Lifting Belt Controversy: Should You Use One?

This is the fourth 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, and proper lifting techniques in the performing arts. This article discusses a commonly-used piece of safety equipment: the lifting belt.

There are many types of lifting belts, also occasionally referred to as “back belts.” The lifting belts most commonly encountered in the performing arts and athletic worlds are specifically designed for athletic use. These belts are designed to support the lower back while minimizing the extent to which they interfere with body movement. Conversely, some back belts are intended for people with specific back injuries or for manual laborers to wear at work. These belts may have suspender-like supports or may be made of inflexible materials, like hard plastic, which make it harder to perform athletic movements while wearing these belts.

Industrial Lifting Belt

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.

Ten Tips to Snack Smarter (and Healthier)

Snacking is a great way to keep your energy levels up between meals, stabilize your blood sugar, and make sure you’re getting all the nutrients and variety of foods your body needs. However, snacking on the wrong foods can derail dietary plans, lead to over-consumption of fats, sugars, or Calories, and interfere with adequately fueling your body. The following tips will help you make smarter snacking decisions so you can get the most fuel and nutrition out of your snacks.

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.

Using RICE to Treat Your Acute Injury

In the sports medicine world, “RICE” is a well-known self-treatment for acute soft-tissue injuries. RICE stands for Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. Like most things in life (especially performing arts medicine), RICE should be used in moderation, as too much of even just one of the segments can hinder healing and potentially cause additional tissue damage. The exact length of each segment depends on the severity, location, and stage of healing of your injury.

The best time to apply all four components of RICE is several hours after a severe acute injury before you have the injury evaluated by a medical professional. Unless you are specifically told to do so by a medical professional, you shouldn’t need to apply RICE more than 3-5 days following a severe acute injury (assuming you don’t re-injure yourself).