 The Oboe BBoard
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Author: oboesax
Date: 2012-03-07 16:34
Is it possible to injure yourself in your abdominal muscles by practicing a lot? I'm taking my daughter to the doctor today for pain in that area. Not sure how she injured herself. It's a pity as she has some competitions this weekend and could use the scholarship money.
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Author: GoodWinds ★2017
Date: 2012-03-07 21:48
Is it possible? I would say "only if" she had an abdominal weakness of some kind, like an umbilical hernia, and it was stressed by too much pressure.
If this sounds possible, then I would do two things:
1. get her tendency to 'overpush' fixed by an adjustment (by her teacher) in reed strength/resistance ASAP and
2. get a doc to check for any danger signs. In the case of a hernia, the correction is simple but it should not be ignored for too long and allowed to get bigger.
If her pain is general abdominal and not limited to a very specific area/muscle group, and it continues, she should also be checked. You've already done right by taking her in to see the doc: I hope you get some answers!
mary (RN)
GoodWinds
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Author: oboesax
Date: 2012-03-07 23:03
Thanks. Took her to the doc this afternoon (actually a chiropractor who specializes in sports injuries. he's been very good with treating/stretching out her left hand to prevent injury there). He said she doesn't have a hernia, but some muscles in her abdomen are strained, most likely from practicing and from doing a number of concerto competitions during the pats two months. She is also a sax player, and that takes more air. So she has to cut back on practicing, which has really upset her--right before two national level competitions.
I looked it up online and discovered that musicians do get hernias from playing--mostly brass and saxophonists.
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Author: GoodWinds ★2017
Date: 2012-03-07 23:52
It may happen (hernia injuries with musicians), but I would be concerned to prevent future injuries. Ask the DC to offer some guidance on strengthening her abdominal muscles (once she recovers of course!). It takes quite a bit of force to cause such an injury; again, playing on its own would be an unlikely (first) cause unless she was straining too much.
The timing is not happy.
I wish her well in her musical career, especially that she finds a way to escape this problem in future.
GoodWinds
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Author: Wes
Date: 2012-03-08 22:03
Last June, I seriously practiced my alto sax one night and felt very good about it. The next morning, I woke up with a right side inguinal hernia. It was operated on in October. Good luck!
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Author: huboboe
Date: 2012-03-09 03:26
OK, My 2 cents worth here...
If you shout, "HEY!!!" as loudly as you can, that is the most abdominal pressure you should experience in playing oboe. I can't speak for other instruments, but except for trumpet, the rest of the band blows more freely than oboe.
If you find it takes more work than that to produce your loudest sound, then I think you might look at the resistance your reeds are offering and make some adjustments.
I've always found playing extended pianissimo passages way more taxing on the abdomen than long, loud passages. Control softly is way harder than loud.
If playing is straining muscles, I would look very hard at what muscles are being used for what purpose. To go back to the, "HEY!!!" analogy, playing is just like vocalization, either speaking or singing. The only difference is that the resistance is at the reed, not the vocal chords. On oboe you 'push' a little harder than you speak, but if it is more than that, look to your reeds...
I hope you fix this. Playing should be fun and a joy. There's no other reason to do it...
Robert Hubbard
WestwindDoubleReed.com
1-888-579-6020
bob@westwinddoublereed.com
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Author: GoodWinds ★2017
Date: 2012-03-09 05:35
OK, time to get personal. I 'suffered' a small umbilical hernia giving birth to my first son; the other two births after that did NOT enlarge it and it has never 'opened' up to a problem level. I've played oboe/English horn and bass clarinet for over 3 decades. I would not compare the pressure of playing ANY woodwind with the abdominal pressure of giving birth.
Perhaps it is merely a matter of opinion, but the surgical community MIGHT back me up in stressing that a hernia usually appears where one has a muscular/connective tissue weakness of some sort.
On a more serious note, and for anybody out there, guy or gal, if a hernia 'opens' up to the point where you can slip more than the tip of a finger into it, then it's time to consult a surgeon for repair. If a bit of intestine were to slip through (especially when one is exerting abdominal pressure) and get kinked, it is more than a serious problem, and constitutes an emergency.
mary (RN)
GoodWinds
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