How to overcome repetitive strain injuries - once and for all - so you’ll never have to even conside
You’re a musician - so you know that playing music is more than just a job.
Playing music determines where you go, who you hang out with, what hours you keep, what you think about. Sure, it’s your livelihood, but it’s also your passion, your calling. How amazing is it that you don’t have to work some crummy 9-5, but that you get to follow your passion and play music for a living?!
I imagine you’re reading this because there’s recently been a wrinkle in this situation. A worrisome, dark little wrinkle that doesn’t seem to be going away - chronic body pain. Maybe there’s a stabbing sensation in your back, maybe a burning in your shoulder, maybe your hands go numb, or you get shooting pains down your arms.
This probably started out pretty small - just a little tingle that would either go away on its own or with a couple Tylenol.
But now it’s more serious. The doctors and wellness professionals you see all say different things, and nothing really seems to make the pain go away 100%. You search and you search, and you try dozens of different treatment options, but nothing really sticks.
The pain isn’t going away - it’s here to stay... and you’re worried it's only going to get worse.
And it doesn’t just affect your music-making, because the pain lingers throughout the whole day! Washing dishes, opening jars, driving, standing or sitting for long periods… now, these perfectly normal activities are suddenly painful and you have to make all of these adjustments in your life to accommodate the pain.
What if it gets so bad you have to stop practicing? What if you can’t take that exciting new audition? What if you continue to struggle through every practice session, rehearsal, and performance for the rest of your career?
What if the pain got so bad that you had to give up playing music altogether?
THIS IS THE INJURED MUSICIAN’S DILEMMA - AND THERE IS A LASTING SOLUTION.
In order to overcome the pain that seems to have fully settled into your life you need to get to the real root cause of the pain and uproot it, once and for all.
So - what is the real root cause of repetitive strain injuries?
The answer is that you’re doing it to yourself and you don’t even realize it. Here’s what happens:
You - and everybody else - have habits of posture and body movement. Usually, these habits involve holding a little too much tension in our body. This is not a huge deal for most people, and for most people this excess tension only causes occasional discomfort, back pain, stiff neck, etc.
This excess tension is a big deal for musicians, however, because we do repetitive movements hundreds of times a day, day in and day out, over the course of many years. That little bit of excess wear and tear make a big difference over the years and, for many, it leads to chronic pain conditions in your back, neck, arms, or hands.
The solution, therefore, MUST be centered around CHANGING THESE HABITS OF EXCESS TENSION. How do you change these habits? It ain’t easy, and most doctors and wellness professionals completely miss this point, and so their offerings are often temporary.
If you don’t change these habits of excess tension:
You will continue to be in pain,
You will continue to struggle through rehearsals and performances, and
You will be left with only guesswork and hope as to how to overcome the pain.
You may even have to give up playing music altogether.
HOW NOT TO CHANGE THE HABITS OF EXCESS TENSION WHICH CAUSE YOUR PAIN:
Stretching
Strengthening
Exercise
Pain medication
Massage and other manual manipulations
Chiropractic adjustments
Essential oils
Nutritional supplements
Tennis elbow braces
Taking a break from playing
Surgery
NONE of these methods change the underlying habits of excess tension in your muscles which are the root cause of your pain. No matter how much you use these methods, in no matter what combination, and no matter how many thousands of dollars you sink into these, they will NEVER help you address the real root cause of your pain. Thus, none of these methods can help you overcome repetitive strain injuries, once and for all.
HOW TO OVERCOME THE PAIN, ONCE AND FOR ALL:
You must break your habits of excess muscular tension. The good news is that breaking these habits is simple. You need three things: awareness, learning to let go of your muscles, and you need to recognize the role of your whole body.
Awareness
Most of us have no idea that we hold excess tension in our muscles beyond the experience of common aches and pains. Even if you are aware of excess tension, you're probably only aware of 10% of what's really going on - the tip of the iceberg. In order to overcome this obstacle you need increase your conscious awareness of your body and pay attention to your body more closely than you ever have before, so that you can catch the exact moment when you’re tensing up unnecessarily. Once you are able to do this, you will no longer tense muscles unnecessarily and your playing will be freer than ever, even if you’re now in pain every day.
Learning to Let Go of Your Muscles
You also need to learn that what we’re looking for here is a “letting go” of your muscles, not contraction or stretching. Once you can let go of your muscles you will stop the cycle of pain and your body will feel totally comfortable and relaxed while you’re playing, even under high-pressure circumstances.
The Part That Hurts ISN’T The Cause Of The Pain
Your bones and muscles are like a web, and webs are highly interconnected. The pain in your hands, for example, may actually be caused by tension in your neck and back that you are simply unaware of. Once you address this tension in your neck and back, however, the pain in your hand will go away - in some cases, instantly.
So let’s review quickly…
If you want to overcome repetitive strain injuries, once and for all, you have to stop looking to the conventional solutions and start looking at your habits of excess tension. The habits that lead to pain are hard to overcome because most of us aren’t even aware of them. However, you can overcome them in a lasting way by increasing your awareness of your body while playing music, learning to let go of this excess tension, and recognizing the role of hidden tension elsewhere in your whole body.
Do you want to overcome the pain and strain you now experience, once and for all, within the next 90 days?
It’s absolutely doable, and I can show you how.
Imagine no longer worrying about pain.
Imagine being so relaxed and comfortable in your body that you can play as much as you want, as long as you want, without a hint of pain.
Check out this free presentation where I walk you through everything you need to know in order to never, ever, have to worry about giving up playing music.
Cheers!
Joseph Arnold
Alexander Technique Teacher, Violinist, & Founder of Pain-Free Music
