Horn Player Injuries

In this video I talk about my recent injury to my left arm. Tennis Elbow and Radial Tunnel Syndrome caused by RSI or Repetitive Strain Injury. Horn Players cannot only injure their lips but also their arms! Will be posting a series of videos on this topic - of how we can get injured.

[@LawrenceBrennan]

Ouch! May you recover quickly.

[@janetnye7865]

Hi Haley, sorry for your injury. I am empathic because I currently have a rotator cuff injury that my physical therapist thinks is from repetitive use of playing the horn (and picking it up/putting it down while teaching). Have you found any other professionals who have had a rotator cuff injury in their right shoulder from the horn? I'd love to watch that interview. That's why I'm now in the market for a light-weight horn (and enjoyed your Rauch vs. Lewis videos)! You should do a video about everything you are learning about natural horn! Do you write music? Now seems like a great time to do that!

[@hornmattersTV]

This is a very important topic, I very much hope for your full recovery and look forward to what you learn and share in the process.

[@Hoopstx2]

Thank you, John!

[@beatvm7345]

Ugh! So sorry to hear about your injury! Thanks for sharing your story!

[@maxwellstein9953]

I had a muscle spasm at Tanglewood right before I started my first full-gig, and I’ll say it was awful and it was hard to find people who could relate to it and or active conversations about this kindve injury for brass players. Dystonia is something I’ve heard of most of my horn playing life, but “injury” in general I’ve never heard really talked about by my teachers or professors. It’s more commonly discussed for woodwinds and strings for sure. There’s almost a stigma around injury for brass players. Like we have to be strong and muscle through anything… During my first year with the orchestra I was going to physio twice a week just to stay able to play with how much pain I had in my upper back. Just sitting in the chair holding the horn caused sharp pain. Sorry to make this comment about me! Ugh! Ha. Hope you are better soon Haley and please take care of yourself. My physio therapist changed my life and really helped to bring me back to a healthier way of playing the horn for long amounts of time. I’m in a much better place now and feel I can breathe better too while sitting. Best wishes to you from Calgary. -Max

[@Hoopstx2]

Thanks for sharing! I think it’s important that we do-only way to avoid us being injured.

[@Horattio101]

I am so sorry to hear that you are suffering with this injury, I wish you a speedy recovery and hope that you are back doing what you do best (playing the horn) very soon. I am looking forward to hearing your new projects. When I suffered with a frozen left shoulder, I used an ergo stick and it was the best thing I ever did, took the weight and sped up recovery time. An ideal also for younger players whilst they build up strength to hold the horn on their own. (If you have trouble locating one lmk and I can ship it to you) How about teaming up with Sarah Willis to do a slot on Horn Hangouts reference the important topic of playing injuries, you would make a great team for an episode and the information that would be presented would be of great value to all horn players. Both you & your videos are being missed so best wishes for a speedy recovery. 👍😀

[@Hoopstx2]

Thank you so much, Ian!

[@MatthewHaislip]

Best wishes!

[@mdlee52]

You have a great attitude! I'm wondering if intermittent icing would aid your recovery. It would be great to see a Nicole Cash interview.

[@Hoopstx2]

Good idea! I will see if Nikki’s interested

[@jarnouf]

Sorry about this, i am in the same situation, only i can still play natural horn thanks to that ergobrass I bought as soon as i couldn't bear the weight of the valve horn anymore. Have to get painful massages everyday for 3 weeks now, but you will get better, for sure! how about practicing with the mouthpiece? or arpeggios on the natural horn like "inverted", holding the bell with the left hand..? just ideas... hope you record more videos soon! :)

[@Hoopstx2]

Good ideas, and thanks for sharing about your ergobrass experience! I can’t lift any weight much more than my phone so have to not hold up bell.

[@emilysequoia]

I use ergobrass too! It has really helped me with an injury in my left shoulder!

[@jarnouf]

@@emilysequoia i know, it saved me :)

[@horndude77]

You should definitely get a natural horn or an alphorn. Good luck on the recovery!

[@内田満隆]

How is going today? Slightly recovered?

[@Hoopstx2]

No…this is going to take a few months…

[@内田満隆]

@@Hoopstx2 Is there any progress in recovering? Over one week passed. Do you feel slightly better?

[@内田満隆]

How about trying to get acupuncture and moxibustion?

[@Hoopstx2]

What is moxibustion?

[@内田満隆]

@@Hoopstx2 san Moxibustion is a technique that involves the burning of mugwort (moxa, Artemisia argyi), a small, spongy herb, to facilitate healing over specific acupuncture points.