Preventing Arthritis as a Musician.
How's it going with the practice today?
If you been playing your guitar for straight 90 minutes or within a day of just practicing or even performing. or if you like to pull up 3-4 hours of cover gigs, 200+ days per year just practicing, teaching and technique maintenance, well … It hurts!.
One of the common problems of Guitarist is a painful joints in the palms, fingers and arms. This is because of arthritis.
What is arthritis ?
According to mayoclinic.org, Arthritis is the swelling and tenderness of one or more of your joints. The main symptoms of arthritis are joint pain and stiffness, which typically worsen with age.
Familiar ? , yes Musicians are also prone to this illness.
Two kinds of Arthritis ?
Osteoarthritis
The most common type of arthritis, osteoarthritis involves wear-and-tear damage to your joint's cartilage — the hard, slick coating on the ends of bones where they form a joint. Cartilage cushions the ends of the bones and allows nearly frictionless joint motion, but enough damage can result in bone grinding directly on bone, which causes pain and restricted movement. This wear and tear can occur over many years, or it can be hastened by a joint injury or infection.
Osteoarthritis also affects the entire joint. It causes changes in the bones and deterioration of the connective tissues that attach muscle to bone and hold the joint together. It also causes inflammation of the joint lining.
Rheumatoid arthritis
In rheumatoid arthritis, the body's immune system attacks the lining of the joint capsule, a tough membrane that encloses all the joint parts. This lining (synovial membrane) becomes inflamed and swollen. The disease process can eventually destroy cartilage and bone within the joint.
As a musician we need to take care of our health. It is said that prevention is better than cure, so I will give you tips to do in order to prevent these.
Some causes of arthritis are beyond your control, like growing older, being female or having a family history of arthritis. But you can take steps to reduce your risk of arthritis or delay its onset.
Control your blood sugar. High blood sugar can stiffen the tissue that supports your joints and make them more sensitive to stress.
Exercise. Just 30 minutes of exercise five times a week helps joints stay limber and strengthens the muscles that support your wrist and fingers. Focus on low-impact exercises.
Stretch. Gentle stretching can improve your range of motion and keep your joints limber. Try to work in simple stretches into every day.
Avoid injury. An injured joint is more likely to develop arthritis than one that was never injured.
Quit smoking. Smoking puts stress on tissues that protect your joints and can lead to arthritis pain.
Eat fish twice a week. Eat fish high in Omega-3s, like salmon, trout and mackerel. Omega-3s have many health benefits and may reduce inflammation.
Get routine preventive care. Your doctor may be able to suggest lifestyle changes that can help reduce your risk or slow the progress of arthritis.
Sleep and Water. Enough sleep and water can also help you in reducing the risk of having arthritis, so be sure to drink a lot of water and have enough sleep.
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