Massage for Musicians
M Linking Injuries to Instruments BY DOUG NELSON, DEBORAH LIEBERMAN, AND JAN KIENER
usicians seldom think of themselves as upper body athletes, individuals as immersed in the physiology of performance as anyone who plays a sport. Each of the authors has treated numerous athletes and has noted that athletes often have an understanding of the physiology of movement that musicians lack. This initial observation led to the performance of a research study, by Deborah Lieberman, Jan Kiener, and J. McCrackan, examining the correlation between certain instruments and the existence of specifi c injuries. The plight that musicians encounter when faced with musculoskeletal discomfort is illustrated in the narrative of violist T.M. Her story is the story of countless musicians.
82 massage & bodywork january/february 2008
