepare well ahead. Gradually build up your rehearsal time and make sure there is enough time to recover in between rehearsals/performances. Avoid a steep increase in the duration/intensity of playing.
If you foresee that you’re going to be too busy, learn to say NO!

Step 9
Attend to performance anxiety issues and make sure you are well prepared to handle work stresses.
Beta blockers or not?
Using a beta-blocker to calm you down might not be such a good idea, especially when given to you by someone else. They are prescription drugs and come with a number of undesirable side effects such as: Cold hands and feet; digestive problems, nausea, diarrhea; sweating. Because they also lower your blood pressure, this may cause dizziness, blurred vision, lack of concentration and tiredness. Musicians might experience problems with hearing and intonation, and a feeling of dissociation. During the professional health classes, you will acquire a number of tools to help you reach your best performance without the use of medication. If you need more guidance to regulate stage fright, don’t hesitate to seek help. This is definitely NOT a sign of personal weakness but of personal strength. Your mental health is just as important as your physical health!

Step 10
Seek professional help and advice rapidly when your body is giving you signals that things might be going wrong.

Guidelines for identifying injury:
Recovery from pain or discomfort after 1 night’s sleep should be 75-100%. If a pain/strain/uncomfortable feeling lasts for 3 weeks (even on and off), it’s time to have it looked at by a professional that specializes in musicians’ health care. Acute pain at night or a pain that disturbs your sleep should be looked at. Symptoms like swelling, burning, tingling and loss of coordination should be looked at.

Note from Musicians Health teacher Criss Taylor:
If you have pain or discomfort related to playing or singing be open with your HKU teachers and mentor. It is important to contact the Student Services to report any chronic symptoms that might interfere temporarily with your studies. (see Student Portal) Do not be ashamed to be open and to protect yourself and the future of your studies.

You can make an office hour appointment also with me if you want to discuss anything mentioned in this document. criss.taylor@hku.nl

You can read more about why breaks and warm-ups are important for your muscles in the section: Warming up Follow the link there for a basic warm-up for musicians.