ShareThisPrevention is the key to avoiding a music injury, and a good practice plan offers a start. Janet Horvath, a cellist and an authority on the medical problems of performing artists, lists some rules that can help musicians avoid a performance injury:
-- Warm up, first away from the instrument and then at the instrument.
-- Take breaks at least 10 minutes per hour and one day a week, as well as the odd minute to uncurl arms, let go of instruments and get out of awkward positions and postures.
-- Vary your repertoire -- one uses different muscles for different types of music. Don't get stuck on one passage or one work.
-- Increase your practice load gradually if you are coming from time off or lighter loads. Never launch right into heavy, intense playing.
-- Reduce your practice intensity before a performance. Avoid heavy practice the day before and the day of a concert or audition. Practice away from the instrument -- mental preparation and visualizations are very effective.
-- If you have a long work to learn, allow several days and learn a few pages a day.
-- If you have several works to learn, make up a practice chart and categorize them according to their physical demands.
-- Learn to analyze and avoid mindless repetition.
Source: "Playing (Less) Hurt -- An Injury Prevention Guide for Musicians" (Janet Horvath, $29.95, 295 pages). Visit www.playinglesshurt.com.
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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