Muscle Imbalances and Poor Posture: A Dangerous Cycle

Using a muscle group more than its counterpart leads to imbalances in strength, flexibility, resting length, and muscle efficiency between these two groups. These muscular imbalances can lead to poor posture, pain, and injury. Instrumentalists are particularly vulnerable to developing muscle imbalances due to the repetitive motions and long hours with insufficient breaks that seem to go hand-in-hand with playing a musical instrument.

Why You Should Never Force Your Turnout

Dancers, especially those in ballet, are expected to utilize a rather large amount of external rotation of the legs, called turnout. Anatomically speaking, turnout is the combination of external rotation of the hip joint, tibial torsion (slight external rotation of the lower leg as compared to the thigh), and slight external rotation of the foot. Turnout is supposed to be created and maintained through hip/pelvis and thigh musculature. However, in an effort to achieve the largest degree of turnout possible, some dancers “force” turnout, using the friction from the floor to hold the foot in a more turned out position than the dancer can achieve using the hip and thigh muscles.

Fuel for Healing

Giving your body what it needs can keep you healthy, help you achieve or maintain your target weight, improve your physical and mental performance, and improve your mood. “Giving your body what it needs” can include resting from physical activity, staying hydrated, and eating nutritiously. Unfortunately, performing artists can have a difficult time integrating these healthy behaviors into their daily routine.

Rest and hydration guidelines have been presented previously, so this article focuses on the importance of nutrition on injury prevention and recovery.

4 Behaviors that Hurt Your Voice

Vocal health problems like hoarseness, fatigue of the voice, pain, and vocal cord lesions are caused by vocal abuse (using the voice in a way that damages your voice and vocal health) or vocal misuse (habitual vocal strain). While it’s easiest to identify and avoid isolated instances of vocal abuse (like screaming/yelling or cheering at a sporting event or concert), it may be more important for long-term vocal health to recognize and stop the vocal misuse that happens on a regular basis.

Four Things You Must Do While Carrying Something (or Someone)

This is the fifth and final article in a series examining low back pain in the performing arts. Previous articles examined the causes of low back pain, rules for safe lifting, proper lifting techniques in the performing arts, and the controversy surrounding using a lifting belt. This article discusses carrying, a common cause of low back pain.

Performers are frequently required to carry objects (instruments, props, equipment, parts of a costume) or even people. There are three steps in the process of carrying an object: lifting the object, moving while holding the object, and setting the object down. Safety measures while carrying weight are anchored in proper lifting mechanics, which maximize safety during the first and third steps of carrying. Since lifting technique has been discussed previously, this article focuses solely on actually carrying the object (the second step).

Foot Care for Dancers

Dancers face a host of potential foot injuries and related problems. These issues run the gamut from skin conditions and infections to muscle strains and fractures. Foot problems can be caused by old/worn out dance shoes, dancing barefoot, improperly-sized shoes, choreographic demands, hard or improperly-maintained dancing surfaces, poor nutrition, sweaty feet, and improper mechanics or alignment. Musculoskeletal foot injuries like plantar fasciitis, FHL tendinitis, and stress fractures have been discussed elsewhere on this site. This article will focus on preventing non-musculoskeletal conditions of the foot, including blisters, ingrown toenails, and skin or nail infections. Routinely taking care of your feet is one of the most important things you can do as a dancer as it helps avoid infection, pain, compensations or alterations in your technique, and injuries in other parts of your body (like your ankle, shins, knee, hip, and low back).

5 Upper Body Stretches for Lower-Register Symphonic Instrumentalists

This article completes a series examining upper body stretches for specific types of performing artists. The grouping of stretches presented in this article is targeted toward musicians who play while seated with their arms more or less at their sides. Previous articles have identified key upper body stretches for marchers/musicians who stand, dancers, and musicians who play while seated with their arms elevated.

Yoga for Performing Artists...and staff! 6 Poses to Keep Stage Crew Bodies Happy

This is the last in a series of articles designed to help you identify a handful of yoga positions that will be most beneficial to your particular performance genre. This article focuses on stage crew. Previous articles have been written for marchers, dancers, and instrumentalists (not marching).

Practicing yoga offers performers many significant benefits, including lowering stress levels, promoting physical and mental relaxation, improving balance, and maintaining or improving flexibility. All of these things can help keep your immune system functioning optimally, maintain a healthy body weight, and reduce the likelihood of falls that can cause injuries. Additionally, regular yoga practice can improve body awareness, which can improve precision of movement, lower unnecessary muscular tension, and improve posture.

Injury Risk Factors for Musicians

Playing a musical instrument, like all activities in the performing arts, carries a certain amount of inherent risk of developing an injury. However, identifying the injury risk factors instrumentalists face isn’t always easy since nearly all injuries instrumentalists suffer are chronic injuries (also called “overuse injuries”). It’s much easier to identify risk factors for a traumatic injury, because these injuries are typically caused by a single incident (like a fall or collision), whereas chronic injuries are caused by a combination of a number of predisposing factors and events.

3 Upper Body Stretches Dancers Should be Doing

This article continues a series examining upper body stretches for specific types of performing artists. The stretches presented in this article are grouped together for dancers. Previous articles have examined stretches for marching musicians and musicians who play while seated with their arms elevated.

