Whether it be conducting, handling music or playing their instruments, hands are important to musicians.
For freshman Libby Mauk, who has played flute for nine years, this realization came after an instrument overuse injury.
“I noticed it first in my pinky a year ago,” Mauk said. “It’s tendonitis in my wrist area … (and) there’s two little bones that are rubbing together.”
Music history and French horn professor Sarah Schmalenberger has been published on music injuries and said almost anything can injure musicians and vocalists.
“The difference between sports athletes and musical athletes is that sports athletes are usually getting injured in the larger muscle groups and the athleticism of musicians is in the small muscle groups,” Schmalenberger said. “Broken fingers would hurt a baseball player just as much as it would a pianist but the difference in that is that the pianist with broken fingers is totally incapacitated.”
Even with her splint, Mauk said her injury sometimes gets in the way.
“Before I had splints or anything, it was really painful. I could barely hold up my instrument because all of the weight of the instrument goes through this hand,” Mauk said.
According to Schmalenberger, repetitive motion without rest and negligence are two of the most common causes of injury, especially in young musicians, who may be more prone to injury because of their still-developing bodies.
“All muscles tense and relax and you have to have a balanced method of release and tension,” Schmalenberger said.
Although the risks are real, Schmalenberger said there is no reason for student musicians to panic. Injuries can be prevented by visiting a music injury doctor or professor.
“When you look around, you see thousands of musicians doing what they love and they’re fine,” Schmalenberger said. “You can be rehabilitated quite quickly and many times it’s just a change of approach; get a new mouthpiece or get a different brace or play the instrument differently. So these are infinitely treatable.”
The future of Mauk’s injury is unclear, but it will not prevent her from doing what she loves.
“I’m trying new things in hand therapy and a new splint. If this doesn’t work, I might have to have surgery to get the bone removed,” Mauk said. “I love playing an instrument … it just makes your brain think and work differently.”
Rita Kovtun can be reached at kovt1547@stthomas.edu.
Thanks Rita, for your thoughtful story on injuries of musicians! May I suggest the Musician’s Clinic at the Sister Kenny Rehabilitation Institute in Minneapolis for those who have sustained an injury. UST music teachers can provide a wealth of resources too, including their own contacts of practitioners who advocate various methods for preventing injury (Alexander Technique, Feldenkreis, Mindfulness Meditation, Performance Readiness, etc).