{"id":6574,"date":"2017-04-13T09:31:07","date_gmt":"2017-04-13T16:31:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/?p=6574"},"modified":"2020-07-01T11:18:10","modified_gmt":"2020-07-01T18:18:10","slug":"injuries-recovery-guitar-from-the-dreaded-focal-dystonia-to-infected-fingernails-the-health-concerns-that-can-affect-guitarists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/injuries-recovery-guitar-from-the-dreaded-focal-dystonia-to-infected-fingernails-the-health-concerns-that-can-affect-guitarists\/","title":{"rendered":"INJURIES. RECOVERY. GUITAR.
From the Dreaded Focal Dystonia to Infected Fingernails: Some Health Concerns that Affect Guitarists"},"content":{"rendered":"
From the Spring 2017 Issue of Classical Guitar<\/em> | BY BLAIR JACKSON<\/h6>\n

I originally conceived of this Special Focus on Guitar Injuries and Recovery over a year ago.<\/p>\n

Word had just come down that Milo\u0161 Karadaglic suddenly cancelled a long tour in support of Blackbird<\/i>, his new album of imaginative interpretations of Beatles songs, due to what was vaguely termed a \u201cthumb injury.\u201d Did he close it in a door? Was it hurt in a fall? Or was it something more serious\u2014such as a repetitive stress injury (RSI), so common among musicians (and people who work at computers all day, and lots of other folks)?<\/p>\n

Regardless of the cause, it got me thinking about what a nightmare it is for anyone whose livelihood\u2014not to mention their greatest passion\u2014is taken away for a few days, weeks, months, years\u2026 forever<\/i>. The range is so wide because the calamities that can befall guitarists are so varied. Whether it\u2019s a concert or a recording date or a teaching session, any cancelled gig is serious business. Beyond the financial toll injuries can and do take, there\u2019s also an emotional and psychological component\u2014the doubt and uncertainty that accompanies any<\/i> health issue, whether it\u2019s the flu or a broken leg. When will I feel normal again? Why isn\u2019t this treatment working better and faster? Will I regain all the skills I had before my injury? What will I do if I can\u2019t play at my highest level? These are all natural questions. It\u2019s tremendously difficult not<\/i> to go down some dark mental hallways in such situations.<\/p>\n

With Milo\u0161, it was just a few months later that we were heartened to learn that he was booking dates for the fall of 2016; apparently, the mystery thumb issue had been successfully treated. With this Special Focus story already in the deep planning stages last summer, I approached Milo\u0161\u2019 representative about possibly doing an interview with him about the injury and recovery\u2014a feel-good story about a truly nice guy. My request was politely turned down, and I understood completely: He probably did not want to shine a light on the malady that had forced him to cancel his tour, and possibly jeopardize future bookings from skittish concert producers. <\/span><\/p>\n

But shortly after that, a more ominous announcement came from the guitarist himself: \u201cIt saddens me deeply to need to write these lines. Performing is all I live for. There is nothing I love more than being on stage and sharing the gift of music. In two weeks\u2019 time I was about to embark on the most exciting tour of my career. I\u2019ve spent all these months preparing for it\u2014just giving it my absolute best. And yet, despite all that, no matter how hard I tried, the physical condition I was suffering from in 2015 has most unfortunately returned.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy doctors have been very clear with me now\u2014the kind of movement disorder I have is complex and uncompromising and it cannot resolve itself within a few weeks or months. Hence, I\u2019ve been unanimously advised to withdraw from all concert engagements for at least this whole season and break the vicious cycle I have found myself in. It is so incredibly hard for me to accept this, but sadly, I have no other choice but to comply.\u201d<\/p>\n

Our hearts go out to Milo\u0161, and we wish him well on his journey back to health and the concert stage. But his tale reinforces something that became quite apparent when I started digging around looking for stories about health issues related to playing guitar\u2014nearly every guitarist has encountered some episode or malady at some point, and the lucky ones who haven\u2019t know someone who has. Many are in denial, searching desperately for clues and remedies. Others know the truth but choose not to share it with others.<\/p>\n

This article will not solve anyone\u2019s problems. What you\u2019ll find here are some stories from guitarists who have dealt with everything from musician\u2019s focal dystonia\u2014surprisingly common and perhaps the most feared of all performance- affecting afflictions\u2014to broken arms and infected nails. The piece is bookended by lengthy testimonials from David Leisner and Liona Boyd about their battles with FD, and in between are nuggets (both current and from archival CG<\/i> interviews) with the likes of Julian Bream, Irina Kulikova, Leo Brouwer, and some less-known guitarists. We hope you\u2019ll come away from this a little more informed. At the very least you\u2019ll know that whatever you\u2019re going through, you\u2019re not alone, but by all means reach out for help as soon as you can! And, as always, we welcome your stories and feedback on this issue.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

David Leisner: A Rare Victory Over Focal Dystonia <\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"Irini<\/a><\/p>\n

Irina Kulikova: Injury Led to Health Awareness\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"Cal<\/a><\/p>\n

Callum Henshaw: Physical Distress Caused Emotional Anxiety<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Julian Bream: Accident Changed How Maestro Played Guitar<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0\"Lily<\/a><\/p>\n

Lily Afshar: Don\u2019t Overdo It!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"Liona<\/a><\/p>\n

Liona Boyd Finds a New Life After Focal Distonia<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Leo Brouwer: A Desperate Solution to a Problem <\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"Dan<\/a><\/p>\n

Dan Griffith: Physical Therapy Works Wonders<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"John<\/a><\/p>\n

John E. Walker: Nerve Issues from Playing and Work<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"David<\/a><\/p>\n

5 Tips to Prevent Guitar Injuries by David Leisner<\/a><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From the Spring 2017 Issue of Classical Guitar | BY BLAIR JACKSON I originally conceived of this Special Focus on Guitar Injuries and Recovery over a year ago. Word had just come down that Milo\u0161 Karadaglic suddenly cancelled a long tour in support of Blackbird, his new album of imaginative interpretations of Beatles songs, due to what was vaguely termed a \u201cthumb injury.\u201d Did he close it in a door? Was it hurt in a fall? Or was it something […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6577,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5],"tags":[146],"class_list":["post-6574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-injuries-recovery-guitar"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Injury-Recovery-Guitar-Classical-Guitar.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6574"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6574\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}