How to Care for Your "Shin Splints" and Avoid Them in the Future

Pain in the shins, often referred to as “shin splints,” can be debilitating. But what exactly are “shin splints”? Medically speaking, “shin splints” don’t exist – the phrase is not a medical diagnosis.

The term is actually a catchall for any number of conditions that cause pain and inflammation in the lower leg, including tendinitis, muscle strains, stress fractures in the lower leg, medial tibial stress syndrome (MTSS), recurrent chronic anterior compartment syndrome, and inflammation of the connective tissue around and between the bones in the lower leg (called periosteitis and inflammation of the interosseous membrane, respectively).

How Ergonomic Principles Can Improve Your Playing

Since the 1950s, the word “ergonomics” has been used to describe the study of humans and their interaction with objects in their lives. This field has focused on improving the design, manufacture, and arrangement of objects within a given (work) environment to make these locations and the actions performed in them safe, healthy, and comfortable. Instrumentalists can benefit greatly from modern ergonomics, as musical performance requires a very high amount of repetitive motions that can lead to injury.

Yoga for Performing Artists: 6 Relaxing Yoga Positions for Instrumentalists

This is the third article in a series designed to help you identify a handful of yoga positions that will be most beneficial to your particular performance genre. This article focuses on instrumentalists (not including marchers). The previous two articles were for marching band members and dancers. Check back for the series’ final article, focusing on stage crew.

Practicing yoga offers performers many significant benefits, including lowering stress levels, promoting physical and mental relaxation, improving balance, and maintaining or improving flexibility. All of these things can help keep your immune system functioning optimally, maintain a healthy body weight, and reduce the likelihood of falls that can cause injuries. Additionally, regular yoga practice can improve body awareness, which can improve precision of movement, improve aesthetic qualities of performance and movement, lower unnecessary muscular tension, and improve posture.

Safe Lifting Techniques in the Performing Arts

This is the third article in a series examining low back pain in the performing arts.

Nearly all people experience some degree of low back pain at some point in their lives. In the performing arts, most cases of low back pain are strains and/or sprains. Usually, these injuries are caused by misuse and overuse of the low back’s tissues. Improper lifting technique is the most common culprit of low back pain, so following safety guidelines and using correct lifting mechanics can reduce the risk of suffering a low back injury.

6 Stretches for Instrumentalists

This article continues a series examining upper body stretches for specific types of performing artists. The grouping of stretches presented in this article is targeted toward musicians who play while seated with their arms elevated. Future articles in this series will identify key upper body stretches for dancers and musicians who play with their arms lower than the musicians addressed here.

Yoga for Performing Artists: 7 Ideal Poses for Dancers

This is the second article in a series designed to help you identify a handful of yoga positions that will be most beneficial to your particular performance genre. The first article was for marching band members.  This article focuses on dancers.  Check back for future articles for instrumentalists (not marching) and stage crew.

Practicing yoga offers performers many significant benefits, including lowering stress levels, promoting physical and mental relaxation, improving balance, and maintaining or improving flexibility. All of these things can help keep your immune system functioning optimally, maintain a healthy body weight, and reduce the likelihood of falls that can cause injuries. Additionally, regular yoga practice can improve body awareness, which can improve precision of movement, improve aesthetic qualities of performance and movement, lower unnecessary muscular tension, and improve posture.

10 Keys to Saving your Back...and Your Performing Career

This is the second article in a series examining low back pain and injury in the performing arts.

Nearly all people, active or otherwise, will experience back pain at some point in their lives. Most often, back pain is caused by a combination of poor posture and bad mechanics, specifically lifting technique. Adhering to the rules of lifting can save you a great deal of pain and disability – and may even keep you from missing rehearsals and performances due to back pain.

6 Upper Body Stretches All Marchers Should Be Doing

This article opens a series examining upper body stretches for specific types of performing artists. The grouping of stretches presented in this article is targeted toward musicians who stand when they play and for members of the marching band. Future articles in this series will identify key upper body stretches for dancers and seated musicians.

7 Steps to Ensure Your Voice Survives the Royals' Postseason

After the Chiefs’ domination in Monday Night Football at Arrowhead and the Royals’ first postseason win in 29 years last night, more than a few Kansas Citians are likely to have vocal trauma and maybe a hoarse voice this week.

The vocal cords are bands of connective tissue that run across the trachea (“windpipe”) and vibrate when air is forcefully exhaled past them. Vocal pitch is controlled by contractions of tiny muscles attached to the ends of the vocal cords which tighten and flatten the vocal cords. When you scream or yell as loudly as you can and/or for an extended period of time, the vocal cords are exposed to a large amount of vibration, which can cause friction and irritation, leading to inflammation, swelling, damage, and pain.

Yoga for Performing Artists: 9 Fantastic Daily Yoga Poses for Marchers

This is the first in a series of articles designed to help you identify a handful of yoga positions that will be most beneficial to your particular performance genre. This article focuses on marchers. Check back for future articles for dancers, instrumentalists (not marching), and stage crew.

Practicing yoga offers performers many significant benefits, including lowering stress levels, promoting physical and mental relaxation, improving balance, and maintaining or improving flexibility. All of these things can help keep your immune system functioning optimally, maintain a healthy body weight, and reduce the likelihood of falls that can cause injuries. Additionally, regular yoga practice can improve body awareness, which can improve precision of movement, improve aesthetic qualities of performance and movement, lower unnecessary muscular tension, and improve posture.