Dear Craig, This sounds like the sort of problem that would be helped by the Alexander Technique - a method which you can learn that re-introduces a natural state of balance into use of the body and so can eliminate the excess muscle tension that can cause the kind of pain you describe. Although the natural tendency is to assume that a muscle pain originates in the area that hurts, it's not always the case - it's often a symptom of the whole body being out of balance. For lute players this is often made worse by playing postures that actually induce tension.
I have advocated the use of the Technique for years as someone who has benefited greatly from it - I wrote an article for Lute News a few years ago about its relevance to lute playing. But since then Jacob Heringman has qualified as an Alexander Teacher and as he is also a world class lute player he is in my mind the best authority on combining the two. You can read about his work on his website at: http://www.heringman.com and he also provides the following link for specifics on the Technique: http://www.alexandertechnique.com/ Best wishes, Denys ----- Original Message ----- From: "Craig Allen" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Lute List" <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, November 02, 2005 6:46 PM Subject: [LUTE] Repetitive Stress Syndrome > Lately my right arm has been giving me lots of pain, in particular inside the elbow. And it's affecting my playing. I sit and pracitice for half an hour and when I unwind from the instrument I get this pain right inside the elbow. I suspect the general cause is working on a computer all day and finally the mouse is catching up with me. I'm also getting a sharp pain at the left shoulder just at the base of my neck. This can be excruciating. > > So then, does anyone here experience similar pains and aches and what are you doing about it? If you're undergoing physical therapy I'd be interested to know more about what kind specifically. I've also heard Pat O'Brien often has good advice for these sorts of things, but as I'm not in New York maybe one of his students here could expound on any help he's given them. > > Thank you for your replies. > > Regards, > Craig > > > ___________________________________________________________ > $0 Web Hosting with up to 200MB web space, 1000 MB Transfer > 10 Personalized POP and Web E-mail Accounts, and much more. > Signup at www.doteasy.com > > > > To get on or off this list see list information at > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html > > > > -- > Internal Virus Database is out-of-date. > Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. > Version: 7.0.344 / Virus Database: 267.12.5/148 - Release Date: 25/10/2005 > > -- Internal Virus Database is out-of-date. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.344 / Virus Database: 267.12.5/148 - Release Date: 25/10/2005
