Piano teachers, do you hurt while you teach?
Musicians deserve healthcare providers who know what they need, so please share this episode with a friend to get the word out to those who need to hear it!
Today she talks about simple strategies piano teachers can use to reduce discomfort while teaching students from an article she wrote for the Vermont Music Teachers Association's newsletter.
Major takeaways:
Over 42% of pianists report pain, discomfort, and injury.
Increased time spent playing piano, years of experience, and regularity contribute to higher reports of pain.
Make your teaching set-up (aka ergonomics) do more work for you.
Change up what you're asking of your body while you teach.
Individualize your day of teaching based on your body's (and brain's) needs.
-
Episode 17:
Good morning, World! Today’s going to be a great day!
Welcome to episode 17! I’m your host, Abby Halpin. I am a physical therapist and coach and I am here to help musicians play life loudly.
Does your body hurt while you teach?
In an Australian study of 505 pianists, 42.4% of the subjects reported pain and injury related to piano playing. Longer practice duration, more years of experience, and higher regularity of playing were all associated with higher reports of problems. And who are our most experienced musicians who spend the most hours at the piano? Our teachers. You!
Don’t worry; it’s not all doom and gloom. Let’s be honest you could be a golf instructor and probably have the same odds of having pain or discomfort. It is part of the human condition, after all. There are strategies specific to music teachers that you employ to limit your discomfort, improve your productivity, and, most importantly, have more fun with your students.
Make your set-up feel easy on you.
Take a look at how you’ve set up your teaching space. Are you comfortable while you’re teaching? Is your chair comfortable? If not, your seating area is the best investment you can make. While sitting in your chair, you should be able to sit all the way back in the chair with your back supported by chair. Your feet should be able to be planted on the floor (or on a step). And when sitting, the chair should be able to do the work of keeping you upright for you. Many believe they should actively hold themselves up with their core all day. But how many hours per week are you teaching? Do you need to torture your core with a marathon of work each day? Let the chair do the work. I will repeat that. Let the chair do the work.
Change it up!
Consider how repetitive some of your movements might be if you are, for example, always sitting to your student's right. You will need to turn your head to the right to read the music; you will always need to reach and turn the page with the same hand and in the same direction. If you need to perch forward on your chair, there will always be a slight rotation to the same side throughout the day. The muscles and joints that have a higher load from being used all the time will eventually protest, and the underused areas are at a higher risk of a surprise injury when they are eventually used during some unexpected movement.
Keeping your body positions variable throughout the day will prevent an over/underload management issue within your body. Try to change up which side of the piano or student you sit on throughout the day. Put a chair on each side of the piano so it’s easy to switch mid-lesson. Even better, get up and move around either within each lesson or between lessons.
Make your day your own.
Individualize your day. Take note of when you start to notice stiffness, pain, fatigue, or sleepiness during your work day. These are ways your body is signaling the need for a change-up. Schedule 5 to 15-minute breaks in your day just before you actually need them (this is the key). If you find that you can make it through 3 student lessons before your body asks for a change-up, make time for getting up and moving after every 3 students.
Get up, walk outside and take a deep breath, go to the bathroom, and refill your water bottle.
You can even create a 5-minute movement routine to use during these breaks. Make it the same every time so you don’t have to think too hard about it.
Sample routine
1-3 rounds of the following:
Marching in place: Lift one knee and then switch, 10 steps on each side
Kickbacks: Stand on one foot and bend the other knee to kick your foot up toward your buttock. 10x each side
Overhead presses: Raise your arms overhead your head 10x
Pull-aparts: Stand with both hands straight out in front of you. Move your arms out to the side while squeezing your shoulder blades together 10x
Roll-downs: Stand with your knees soft and feet hip-width apart. Exhale and roll slowly down to touch your toes (or at least in that direction). Inhale at the bottom. Exhale and roll back up. 5-10x
Bonus points if you can do it outside and get some natural light to jump-start your brain!
If you are experiencing discomfort while time teaching piano, it is valuable to reflect on what is contributing to it and consider changes you can make. You don’t have to hurt! Your students need you at your best and you deserve to feel good at work.
It’s an absolute pleasure to nerd-out with you. Musicians deserve health care providers who know what they need. So if you liked this episode, please share it with a friend so we can get this information spread to those who need to hear it!
Until next time, Forte Fam, Let me know what you need!
