No Pain No Gain?
Dylan Kay, Monday 27 June 2011
It might apply in the gym, but this phrase has no place in the musician’s vocabulary.
This post is about my personal experience of RSI, and includes advice on how to overcome this debilitating injury.
In my time at music college and in my current teaching, I’ve come across many musicians who’ve suffered from some form of performance-related injury, whether RSI, tendonitis, carpal tunnel syndrome or similar.
The internal desire (together with external pressures) to practise for long hours often takes its toll.
In my case, the trigger was lifting a heavy kitchen cabinet in 2004. That evening I started to experience tingling and shooting pains in both forearms. This got worse when I tried to play the guitar. The discomfort was enough to stop me from my hours of regular daily practising. I was able to perform gigs, but the lack of practice made these depressing. Which brings me to the fact that such injuries have both an emotional and physical impact on the sufferer.
I found it very difficult to find any information or treatment that helped, despite visits to both my GP and local hospital, and numerous sessions with sports physiotherapists.
Eventually, I discovered BAPAM (British Association for Performing Arts Medicine), where I received much more appropriate physio and advice (this even included regularly dunking my arms in iced water). I also discovered a Bowen Technique therapist who helped a great deal.
After what felt like a very long year, the symptoms began to subside. Since then, I have found the Alexander Technique to be incredibly beneficial as an ongoing preventative measure. I consciously try to relax when playing. I now stand up more when I’m practising, and try to play through an amp as much as possible (again, to help with playing in a lighter, more relaxed way).
The main advice I would offer any musician who suspects they’re starting to get RSI is to stop playing (for a few days?) at the first sign of any unusual discomfort, and if necessary to seek help as soon as possible. Don’t ignore the warning signs!
Dylan Kay is a Surbiton-based guitarist, performer and teacher, who scribbles about guitar and music-related topics on his blog.
