Follow-up of singers, musicians, dancers

Osteopathy for performers

Osteopathy can be a vital tool for every performer, not only to address problems with pain and injury if and when they arise, but also to provide guidance on maintenance of healthy movement and injury prevention to enhance performance and ensure successful and long-lasting careers.

We know that performers may not be able to come for many treatments – due to travel and cost – so we focus on giving advice on self-treatment (eg. with a tennis ball or foam roller) and stretching to enable patients to manage and prevent pain and injury when they are on tour and unable to come for regular visits.

 

• Osteopathy for dancers: Having worked with a number of dancers, I know that they often have punishing schedules, putting their body under huge strain and often pushing through pain because the show must of course go on! But dancing-related injuries can be career-limiting and must be taken seriously.Dancers are often very flexible and sometimes hypermobile, which can make it difficult to find stretches which will release the tightness in their muscles.

  Working with dancers is helping them to maintain good musculoskeletal health, to manage niggles and pain which too frequently arise and to make wise decisions about when to rest and when to train so as to ensure they have a long and successful career in dance.

• Osteopathy For Musicians: Musicians are a high risk group for developing Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI). These injuries can be caused and made worse by the repetitive nature of playing an instrument during practice, rehearsals and performances. These injuries can affect the joints, muscles or nerves and can manifest as pain, muscle tension or neurological symptoms such as pins and needles or numbness. A musician may even experience focal dystonia – clumsiness or loss of dexterity affecting their ability to play their instrument. For example a guitar player may experience hand cramping which means they can no longer control fine finger movements. Injury can be extremely worrying for a musician as it has the potential to affect their performing career.The good news is that these conditions can often be helped by osteopathy. I can restore correct movement to joints and muscles using a range of hands-on manual therapy techniques. I give advice on posture, stretching, and how to apply simple self-treatment techniques. Because musicians rely on their bodies so much on a day-to-day basis, we believe in providing knowledge on how to maintain your body in optimum condition. By doing so, you can minimise the risk of injury and keep your muscles relaxed and movement more fluid when playing your instrument. 

Some musicians choose to have monthly treatments to optimise their movement and dexterity and to prevent injury. You have to constantly fine tune your instrument; why not do the same for your body? After all, your body is the most important instrument of them all.