Pennington Massage Clinic

 Massage to Tune the Body

10175 SW Barbur Blvd, Portland OR 97219    503-244-4427

Musicians!
Does muscle Pain interfere
with your performance?^©

   Musicians frequently have muscle pain that can limit practice time and may limit performance time. If not attended to it has been known to end careers. For example, pianist Leon Fleischer’s career almost ended due to wrist pain. Other areas of the body that can be affected in musicians are: the hand, the elbow, shoulder, neck, upper back, lower back or even the pelvis.

   Do you have muscle pain now? Does muscle pain or tightness limit your playing? It is possible to relax your body, reduce muscle pain and improve flexibility. We offer Control Muscle Release Therapy (CMRT) and NeuroMuscular Therapy (NMT). In many cases these treatments have been known to produce quick results and tend to be long lasting.

   Each instrument has its own position of play. In playing each instrument, you have muscles that can either make the performance pleasant or can interfere with it. Many people do not realize that muscle tightness and pain are interfering with their performance. Many musicians do not realize how much their range of motion has become restricted.

n Does your playing flow with ease and appropriate force?
n Do your arms and hands ache?
n Do you have a strong grip?
n Do you drop things?
n Do you wear a wrist brace?
n Can you bring your hand back 90 degrees (right angle)?
n Can you bend it forward 90 degrees (right angle)?
n Can you sit or stand for long periods of time?
n Does your back scream at you?

   Muscle pain in arm, shoulder and neck regions can have impact on your playing. In many cases, your ability to reach for a note depends partly on flexibility. Speed of action is also dependent on the muscle first being relaxed and then being able to help you quickly reach the position you want. Tight muscles frequently do not have the range of motion or as much speed as relaxed muscles.

   Standing and sitting depend a lot on the low back and the pelvic region. When these areas are tight you want to move around to be comfortable. This can impact the amount of practice time you put in and in some cases the length of performances. It is possible to relax these regions.

   It is easier to flow with your performance when all muscle regions are relaxed and strong. Try moving through the range of motion needed for your performance. Can you reach the normal end points before movement is restricted? Can you reach for the extra range of motion required by the more demanding works? Think of the great players, most of them can move easily. Reaching the highest performance levels is partly dependent on full range of motion.

   Stretching is important. Strengthening an already tight region may loosen the region or tighten it more. Moving a tight region frequently moves the mobile part of it. Gaining more range of motion also needs to in some way release the muscles that are restricting the motion. Massage may be used to release the muscles.

   Wrist pain may be caused by the head having been pulled forward, due to tight muscles in the front and side of the neck and in the rib cage. The fastest places to assist wrist pain are the neck, collar bone region, parts of the front of the chest and just below the arm pit. When all of these causes and others are addressed, it increases the chance of long term pain relief from wrist and arm pain.

   Upper back pain can be nagging. In some cases, it will force changes in life style to try to reduce the pain. There are many causes of upper body pain. As we lean into life many of us pull the head forward. To support this, the upper ribs frequently pull together in the front of the chest. In time this can result in the head staying pulled forward. The head is now having to be held by muscles instead of balancing on the spine. In time the head flexibility reduces and the shoulders round forward. One frequent result is that the upper back tightens. The muscles in the front of the chest have mechanical leverage advantage and thus a chance of forcing the position of the upper back. In time the flexibility of the rib cage reduces. This can effect arm flexibility thus impacting your playing. In paying attention to all of the muscles of the rib cage it is possible to relax them and improve the upper back.