Welcome to Musician’s Maintenance, a biweekly newsletter for musicians who want to have a long, healthy career while still performing at a high level. Each edition is packed with exercises, articles and resources to help you get a handle on practice room health, the skill of recovery, musician specific strengthening, and how to handle injury.
Musician’s injuries are out of control.
However I think there is so much that musicians like you can do in order to decrease your injury risk AND perform better.
But before you get to specific strategies, I think that there is one step that we need to make sure you don’t skip.
If you skip this step, the strategy doesn’t matter.
Below you find an article I wrote called The Very First Step that I hope gets you thinking about pain and injury in music from a different perspective. It’s the first in a series I’m putting together, so more to come.
Before the article, you’ll also find some great resources and ideas for recovery, musician specific strengthening, practice room health and behavior change. I hope they either get you thinking and give some specific strategies to stay healthy.
Enjoy-
P.S. If you want someone who understands musicians to create a customized health and wellness program for you, I offer affordable online health coaching. You can learn more about how it works here, or schedule a free call. No high pressure sales tactics, just a chance to chat about your situation and what your options are.
Recovery: My Favorite Recovery Movement
When it comes to recovery exercises, mid back flexibility can make so many different areas feel better. Here’s one of my favorites. The Mid Back Rotation and Arm Sweep. Watch the video below, then try 5 rotations and 5 arms sweeps per side each evening this week. Your body will thank you!
Mid Back Rotation and Sweep | Musician’s Maintenance
Musician Specific Strength: Pain between the shoulder blades? Try These!
One of the most common areas of pain in musicians is that spot right between the shoulder blade and the spine. Here are some great exercises that can no only address that pain, but also help out common underlying neck issues that contribute to it.
Pain Between the Shoulder Blades | Dr. Alexis Shoope
Practice Room Health: Balancing It All
Musicians are busy. There are so many aspect of your career that you have to manage, not to mention find time to take care of your body. Here are some amazing suggestions from Jaylene of Classical Wellness to help you achieve a little more balance. If these resonate, I’d highly recommend her Practice Revamp Program as well.
Balancing Practice with Busy Schedules | Classical Wellness
Building Habits: Consistency is the Hardest Part
Knowing what to do to stay healthy is one thing. Doing it consistently enough for long enough to allow change to happen is the hardest part. If you are struggling with making self-care a part of your day to day life, you aren’t alone. It is a really hard habit to start. Here’s a great podcast that takes a deep dive into behavior change, that will not only help you understand the science of behavior change, but also provide concrete steps to try.
The Science of Making and Breaking Habits | Huberman Lab Podcast
The Very First Step
The statistics above come from the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University, and they are quite disturbing.
But here’s how I look at it.
The stats are what they are, but I’m convinced that these numbers can be a lot better.
In fact, sports and performance has already figured most of this out for us. It’s just a matter of taking what they have learned and adapting it to fit the specific needs of musicians like you.
I think there are only 3 areas you need to work on in order to dramatically reduce your risk of injury derailing your career.
However, before we get to preventing injuries, we need to address one big issue first.
Dealing with this issue is the very first step.
Accept that Injury Does Not Make You a Bad Musician
If you are hiding an injury, denying an injury, feeling shame about an injury, being shamed by others about an injury, or are overly fearful of pain and injury, then dealing with it is nearly impossible.
You don’t need the culture of music to be on board with the fact that injury doesn’t make you a bad musician.
But you do need to believe it strongly enough to ignore the narrative that is currently out there.
Let’s look at pain and injury from a different perspective.
Some Truths About Pain and Injury
The most basic thing that sports and performance has figured out is that if you take a highly physical activity and push the limits of what you are capable of sometimes you are going to step over the line.
Guess what.
Playing music is a hugely physical endeavor.
We don’t always recognize it, but it’s the truth.
Here’s the biggest difference I see between musicians and athletes.
People watch athletes (or dancers or acrobats) to see them do something amazing. Something physically amazing. The movement and physicality is on full display. It’s the whole reason to watch.
People listen to music to hear something that makes them feel something. They want to hear something amazing. Something emotionally powerful. The sound and feeling are on full display, but the physical movements of how you create that experience is secondary.
The physicality of music is hidden.
In some cases, there is very little physicality but the emotion is still there.
Modern pop music can evoke a huge amount of emotion, but it’s physicality is no where near what is required to play orchestral music, shred on guitar, or drumming.
You know the type of music you play.
You know the long hours and physicality required to evoke that emotional response from the audience.
That level of physicality is easily on par with the highest level athletes in the world.
Why should musicians have a different standard than athletes when it comes to injury expectation?
Obviously there should be no difference, but for now there is.
The standard feels different because by necessity, the physicality of challenging music is hidden behind it’s emotion.
But I see it and I hope you do too.
So if you experience an injury, that doesn’t make you unskilled, weak or a bad musician.
While we wait for the culture to change, injury may not be accepted by judgemental professors, conductors, colleagues or teachers.
When it comes to pain and injury, they may try to hold you to an unreasonable standard.
But please make sure you aren’t holding yourself to an unreasonable standard.
Injury just means that you stepped over the line while striving towards making something amazing, just like nearly every athlete who played their sport at a high level.
The culture of music may not recognize that yet, but I think at some point it will, because it’s the truth.
Acceptance is Only the First Step
Acceptance that injuries happen in music may be the first step, but it is by no means the only step.
I think there are so many ways to reduce injury risk, bounce back from injury faster, and perform even BETTER in the process.
The next article will dive into the 3 key areas I see (and focus on with my coaching clients) for healthy high performance.
Support by Sharing
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!
Before engaging in any exercise program, please be clear on the exercise guidelines and disclaimer below.
Disclaimer: Dr. Cody Weisbach and Musician’s Maintenance, LLC recommend that you speak with your doctor or physical therapist before participating in this rehab program. The videos in this program are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. No information in the program videos is to be taken as medical or health advice. You agree, upon purchase, to release Dr. Cody Weisbach and Musician’s Maintenance, LLC of any and all liability and responsibility from any and all losses, liabilities, injuries, or damages. You agree to use this program at your own risk. Seek medical advice if you have any concerns about your individual needs.