The Athletic Musician

The Athletic Musician is an innovative approach that teaches musicians how to prevent and manage injuries, presented in a unique format that combines sound medical protocol with a musician's point of view. Harrison, a musician, discusses the magnitude of the problem of musicians' injuries with reference to statistical surveys and discusses the emotional and psychological impact of injury on the individual musician. Paull, an orthopedic physiotherapist describes, in layman's terms, the athletic approach to a musician's injuries. Each commonly injured area is examined in turn, from neck, back and shoulder pain to arm, wrist and hand problems. For each area, the anatomy is described, followed by an explanation of what causes the injury and how to avoid or prevent the injury from occurring.
Musicians should regard themselves as elite "musical athletes" and protect themselves from injury by following athletic training protocols. The authors present appropriate stretching regimes and postural corrections for both on and off stage, as well as ergonomic changes to instrument and playing positions. The text is amply illustrated with sketches for every exercise and stretch, photographs of musicians demonstrating playing postures, and unique anatomical drawings of musicians.
The Athletic Musician presents research-based, scientific material in a format that is relevant, clear, and practical for all musicians. The combination of a medical and musical perspectives makes it an indispensable guide for all musicians and the health care professionals who aspire to help them.

By Barbara Paull and Christine Harrison

Part 1 List of Illustrations
Part 2 Foreword
Part 3 Preface
Part 4 Acknowedgments
Part 5 I: The Problem
Part 6 Introduction
Chapter 7 1. The Psychology of Musician's Injuries
Chapter 8 2. A Physiotherapist's Opinion
Chapter 9 3. The Musician's Tale
Chapter 10 4. An Introduction to Physiotherapy
Part 11 II: Anatomy and Applied Anatomy for Musicians
Chapter 12 5. Anatomy for Musicians
Chapter 13 6. Taking Care of Your Back and Neck
Chapter 14 7. The Shoulder
Chapter 15 8. The Arm, Wrist, and Hand
Chapter 16 III: The Musician as Athlete
Chapter 17 9. Playing Ergonomics
Chapter 18 10. Exercise Protocols for the Musical Athlete
Chapter 19 11. Practicing as an Athletic Musician
Chapter 20 12. Working as an Athletic Musician
Chapter 21 13. The Work Environment
Chapter 22 14. If You Are Injured
Chapter 23 15. Stouffville Musicians' Physiotherapy Guide
Part 24 Glossary of Terms
Part 25 Appendix
Part 26 References
Part 27 About the Authors