Repetitive strain injuries

With percussion when we hit something we make an impact on the drum or the log, or the triangle or whatever, and that obviously….the energy that we transmit to that instrument, part of it is dissipated in the sound that that instrument makes. But there is also a bit of extra energy left over that is sent back up the stick into our hands, and so we can get stress injuries from that energy being re transmitted, as well as repetitive injuries from just doing the same thing, over and over and over. If I play a roll on a drum, I’m moving my sticks thousands of times, say in five or six minutes. So just that regular repetition means that I have to make sure I do a proper warm up before a rehearsal, before a concert. I usually practice on a little piece of rubber with just a pair of drumsticks for about 20 minutes before a concert, or before rehearsal, and we also have stretching classes, and Pilates, and Alexander technique in the orchestra, where you stretch certain muscle groups, for the violins who have to use their shoulders and arms. But as a percussionist the immediate concern for me would be a repetitive injury or just say a stress fracture of a joint in my finger, because I am just playing so hard and so loud. A lot of rock drummers….you’ve beaten the tar out of drum kit for four hours every night, you’re going to get sore hands and sore arms and sore ears. And as long as you’re sensible about it, and do proper warm ups, just like any athletic activity. You’d never just run a 440 metre sprint right out of bed, you warm up, you eat properly, you do all the correct things, so that you are at your peak performance.