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Injury Prevention for Violinists

11/13/2015

The Violinist Athlete and Injury Prevention with Dr. Victor Lin

Dr. Victor Lin, is physiatrist with the Rehabilitation Medicine Associates of Eugene, gifted educator and parent of a talented young violinist. He created this concise presentation The Violinist Athlete and Injury Prevention specifically for teenage violinists to inform them about the potential injuries violinists are prone to getting and to offer solutions for preventing these injuries. I suggest making these videos a required viewing assignment for any of your teenage students who are practicing more than 1 hour a day to help them have healthy and long violin careers. This 2 part presentation can be viewed by clicking on the video links below along with a summary of the contents.

The Violinist Athlete and Injury Prevention, Part 1:

The prevalence of injuries in teenage violinists
The most common reason for injuries (overuse in repetitive movements)
Explanation of what is happening in the body that leads to an injury
Common injuries: tendonitis, bursitis & nerve entrapments
Why females are more vulnerable to injuries
Strategy for treating injuries
The power of visualization
How to treat an injury should it occur
Neat information on how the body heals itself

The Violinist Athlete and Injury Prevention, Part 2:

Warm-up (start with slower music)
Avoid cramped practice conditions
Use proper posture/seating
Split practices (2 short instead of 1 long)
Take breaks every 25 minutes
Resume practice gradually after vacation
Time management
Avoid overtraining
Be aware of physical limitations when choosing repertoire
Heed the warning of pain
Avoid long, loud and stretched passages
Exercise regularly
Relax when stressed
Avoid practice when overtired
Allow for an adjustment period with changes of teacher, repertoire or ensembles

4 Comments

The Chinrest is Really a Jawrest

11/13/2015

3 Comments

The "chinrest" is really a "jawrest."
This terminology can confuse young violinists and their parents in the beginning. It is useful to point out this discrepancy so that the violin posture is not inadvertently misinterpreted during home practice.

3 Comments

Taking the Confusion Out of "Up" and "Down" for New Violin Players

11/3/2015

4 Comments

For a young violinist having difficulty integrating the words "down" and "up" into their playing consider substituting with the words "open" for down bows and "close" for up bows. Since the bow moves in lateral directions left and right the actual words "up" and "down" do not correlate with the motions and can be confusing to a young violinist and their parents during home practice.

4 Comments

Injury Prevention for Violinists

The Chinrest is Really a Jawrest

Taking the Confusion Out of "Up" and "Down" for New Violin Players

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