Playing With Pain--Don't Do It



A Humorous Look At Playing With Pain



As you travel along on your musical journey, you may notice that certain areas of your body are starting to hurt as you practice.  This soreness is a "red flag" and you should deal with it immediately.

More importantly, if there is pain for your child when practicing, talk to the music teacher right away.  Your child's music teacher may not have noticed a leaning posture or a wrist position that is slightly off.  Pianists often develop pain somewhere in the neck or upper/lower back.  If your teacher is not able to help you alleviate the pain through better body ergonomics, a trip to the doctor would be in order.  Many of you see physician's assistants and chiropractors and that, too, would be a great next step.

If you are a practicing adult student or performer, after making sure that your body is in the right position for playing your instrument and there is still pain, you should also see a doctor, physician's assistant, or the like for any pain in your neck, hands, fingers, legs, etcetera.  Adults may also find that practicing yoga, Pilates, or just plain old stretching helps limber up sensitive areas of the body before practicing and that will disperse the pain.

As many of you know, there are now specialists that treat musicians and athletes for specific kinds of pain in the body related to the playing of instruments and athletic training.  Please do not hesitate to contact these people for counsel and help.