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Warning labels?

Author: Dan Shusta
Date: 2015-08-20 00:40

Greetings everyone,

As some of you already know, I stopped playing the clarinet a long time ago due to my development of "embouchure dystonia" for which, as far as I know, has no cure.

Now, I have another problem. On Sept. 8, I'm scheduled for a left hip replacement. My surgeon and his x-ray tech were absolutely astonished that the cushioning material between the top of my left leg and its associated socket simply "didn't exist".

As I sat in my surgeon's office, I showed him how I use my left leg to play my double keyboard organ and then all of a sudden it dawned on me. My 54 years of playing the organ probably destroyed my left hip.

To verify my suspicion, I Googled "organist" "hip problems" and was quite surprised as to how many professional organists have had left hip replacements. I read about one jazz organist who was playing with his "third" hip replacement.

This got me to start thinking about all of the maladies or medical problems that "can be or are" associated with various musical instruments including, of course, the clarinet.

Right now, I'm frustrated. I'm angry. I'm in a total state of disbelief that my playing of what I was convinced was a "completely safe" musical instrument has totally destroyed, IMO, a part of my body and that unfortunate result is now leading me to a surgery date.

So, this leads me to an expanded version of the title of my post and that is:

Should musical instruments have "warning labels" as to what "could possibly happen" to the player due to sustained playing over a number of years?

It's too late for me now, however, I wish I would have been at least warned of the remote possibility of future medical problems associated with the instrument I was playing.

I apologize for the rant. I'm still hobbling around in a daze.

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