Dave Maley, 6/12/2008
ITHACA, NY— If music soothes the savage beast, how do you soothe those making the music? Carpal tunnel syndrome, repetitive stress injury, back pain — these are just a few of the problems musicians can suffer while practicing and performing their craft.
To help both musicians and medical practitioners learn more about the prevention and care of such injuries, Ithaca College will hold its annual Healthy Musician workshops June 13–18. For more information on the workshops, visit www.ithaca.edu/cess/healthymusician/.
Leading the workshops will be faculty members from the college’s music, exercise and sport sciences, physical therapy and occupational therapy departments as well as a psychologist, optometrist, massage therapist, yoga instructor and other practitioners and clinicians.
Now in its 15th year, the Healthy Musician program is designed for professional musicians (both instrumentalists and singers), for music educators who wish to gain an understanding in the management of student ailments and disability prevention, and for health-care professionals interested in developing a performing-arts medicine program or expanding their strategies for the treatment of music-related injuries. Musicians are invited to bring their instruments to each session.
Topics covered in the workshops will include basic anatomy and physiology; posture and its relation to injury; back care; hand anatomy; stress management; biofeedback; the pharmacological treatment of pain, inflammation and anxiety in musicians; therapeutic massage; yoga; and breathing exercises. Also presented will be the Feldenkrais method, which uses carefully planned movement sequences to improve and refine musician coordination, balance, posture and sensitivity; and Brain Gym, a system of targeted activities that prepare the brain and entire nervous system for optimal performance in all areas: intellectual, creative, athletic and interpersonal.
The director of the Healthy Musician program is Nicholas Quarrier, clinical associate professor of physical therapy at Ithaca College. A board-certified clinical specialist in orthopedic physical therapy, he has published and lectured throughout the country on music-related injuries.
For more information, contact Quarrier at (607) 274-3716 or nquarrie@ithaca.edu.
Originally published in News Releases: Ithaca College Workshops Help Musicians Stay Healthy.
