Hi there, welcome to this week’s Musician’s Maintenance.
This is the edition that I hope you never need. It’s about musician’s focal dystonia. Imagine if all of a sudden you were not able to control a part of your body and you were no longer able to play. That would be bad. But now imagine if the only time you couldn’t control that body part was when you were trying to play your instrument. People would think you were crazy or faking. But this is exactly what happens in musician’s focal dystonia. It can be devastating.
It only affects about 1% of musicians, so there’s a very good chance that you’ll never have to use any of this. But there is a good chance that at some point you’ll meet a musician who could use it. So ignore this edition if you like, but just remember you came across it so that if you do start to experience some of these symptoms, you can start the treatment process early (which is key to successful treatment) or point a fellow musician in the right direction.
I feel compelled to write about this topic, because I’m in a unique position. I’m one of a very few number of health practitioners interested in working with musicians, and I do some work for an organization called the Neuro Orthopedic Institute that has done a lot of work pioneering and researching brain training treatment strategies that I think have the greatest promise in helping musician’s dystonia. So here is what I have this week…
1) Musician’s Focal Dystonia in a Nutshell 2) Training Your Brain to Treat Pain and Dystonia 3) Brain Training Tools.
Let’s go!
Musician’s Focal Dystonia in a Nutshell
Here’s a great article to introduce you to Musician’s Focal Dystonia from a fellow musician who has experienced and managed to overcome it. It’s by Anna Detari and was published on one of my favorite musician’s health sites, Corpsonore. It’s a nice overview of Anna’s story, what Musician’s Focal Dystonia is, the symptoms, how it effects those who play different instruments, medical diagnosis and treatment, as well as 10 tips to start overcoming it.
Musician’s Focal Dystonia – an incurable curse? What you need to know in a nutshell Part I | Anna Detari via Corpsonore
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To make a living as a musician you are going to need some business skills. COVID has made it abundantly apparent that online business skills are a must. Here’s a course that isn’t musician specific, but will give you a solid foundation on a modern approach to developing an online business. I think you’ll easily see how the principles taught can apply to your corner of the music business. The intro course is six audio lessons and the best part is that it’s free. Click the link below to learn more.
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Training Your Brain to Treat Pain and Dystonia
Your brain is constantly changing. We call this “plasticity” of the brain. Plasticity can be adaptive (like getting better at your instrument) or maladaptive (like dystonia and pain). The best way to get adaptive plasticity of the brain is through healthy movement. But in cases like extreme pain or dystonia, this is not possible. Graded Motor Imagery provides a set of tools that can start that adaptive plasticity process without movement by using techniques like visual illusion, mental imagery, and recognition of the affected area. It is not a quick fix, but a very promising 3 stage process. Learn more about it at the site and videos below.
Watch: What is Graded Motor Imagery | David Butler via YouTube
Watch: Explaining Brain Smudging | David Butler via YouTube
Watch: Mirror Box Therapy | David Butler via YouTube
Graded Motor Imagery Website | Neuro Orthopedic Institute
3) Brain Training Tools
If you haven’t already, start by checking out the Graded Motor Imagery website mentioned above. All of the tools here aid the graded motor imagery process. There is a text book to learn more about GMI, apps to help re-establish left-right differentiation (the first step of graded motor imagery), a mirror box to aid in training with visual illusion, and even a computer program that allows you to do the program if the face and embouchure are effected. These all cost a little money, but if you have chronic pain or dystonia, they are well worth the cost.
Recognize Apps. (available for hand, foot, neck, back, shoulder, and knee)
Face Training for Dystonia effecting the embouchure
Musician’s Maintenance: Sharing
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