A Musician’s Worst Nightmare!
Musicians Can Find Relief from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Other RSI Disorders Without Surgical Intervention
Our limbs… arms, hands, and fingers, are the extension of our instrument, our tools… and the potential for loss has no dollar value…
The Musicians hands reach out and touch our soul with their inward beauty. A heart connected to a mind to the instrument that will embrace our minds and hearts, weeping and laughing., dancing and with joy. The Hands make it all happen! They are the tools, the extensions of the musicians mind and spirit… the end point, used to write down words, create sounds and weave tapestries of beautiful colors and designs for us to listen to, and enjoy. The Hands deliver this artistic magic!
No matter what kind of musical instrument you play, or how expensive it is, the most expensive instrument you own is your Hands. They should be one of the most important tools you invest in and keep healthy. They are the “Key” to the longevity of your career.
In mid 1990’s, I went to NAMM (National Association for Music Merchants) to talk to musicians about repetitive strain injuries of the upper body. My book was in the bookstore. Yeh! I thought this would be the perfect venue to get musicians/songwriters, creators of instruments interested in this problem. I wanted to open eyes and tell everyone that this wasn’t a disease and as deadly as it was made out to be. I wanted to shout there was a non-invasive solution!
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome – the mere mention of these words strikes fear into every Musician. It is “the” repetitive strain injury… talked about in every chat room on the Internet. You may even know a musician, or a friend knows someone that has “it!” Everyone is searching for answers that will save “them” from carpal tunnel syndrome and lose what they love to do most, which is to create, write and play music.
In the music business, it is the best-kept secret – repetitive strain injury(RSI). No one wants to admit they have a problem. Not one musician or songwriter, if they want to work, will admit they have a musculoskeletal problem. So they all play in pain and fake it, or worse, cover it up.
RSI disorders do not need to be hidden anymore. The future careers of all musicians and future generations whose dreams of playing a musical instrument, are at risk if you don’t begin to do something about the pain you feel in your arms at the time you feel it. What will become of their future if the truth about repetitive strain injuries stays hidden? Or no one speaks out? The only musician I know who spoke out was Keith Emerson in an interview in Keyboard magazine. He was searching for the truth, and telling others of his ordeal. He wanted to help others, so they wouldn’t go through what he had. He never gave up searching for something that would give him back the full use of his hand. If he hadn’t had that interview, I would never have met Keith and with fortune shining down, Keith got his answers and his hand back.
Every musician no matter what age is at risk to develop tendinitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, elbow pain, or any other musculoskeletal injury of the upper body. It is NORMAL to use your body. It is NOT NORMAL to continually ignore it and not feel the eventual pain of overuse. To ignore the signs, could be the signature on the wall to the end of your career.
The Business of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome or is it ONLY SEVERE TENDINITIS WITH MISALIGNMENT? This disorder has many names for one condition. The best known and the most read about since the 1990’s is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS). Other descriptive terms used by OSHA, (Occupational Safety and Health Association) are work-related muscular-skeletal injuries (WRMSI), repetitive strain disorder (RSD), and repetitive motion disorder (RMD). Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, a decade later, is still the #1 reported musculoskeletal (other than lower back strain) problem and it isn’t going away. CTS account’s for approximately 50% of all work-related injuries according to the 1997-2000 Bureau of Labor and Statistics. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is the #2 surgery in this country (Gallbladder is #1) And now, 2007, it has been declared a genetic disorder. How and why they don’t know, but they think it has to do with a structural issue. This announced at the American Orthopedic Surgeons Conference in San Diego, California.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome surgery deals ONLY with symptoms, not the cause. The surgery is a temporary success (a 50-50 probability of success), alleviating the pain until the Musician attempts to return to their craft. Repetition of the same job task, same playing position, may inflame the symptoms again with a return of the same pain.
I believe carpal tunnel syndrome does not require a surgical procedure in most cases. The complimentary (noninvasive) therapies listed in this book when applied early are preventative and for continual maintenance. An individual, in less time can be returned to a functional and productive life faster and more reliably, than through an allopathic approach. Because many insurance companies do not compensate for alternative therapies, eight out of ten people using these therapies, pay out-of-pocket to maintain their health and well-being.
The Information Age, a New Century of Promise, Technology – bigger, faster – race, race, race – go, go, go…where does it all end? As we become more and more stationary, the demands on our bodies increase. Work today requires less physical activity, due to technology. Our bodies are moving farther and farther out of balance as we increase stress of less activity with more mental activity, and muscular tension. It never stops! Our job depends on our performance and productivity. It is a reality that someone you know will develop a repetitive strain disorder.
Future Generations…
Children, who show a gift for music are handed an instrument, without any thought to the preparation of their body. We do not think that these hobbies, or possible careers can be harmful to the body and cause injury to it. The same is said about the computer. Yet we know that statistics are showing otherwise. Children are taught to use a computer as early as two years old. Terms from the ‘90’s, such as “Nintendo Thumb, Space Invaders Wrist, Gameboy Wrist, Trackball Thumb,” and now there is the “Cyber Athlete”, are just as prevalent today. Computer video games, joy sticks, track balls, keypads, all demand a child to move fast, and to reach awkwardly, to look up, not straight ahead, and to sit on the edge of a chair that does not support or fit their body. Computer classrooms are the norm now. Computer classes are part of their educational curriculum. Children are taught how to use a computer but not to take care of their body or how to set up a safe computer workstation. There is little ergonomic support and absolutely no body prevention programs in our schools to protect your child’s body when not on the court or playground. The potential for repetitive strain injury during the developmental years is real.
Further education on body mechanics and workstation safety is necessary so our children will not suffer the pain of repetitive strain. As I write this, Childhood RSD’s are realities. The possibilities of the fullness of life require good health, and technology may rob our children of their future, both in and out of the workplace.
Knowledge of prevention and maintenance techniques, combined with the understanding of what a safe work environment is, can decrease the risk of repetitive strain injury. The combination of these two effective programs can help stop the carpal tunnel syndrome epidemic from spreading to future generations. A child’s artistic endeavors may be cut short if this part of her/his education is ignored.
If you teach children how to play an instrument, shouldn’t you be teaching them about protecting their hands and body from injury?
With all my Heart, I wish every Artist, every Musician, every Songwriter good fortune and that the truth prevails. Don’t become a statistic. You deserve the right to a pain free, healthy body and a life full of possibilities and wonderful musical bliss.
Namaste
Kate’