I recently came across an article written in Swedish by Margareta Eldh and Jan-Erik Broman. Although not directly related to recovery from and prevention of Musician’s Focal Dystonia, there are many interesting points which are relevant, as sleep deprivation seems to be a factor in many cases of Musician’s Focal Dystonia that I see. The… Continue reading…
Of all the dystonias I come across in my coaching work, focal hand dystonia is the most common. This type of Musician’s Focal Dystonia occurs most often in guitarists, drummers, string players, and pianists, although several woodwind and brass players I have met have also been affected. Focal hand dystonia is indeed a complex problem,… Continue reading…
This is an article I read recently, authored by Carl Ellenberger, MD. The article is long, but well worth the read as it goes a long way to explaining Musician’s Focal Dystonia, outlining who is prone to the condition, the causes, and gives some simplified ideas about what to do about it. Musicians with Dystonia:… Continue reading…
I often talk of the differences between a ‘nuts and bolt’s approach to focal dystonia (ie. studying the neurology, changes in the basal ganglia etc) vs. the merits of a hands-on recovery programme. Personally, I have seen far greater rehabilitation rate in musicians with focal dystonia when applying recovery programmes, than when simply talking about… Continue reading…
The following is a scanned image forwarded to me by a French Horn teacher. One of his students was suffering Musician’s Focal Dystonia symptoms and without any external guidance, came up with the thoughts and musings about her condition that you see in the image below. Horn player with Focal Dystonia: some thoughts For the… Continue reading…
When I was diagnosed with Task Specific Focal Dystonia in 2005, my neurologist told me that it was incurable. However, he did offer injections of botox into the muscles of my face to help alleviate the symptoms. I humbly declined and left his office in a state of denial. My thought being, “If my face… Continue reading…
First published: 30 Sept. 2010 as “Task Specific Focal Dystonia Cured: Trumpet embouchure back on track”. Firstly some background: Cutting a very long story rather short… I began playing trumpet at age 13 in New Zealand. At 18 I started university, and at 21 auditioned for (and was accepted for) post-graduate trumpet studies at some… Continue reading…