Posted by Bob S. on February 10, 2004 at 11:02:32:
In Reply to: Returning to the horn... posted by Jon Meyer on February 09, 2004 at 08:45:50:
I've also come back from a similar situation (repetitive stress injury). I've found that using a stand diligently has really helped as has reminding myself that using 100 bad body positions is better than locking myself into one "perfect" position for long periods. I have also found that I need to balance the time spent holding valves down (for slurs and long tones) with time spent moving valves up and down (scales, exercises) - both activities hurt eventually but mixing them up seems to hurt less. My experience has been that a combination of scales and the long tone ppp - fff - ppp exercise as espoused by Joe/Bloke gives the greatest chops benefit for the least wear and tear on the arm. Most important to me has been taking the long view, getting regular exercise including strength training and NOT PLAYING ON ANY DAY(S) MY ARM HURTS. That last bit is the toughest but if you take it slow and don't play when hurt your arm will improve.
Bob Sadler
Edmonton, Alberta