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Repetitive Strain Injuries - What We Can Learn From Musicians

© Robert Rickover

Given all these pressures, it's not surprising that musicians have looked for help wherever they could find it. There are doctors and physical therapists and massage therapists who specialize in working with musicians and various therapies have been developed to help with specific stress-related problems - the hand and wrist stiffness some pianists face, for example.

A growing number of musicians have discovered the Alexander Technique, a century-old method for getting rid of unwanted habit patterns that interfere with smooth performance. The Technique is now part of the curriculum at many of the most progressive music schools, such as The Julliard School and the Royal College of Music in London. A number of famous musicians - Yehudi Menuhen, James Galway, Sting, Paul McCartney, to name but a few - have studied the Alexander Technique.

Lessons in the Alexander Technique can help a musician identify their habits of posture and playing that cause pain, fatigue and which interfere with the quality of their music-making. Several examples can be found in "Poise in Performance: Alexander Technique for Musicians" by a colleague of mine, Joan Arnold. The full article can be found at http://www.alexandertechnique.com/articl...

Joan writes about a jazz musician she interviewed after he had taken Alexander Technique lessons:

"The age-old thing with me is that my terrible 'jazz' posture was affecting my playing." While studying classical piano in college, he recalls struggling with difficult Beethoven passages. "I would freeze up in my forearms. I felt I had this weird problem I carried around that no one was going to be able to do anything about."

After Alexander Technique lessons, he reported: "I felt a lot better...the carriage of my whole upper torso shifted appreciably. A lot of physical issue I had with the piano cleared up. I felt able to relax more as I was playing. Things that had been difficult for me became easier."

Many musicians have similar stories to tell about their experience with Alexander Technique lessons. If the Technique can help people who are engaged in such a demanding occupation, surely it is worth investigating by anyone who suffers from repetitive stress injury.

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The web page "Musicians and the Alexander Technique" at http://www.alexandertechnique.com/musici... has links to many articles on this topic.

"Avoiding RSI's - How the Alexander Technique Can Help" is a well-written article by an ergonomist and Alexander Technique teacher. It can be found at http://www.alexandertechnique.com/rsi.htm