Paul Manley Back Pain and RSI Clinic

I have been treating musicians problems for over 35 years.

Career threatening conditions can result directly from playing and indirectly from other reasons including hypertonicity, over-use and RSI, trauma, inappropriate technique, bad posture, and occasionally, disease processes. The vast majority of cases that I have seen have been for muscle and joint problems and were therefore amenable to myo-articulation ( MA ). The application of MA can provide a much accelerated healing process. It combines muscle stretching and softening along the entire length of the individual muscles of the body.

Muscles, especially the deep muscles often become 'musclebound'.

In this ultra-tense state the muscles will ache and tire very rapidly. They are being starved of Oxygen. The nervous system has two ways of dealing with tense muscles. If the muscle being irritated for whatever reason is a superficial muscle i.e. one which is in the outer layer of muscles, then weakening and loss of bulk will often occur. However, if the muscles in question are the deep, supportive and postural muscles, they will tighten and shorten in response to irritation.

The deep muscles usually become tight when their associated joints have been used repetitively and, or have an injured joint or joint dislacement along the muscle's length. Every muscle in the body is in contact with at least one joint along its length. In the case of the hand and forearm many of the muscles must traverse multiple joints.

The article on repetitive strain injury of the forearm and hand contains a detailed analysis of this often problematic condition. You can read it by clicking here: RSI.