Welcome to Musician’s Maintenance: Exercises, advice and resources for musicians who want to protect their career from pain and injury.
In This Issue…
- Featured Exercise: Core Strength for Musicians
- Recovery: 2 Exercises…1 Roll of Paper Towels
- Reminder: You Are Doing Enough
Core Strength for Musicians
Your core is the foundation of all of your strength. Abdominal and trunk strength is related to low back pain, which is a very common injury in musicians. It also plays a role in your overall strength, stability and health.
Additionally abdominal strength has been addressed in an exercise program that has been shown to be safe and effective in professional orchestral musicians.
When you think of core strength, most people think of sit-ups, planks or those terrible flutter kicks. While those are all fine exercises, I’ve often found that people can do those exercises, but they’re missing some foundational coordination in the muscles of the trunk that make the whole system inefficient.
Here’s one of my favorite exercises to reconnect your brain to your low back. Watch the video and I’ll write the steps below.
Start lying on your back with your knees bent.
Breathe in and let your back arch.
Breathe out, flatten the back, pull your belly button in towards your spine.
Keep breathing out until you’ve let out all of the air. As you get to the point where there is no air left, you’ll start to feel tension in the abs and low back.
Notice how this position feels, because it is the foundation of all of the exercises mentioned above.
Then relax everything, breathe in and arch.
Repeat 5-10 times for 2-3 sets.
This is a strength exercise, so if you will effectively be able to make progress if you do the exercise just 2-3 times per week and gradually progress the number of repetitions.
This is the first level exercise for the abdominal series in the Musician Specific Strength Program. The program takes what you learn in this exercise and gradually progresses the challenge over the course of 6 months to help you develop a safe, stable strength foundation that will support your playing and help protect your career from pain and injury. Learn more about the program here…
Pelvic Tilt with Brace | Musician’s Maintenance
2 Exercises…1 Roll of Paper Towels
For the majority of musicians I work with, prescribing recovery work that focuses on the shoulders and mid-back it a must. Taking care of this area of you body helps everything from shoulder pain, to neck pain, to that knot in the middle of your back. It’s also related to tension down into the forearm, wrist and hand.
Here are two great exercises from physical therapist Dr. Jacob that address these areas about as efficiently as I’ve ever seen. And all you need is a wall and a roll of paper towels.
Watch the video to learn the movements then try a few on your own.
I recommend doing 5 “archers” and 5 “rainbows” in the evening, after a long practice session or rehearsal, during one of your practice breaks, or really anytime you’re starting to feel tension build.
Give them a try and let me know what you think.
At Home Exercise Hack | Dr. Jacob
You Are Doing Enough
Check out this nice reminder from cellist and creator of Classical Wellness, Jalayne M.
The bottom line is that it’s easy to always think you should be doing more. There is, of course, always more you could be doing, but in reality…you are right where you need to be right now.
You Are Doing Enough | Classical Wellness
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Before engaging in any of the exercises mentioned above, please be sure to read the the exercise guidelines and disclaimer below.
Disclaimer: Dr. Cody Weisbach and Play Move Recover, LLC DBA Musician’s Maintenance 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 Play Move Recover, LLC DBA Musician’s Maintenance 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.