Welcome back to Musician’s Maintenance! Your reminder that taking care of your body is at least as important as taking care of your instrument.
I’m going to try sending this newsletter out every two weeks for a while. This will give me more time to create resources for you, and the routines and exercises in the newsletter should be plenty to work on for two weeks at a time.
If you have strong feelings about getting this newsletter every week vs every two weeks, hit the reply button and let me know!
Regardless of the frequency, I’m going to continue to highlight the two of the most important habits musicians can cultivate to address pain, prevent injury, and perform better.
They are…
Priority #1: Recovery
Try to set aside 5 minutes each night this week and try the recovery program below. Your body will thank you!
Priority #2: Musician Specific Strengthening
If you’ve got the recovery work dialed in and want to take the next step, pick 3 days this week where you have an additional 10 minutes to do some targeted strength work.
For this cycle we’re working on the rotator cuff and shoulder blades. You’ll find the workout for this week below.
Need Some Customized Help?
I’m happy to do a free 15 minute Zoom session with anyone subscribed to the newsletter where I can answer questions, give some advice and make 1 or 2 customized adjustments to your exercise and wellness plan. Schedule here.
If you know you need to take care of your body and are ready to hire a professional to help you, I also offer affordable coaching. You can learn more about the coaching program here.
Recovery: Feel Good Movements from Neck to Finger Tip
The nerves that run from your neck to your finger tips and a common site of injury in musicians due to the high levels of stress that long hours of rehearsals, practice and performance puts on them.
However they are resilient and a great target for recovery strategies. Here’s a collection of excellent exercises from physical therapist Dr. Caleb Burgess that will allow you to effectively target several areas in a short time.
Recovery Plan: Try setting aside 5 minutes each evening this week, watch the videos to learn the movements, then try the 5 min version of the routine below.
- Median Nerve Glide – Wrist and Neck: 5 slow reps per side, trying to coordinate the wrist and head movement as precisely as possible.
- Median Nerve Glide – Global: 5 per side. Again, try to keep the neck and arm movements coordinated.
- Upright Holds with Chin Retraction: 5 times.
- Chest Openers: 5 times
- Sidelying Open Book: 5 per side. This is one of my favorites!
- Supine Angel Over Foam Roller: 5 times. No roller, no problem. Just do the same movement on the floor.
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 Musician’s Workout Library to find something that does or schedule a free call and I can give you some additional direction.
Carpal Tunnel Rehab Exercises | Caleb Burgess, PT, DPT via Instagram
Musician Specific Strengthening: January 2022 – Week 3-4
For week 3 and 4, you’ll continue with the same two exercises (sidelying shoulder rotation, shoulder blade squeeze on stomach) from Week 1 and Week 2.
The plan is to continue making the exercises very slightly more challenging by adding a few repetitions for each set. The workout is below, and scroll down a little further to review the exercises.
Musician Specific Strengthening Plan: Try to set aside 10 minutes on 3 days this week. Consult the exercise guidelines, review the exercises below and try this week’s routine (also below).
The Workout
SET 1
Sidelying Shoulder Rotation: 10 reps right. 10 Reps left.
Shoulder Blade Squeeze on Stomach: 10 reps
SET 2
Sidelying Shoulder Rotation: 10 reps right. 10 Reps left.
Shoulder Blade Squeeze on Stomach: 10 reps
SET 3
Sidelying Shoulder Rotation: 10 reps right. 10 Reps left.
Shoulder Blade Squeeze on Stomach: 10 reps
Exercise 1: Sidelying Shoulder Rotation
Full Details for the Sidelying Shoulder Rotation
Exercise 2: Shoulder Blade Squeeze on Stomach
Full Details for the Shoulder Blade Squeeze on Stomach
Support: 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!
Quote Photo by Vladimir Fedotov on Unsplash