Welcome back to Musician’s Maintenance, for musicians who can’t afford to have pain and injury get in the way of their career aspirations.
This issue is brought to you by me! Playing music is a seriously physical, high performance pursuit. If you feel like your body is limiting your music, you may want to consider one of my Performance Health Consulting options. Learn more about them here, or just hit reply and let me know how I can help.
Sorry I’ve been away for a few weeks. I’ve taken a new job, which has demanded more time that I expected. The good news is that it will help me move towards opening a musicians specific PT clinic in Boulder, CO over the next few months.
It’s exciting for me, but I need to make sure I’ve got the time to keep getting you good resources to stay healthy as well. This week, we’re going to focus on your shoulders.
Let’s get to it!
Rotator Cuff and Shoulder Strengthening for Musicians
The rotator cuff consists of 4 very important muscles that help keep your shoulders healthy and able to perform at a high level.
Did you know that rotator cuff injuries are one of the most common injuries for musicians? Here’s a post from cellist Rylie Harrod-Corral with several exercises to keep your shoulders feeling great. Watch the video to learn the movements, then try the routine below.
- Walk-Out and Hold: 20 second holds with arm in 3 different positions.
- Arm by side
- Arm at ~45 degrees
- Arm at ~90 degrees
- Open and Close: 1-2 seconds opening. 1 second pause. 2-3 seconds closing. 10 reps.
- Ball Rolls on Wall: 20-30 seconds each
- Up and down
- Side to side
- Clockwise circles
- Counterclockwise circles
As always, make sure you understand the newsletter exercise ground rules before you start. Also, if this program doesn’t work for you, check out the musicians workout library to find something that does.
Rotator Cuff and Shoulder Strengthening for String Players | Cellist Rylie Harrod-Corral via Instagram
6 Shoulder Exercises for Pain-Free Mobility
Shoulders are complex joints, and keeping them healthy unfortunately doesn’t end at rotator cuff strengthening. Keeping your shoulder mobile is also very important for musicians.
Here’s a nice article that goes over why shoulders get tight, why you should work on them, and 6 stretches to get you started. Skim the article, learn the exercises, then try the routine below.
- Quadruped Shoulder circles: 5 circles in each direction with both shoulders. 5 circles in each direction with one shoulder at a time.
- If this position bothers your wrists, you can do the same position on your fists, or you can use a standing push-up position with your hands on a counter top.
- L-Arm Stretch: 30 seconds on each side.
- Prone Bent Arm Chest Stretch: 30 seconds on each side.
- Tall Kneeling Arm Raises: 10 second hold at the top. 5 times.
- Tall Kneeling Arm Raise to the Side: 10 second hold. 5 per side.
- Clasped Hand Extension: 10 second hold. 5 times.
Again, make sure you understand the newsletter exercise ground rules before you start and if this program doesn’t work for you, check out the musicians workout library to find something that does.
Daily Shoulder Routine for Pain-Free Strength and Mobility | GMB.io
Help Turn the Tide of Injury in Musicians
The rate of injury in musicians is insanely high and injury ends more careers than it needs to.
If you want to be a part the solution, one of the easiest things you can do is connect fellow musicians with good resources.
If you find information like this helpful, please consider forwarding this email to a friend, colleague, teacher or classmate. They can also sign up here. Thanks!