Athletic Musician: A Guide to Playing Without Pain

By Barbara Paull and Christine Harrison

Book Overview

The Athletic Musician is an innovative approach that teaches musicians how to prevent and manage injuries, presented in a unique format that combines sound medical protocol with a musician's point of view. Harrison, a musician, discusses the magnitude of the problem of musicians' injuries with reference to statistical surveys and discusses the emotional and psychological impact of injury on the individual musician. Paull, an orthopedic physiotherapist describes, in layman's terms, the athletic approach to a musician's injuries. Each commonly injured area is examined in turn, from neck, back and shoulder pain to arm, wrist and hand problems. For each area, the anatomy is described, followed by an explanation of what causes the injury and how to avoid or prevent the injury from occurring.

Musicians should regard themselves as elite "musical athletes" and protect themselves from injury by following athletic training protocols. The authors present appropriate stretching regimes and postural corrections for both on and off stage, as well as ergonomic changes to instrument and playing positions. The text is amply illustrated with sketches for every exercise and stretch, photographs of musicians demonstrating playing postures, and unique anatomical drawings of musicians.

The Athletic Musician presents research-based, scientific material in a format that is relevant, clear, and practical for all musicians. The combination of a medical and musical perspectives makes it an indispensable guide for all musicians and the health care professionals who aspire to help them.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0810833565
• ISBN13: 9780810833562
• Release Date: February 1999
• Publisher: Scarecrow Press
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.93 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 7.0" x 9.9"

Customer Reviews

READ THIS AND START PLAYING AGAIN. THERE IS HOPE!

After a year of computer/instrument tendonitis, I FINALLY found this book, which really gave a lot of good, CURRENT information. Better yet, I made the pilgrimage to see Dr. Paull in Stouffville, Ontario. It was worth the 10-hour drive. She gave me a lot of important information that contradicted a lot of misinformation given to me by well-intentioned doctors, chiropractors, massage therapists, acupuncturists, pharmacists, etc. who seem to just perpetuate the status quo of repetitive strain injuries and rehabilitation without really researching new information about them. Read this book, consult Dr. Paull and start playing again. Christine Harrison, the musician who co-wrote the book, had a musician's horror story to tell and she is now playing professionally again after a FIVE YEAR UNNECESSARY hiatus. The book also has excellent information regarding stretches, posture, excercises and anatomy. READ THIS BOOK AND GET THE INFORMATION YOU NEED TO START PLAYING AGAIN! I did. I guarantee you can, too, if you follow Dr. Paull and Christine Harrison's advice. Good luck. P.S. Doing hand strengthing excercises to get better? STOP NOW. You are probably hurting yourself. The only thing you should use to strengthen your hands is your instrument.

An indispensible book for every musician

Every musician who wants to avoid a playing injury or is recovering from such an injury should own this book. This is not a read-once book but a book to use and refer to until one has it memorized. It gives easy-to-follow instructions for safe warming up, exercises and stretches to do at home and even some for doing on stage, ways to avoid injury and means to stay healthy when one has recovered. The psycological and social aspects which confront injured musicians are sensitively dealt with in "The Athletic Musician". The title already tells us that this is a relevant approach to treating the subject of musician's health. Read it, it could save your career!