Why a physiotherapist for musicians?
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"Considering the extreme physical demands of performance, musicians can be seen as athletes of the upper body" (1)
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Musicians are incredible!
They spend thousands of hours honing and perfecting their craft to achieve a perfect union of physical precision and emotional expression. It has been estimated that professional violinists have already spent over 10 000 hours practicing by the age of 20. Achieving musical high performance necessitates incredible volumes of repetition, sustained load on their bodies, and the psychological stress that comes with performing to thousands of people on a regular basis.
Current evidence indicates that musicians report high rates of musculoskeletal pain. Yet industry-wide, pain and injury is commonly managed sub-optimally, resulting in many musicians ignoring significant problems and some ending their careers prematurely. Attempts have been made to transfer knowledge from elite sports and occupational medicine, however, these often fail to capture the unique aspects of musical performance.
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Furthermore, while sporting athletes and even dancers often have ready access to experienced physiotherapists and other health professionals who understand their demands, few options are available and accessible to instrumental musicians.
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Michael has set out to change this. As an experienced and highly qualified physiotherapist and classical performer, Michael has personal experience of the needs and demands of instrumental musicians. He set up TheMusician.Physio to provide options for musicians with pain problems to access high quality care and advice.
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(1) Cruder C, Falla D, Mangili F, et al. Profiling the Location and Extent of Musicians' Pain Using Digital Pain Drawings. Pain Pract. 2018;18(1):53-66. doi:10.1111/papr.12581