INJURY PREVENTION

INTRODUCTION to Injury

With thousands of participants nationally, marching band is a strenuous activity with significant potential for injury. Many musicians are willing to play through injuries at a very young age, and the risks do not stop musicians from pursuing their love of performing and playing their instruments. Some musicians even believe that pain is inherent to the level of performance they try to achieve. A sense of blame and responsibility for their injuries causes many musicians to ignore the pain, and to interpret their injuries as an indication of inferior talent and overall failure as a performer. The good news is that most injuries can be avoided and managed through understanding the cumulative load of practice and performance and the multiple variables involved in an injury.

Risk Factors for Injury

• Muscle fatigue/tension

• Poor posture

• Biomechanical flaws and training errors (e.g. compression of the mouthpiece into the lips with brass instruments to facilitate higher notes, or the position of the instrument in relation to the mouth causing jaw issues)

• Psychological stressors

• Difficulties using hearing protection devices

• Sudden increases in training

• Changes in repertoire

• Inadequate rest

• Increased speed of movement (marching)

• Setting formations and changing directions

• The art and style of marching

• Poor lighting and excessive sound levels (negatively impacts posture, quality of movement, and stress levels)

• Showmanship of marching may exaggerate movements and increase the risk of injury due to the increased intensity and repetition of those movements

Acute

• Sprained ankles

• Lacerations/contusions from collisions

• Concussions

• Muscle strains

Chronic/Overuse

• Posture-related

• Aerobic fitness/fatigue

• Delayed onset muscle soreness

• Swollen/deformed joints 

Importance of warm-up AND cool down

Warm-Up

Instrumentalists are athletes of the small and postural muscles but don't always take care of themselves with the same rigor as athletes do in terms of injury prevention.

Cool Down

Cooling down decreases lactic acid build-up and decreases muscle soreness.

Rehearsal Duration/Rest Breaks

It's important to perform rest breaks during organized rehearsals and when you are pacing yourself with individual practice sessions. Keeping your body active during breaks is helpful when you have to resume activity (e.g. going outside for a walk, performing light stretching, light exercise to address any areas of your body that may feel tight or limited, performing visualization of the piece you just practiced, or meditation and yoga in place to help calm the mind and promote good posture and tissue flexibility). Also, be sure to rehydrate and provide your working body with proper nutrition.

Tips for Minimizing Neck, Shoulder, and Back Pain

For those of you who sit to practice your instrument, realize you also have added stress to your spine from sitting to do school work and using electronics for both fun and work purposes.

• Don’t stay in one position too long. Set a timer on your phone for 45 minutes or less and move around or take a break from whatever posture you were just in

• Sit tall with a pillow or rolled towel supporting your lower back

• Stand, walk and march tall to engage core muscles; consider core conditioning if you have back pain issues

• Bring electronics up to your eye level. Your head weighs 10-12 lbs. This is all the weight the muscles along the back of the neck and tops of shoulders were designed to support. When you start looking down at your phone or computer, the weight of the head quickly increases to 40+ pounds and can easily cause neck strain, pain and headaches

Musician Self-Awareness Checklist

To improve understanding of your body and any possible limitations that may cause injury, it is good to know more about these physical education domains that are relevant to the musician’s general fitness and health: 

• Cardiorespiratory endurance

• Muscle endurance

• Muscle strength

• Posture

• Body composition

• Flexibility

• Nutrition

• Sleep 

These domains contribute to the following in various performance scenarios: 

• Consistency of motor control/efficiency of movement

• Maintenance of ergonomic posture (core stability)

• Technique relaxation and flow

• Ergonomics—environment, set up, equipment

Contributors

Cindy Munday, PT, MPT

Paola Savvidou, DMA, NCTM

Kristen Hope Schuyten, PT, DPT