Music transcends cultures, touches hearts and makes spirits soar. It’s a universal language, allowing us to express emotions and connect to others without words. That’s what I love about it.

As a classically trained pianist, I also know performing isn’t just a livelihood. It’s a passion that consumes the body and mind. It can become a large part of your identity. 

But, like traditional athletes, musicians are “fine-motor athletes” prone to injury due to hours of daily practice and performances.

Over two-thirds of musicians at the collegiate or professional level have experienced pain or musculoskeletal complaints related to the repetitive nature of their quest for finding the perfect sound at the instrument.

Just because performers don’t make major movements or collide with others, as other athletes may do, doesn’t mean their tasks aren’t physically demanding. Muscles used vary from instrument to instrument, just as from sport to sport, and require strength, endurance and mobility.

Yet, when musicians get hurt, they typically don’t have the same resources available to athletes such as physical therapists who specialize in their types of injuries. Even in a huge performing arts city like Houston, musicians can have difficulty  finding  appropriate care from someone who understands the demands of their craft as a musician and how it affects their anatomy and psyche as a health care professional.

As a result, performing artists—professional, collegiate or hobbyist—often ignore or play through pain.

I’ve been there. As a physical therapist and an orthopedic clinical specialist at Memorial Hermann Sports Medicine & Rehabilitation - Katy, I focus on working with musicians and helping these performers tune their most important instrument—their body.

Where It All Began

I started playing piano at about age four and haven’t stopped since. By high school, I knew I didn’t want to give up learning science or performing the works of Chopin and Beethoven, so when the time came, I applied to universities that offered me both.

I graduated from Case Western Reserve University with a bachelor’s degree in biology and  bachelor’s and master’s degrees in piano performance from Cleveland Institute of Music.

In college, I saw how often fellow performers and colleagues got injured, how reluctant we were to seek aid and how inadequate our care was. That’s the moment I realized I wanted a career blending both my passions.

I wanted to return musicians who were dealing with pain or musculoskeletal complaints—including myself—to their instruments without physical limitations.

Treating Injury

Thus, I earned a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree at Washington University School of Medicine in Saint Louis, Mo., and completed my orthopedic residency at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. 

My advanced degree and background enable me to help performers identify any physical impairments, postural faults and compensatory movement patterns that may be contributing to their playing-related pain. I observe my patients playing their instrument and provide feedback on how they can modify and optimize their performance and sound production.

Our shared experiences as performing artists bond us and create a level of trust and comfort in receiving the proper care and rehabilitation they need.

Musical instruments are not the most ergonomic or posture-friendly—and awkward positions can irritate many structures including muscles, tendons, joints and nerves. Chronic or acute overuse can lead to a musculoskeletal condition called tendinopathy, akin to tennis elbow or jumper’s knee. Without proper rehabilitation and load management, tendinopathy can be quite painful and quickly worsen with long-term implications on muscle performance.

Peripheral nerve entrapments involve the neuromuscular system, which can cause numbness, tingling, burning, or shooting pain. A more serious, but rare condition called focal dystonia is the loss of fine motor control in your hands, fingers, jaw or embouchure with very specific movements, depending on the physical demands of your instrument.  When left untreated, a minor ailment can snowball into a career-altering injury.

Let the Healing Begin

My knowledge and experiences have allowed me to heal myself and others.

The evaluation and plan of care are individual to the performer. Patient sessions often progress from a questionnaire and chat to having the musician play the repertoire with which they’re struggling. That allows me to see their movement and determine which factors are contributing to their pain. We then exam the strength, flexibility and mobility of specific muscle groups and joints based on their playing analysis and biomechanical issues.

Most likely, we’ll address the impairments that we find with their instrument and tailor a personalized treatment plan and exercise program to their physical limitations. We focus on retraining any faulty movements or excessive muscle tension they developed to compensate for pain, while optimizing the way they play to improve performance.

Our final sessions are such a rewarding moment to them—and me. They’re relieved to discover they can move more effectively and efficiently with better postural strength and awareness. They realize that they have greater control of their instrument and sound quality. There’s no better feeling than when they leave Memorial Hermann and return to the stage without pain or limitations. That’s the curtain call I live for.