How to Avoid Playing Related Injuries Performance and practice can be treacherous practices for musicians and throughout

these, we must make sure not to create any lasting problems that will both injure us and eventually hinder our abilities to perform. There are many actions that can be taken to avoid injuries that range from back problems to damaged vocal chords: Some of these I wish to cover in this essay. The appropriate sitting position for instruments such as Harp, Guitar, Piano and Cello are of paramount importance to the performer. For instruments that require an imbalance to play require delicate care to not let the instrument cause any harm; As a guitarist, I find this of great importance as the body is placed into a non symmetrical position that many players find are left with crippling injuries in their backs, hence why an appropriate position is of the utmost importance. Harpists are also left in this predicament as they must balance their harps on a single shoulder that can result in tendinitis and hunched shoulders. The shoulders should come back as you go higher up on the harp; they should not rise up.1 This is a prime example of techniques that can prevent injuries that may hold back performers abilities to play correctly. Percussionists as well often complain about problems in their backs and arms which can often result in tendonitis and carpal tunnel syndrome. For guitarists, and all other respective instrumentalists, a correct playing position can not only prevent injury, but also benefit the performance and technical ability of the player. A standard of guitar technique is called The Segovia Technique Created by renowned guitarist Andres Segovia. As stated by Segovia himself, the instrument is supported at four points: the right thigh, the left thigh, the underside of the right arm and the chest.2 This allows the guitar to be placed in a natural position in the player and not allow for any part of the guitar to cause inconvenience or irritability from the instrument. In turn, this also aids the back as the chest is placed on the back of the guitar which will result in a straightened back. Over practice is also an area that can do more to harm a musician than good to the players abilities. Prolonged bouts of practice can often result in RSI (repetitive strain injury) that can be brought on via various outlets: misuse or inefficient use of the body, lack of general fitness, chronic muscle tension, undeveloped upper-arm, shoulder, back muscles, stress (psychological or emotional), fatigue, ill health, playing cold without warming up the muscles before practicing, insufficient rest breaks3 For many, this can often relate to performance anxiety, lifestyle choices and diet. Practice should not be a stressful time for a performer; it is an environment in which mistakes are allowed to be made and so stress or anxiety can be lessened through realisation of what the practice period is for. Stress can affect the quality of practice and can often lead to further stress due to extra time being used in an attempt to learn more, regular breaks should still be adhered to. This will give both your mind and body time to rest (this will also help with issues cited in the second paragraph). One of the further reasons for the development of RSI is a poor lifestyle quality. Habits such as smoking, a diet of junk food can result in lack of internal wellbeing that will hold back a musicians ability to perform. For singers, smoking can a detrimental to their vocal chords and can lead to
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Unknown author Http://www.celticharper.com/injury.html - 2001 Vladimir Bobri The Segovia Technique Page 33 1977 3 Tamara Mitchell A Painful Melody: Repetitive Strain Injury Among Musicians http://www.workingwell.org/articles/pdf/Musicians.pdf - 2003

nodules developing around the vocal folds resulting in poor tone and lack of projection. This is also the same for brass and woodwind players as their lessened lung capacity will make them struggle with the handling of their respective instruments. A poor diet will reduce the capabilities of a musician as well. A lifestyle filled with junk food and sugar rich drinks will place the musician in poor health as a result of nutrient deficiencies. This is of great importance to guitarists as deficiencies of calcium and iron will result in weak nails that are liable to break when practicing, or worse, during a performance! A good diet is a direct factor in muscle strength which is important for instrumentalists such as string players that require great muscle strength to be able to effectively bow their instruments. To link back to a previous paragraph, harpists may wish to consider their diets when trying to curb problems faced during practice. Magnesium rich foods include dark green leafy vegetables, seaweed, hard water sources of drinking water, some nuts and some forms of wheat. There are many magnesium benefits, the relationship with the tendonitis dynamic is one of them. Due to it's role in regulating muscle activity, magnesium is a big one for a heart that works correctly.4 Our environments that surround us can also affect a musician. An environment can often refer to factors such as noise levels, temperature and exposure to direct sunlight or freezing temperatures. Noise levels that are of an excessively high level can often lead to tinnitus in the ear which will destroy the hearing quality of a musician; in many cases this can lead to a reduction of the range of frequencies one can hear. This is often common in orchestral musicians as the decibels produced can often be deafening, this can be remedied by taking precautions such as wearing ear plugs that filter out excessive levels of noise. Temperature can significantly alter a musicians performance style as well. If a room is far too cold it can often make a warm up utterly futile and may even lead to the development of tendon damage as a musician performs cold Temperatures below 62 [17 C] will lead to decreased dexterity and clumsiness...Make an attempt to visit the site where you will be performing ahead of time. Determine how you will need to dress.5 This is also true when a musician is playing in a warm environment; it would not be advisable to wear many more layers than is necessary as the musician may well suffer from heat exhaustion. Prolonged sun exposure, as many of us know, does increase the chances of skin cancer. This can be problematic for musicians that are often asked to perform outdoors such as brass bands. A medium coating of SPF 30 sunscreen will be able to keep a musician protected for approximately two hours. Not only does the sun have damaging effects on the skin, if not properly protected, our eyes can also be susceptible to the suns harmful rays. Sunglasses can provide the protection required. It has been proven that sunglasses without an ultraviolet ray block can actually cause retinal damage in your eyes.6 On the opposite spectrum of sun exposure is the need for adequate lighting, especially in stage or when reading music. Poor light levels cause a strain on the eyes when reading music. Some music stands come with small lighting for this issue, but many do not.7 This indicates that planning ahead will remedy this, be able to have enough light to see your music and instrument clearly.
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Joshua Tucker http://www.tendonitisexpert.com/magnesium-for-tendonitis.html - 2008 Dr Timothy Jameson http://www.musicianshealth.com/environmental.htm - 2004 6 Ibid 7 Ibid

These factors must all be taken into account if a musician is serious about their choice of career. The choices of lifestyle and environment to perform in will either greatly benefit of greatly hinder a musicians performance and future prospects of work; if a musician is seen to be injured and they cannot play to the best of their ability, there will be little work for them as they will be seen as a potential liability either as a teacher, recording artist or performer.