Musicians and Performers by Bradley Clarke
One question I get a lot from those who do not understand “sports” massage or “functional” massage is: “Can I benefit from your services?” The simple answer is YES! The more complex answer to this question will be touched upon throughout the blog series.
Musicians and performers can benefit from these massage techniques. Musicians and performers tend to be hard on their bodies not just their voices. Standing, sitting, and holding parts of the body with their instruments in positions over long periods of time can cause strain to the body like a violin player holding the instrument in the necessary position for hours at a time or the vocalist holding the wireless microphone for the entire duration of the concert performance. At first the musician may feel pain and try to shrug it off thinking the discomfort and pain will go away all on its own. Then, when the pain, stiffness, inflexibility, or discomfort gets to be too much to handle, that is usually when help is sought out.
Healthy and well-intentioned sports massage specialists will know how to best serve and provide proper treatment to musicians and performers by utilizing and implementing a whole body approach to wellness. What I mean by that is the practitioner may observe a performer experiencing low back pain. Standing on tight feet all night and not necessarily the back itself caused the pain. Receiving a reflexology foot massage may not only help loosen the feet, but also provide less strain on the back. Everything body, mind, and spirit associated with the body is connected. Knowing, understanding, and trusting these connections with the body is essential to complete healing and restoration.
