Musicians are facing a unique set of challenges during this unprecedented time. Prior to this pandemic, we have collectively fallen accustomed to disregarding injury at the expense of taking professional auditions and advancing our careers. Our pedagogy as musicians has been largely based around the “no pain, no gain” mentality which is no longer a…
A plethora of exercises can help flutists reduce playing-related pain or numbness. The chair of the Performance Health Care Committee describes a few of them. by Angela McCuiston One of the relatively few studies done on strength training and playing-related musculoskeletal pain, done in 2017, found that up to 93 percent of professional musicians experience…
Posted: September 12, 2018Reading Time: 4 minutesPerformance Health AN EPIDEMIC OF PAIN There is a terrible epidemic hiding in our profession: more than 75% of musicians are injured or play in pain!In our flute community in particular, neck, back, arm and shoulder pain is rampant.At recent NFA workshops in Orlando, participants created this group picture…
Cubital Tunnel Syndrome Cubital Tunnel Syndrome (QTS) is a common problem in flutists, yet it is not as well known as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. This is the second most common nerve entrapment disorder, after Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, and is frequently seen in flute players, especially in the left arm and hand. The typical causative factors…
By Sandra Cox, D.M.A. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is one of the most frequently encountered disorders by all instrumentalists, caused by repetitive movements in the wrist and fingers. This is the most common of the nerve entrapment disorders. These conditions are more common in women, and persons with diabetes, thyroid disorders, and arthritis,…
The Healthy Flute by Sandra Cox, D.M.A. Performance-related injuries. These three words can strike terror in any musician. What exactly is a performance-related injury? It is, simply, any injury that prohibits a musician from performing on an instrument. There is no limit on how much it interferes with playing, whether in performance or practice. It…
