PERFORMING ARTS PREVENTIVE MEDICINE AND SPORTS THERAPY 

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Theatre is a wonderful form of entertainment that relies on performing artists who are passionate about their craft to create the magic that can be found there. The industry, on the other hand, is highly competitive and extremely demanding of performers.People may envision football, tennis, or basketball players, or long-distance runners, when they think of athletes. Dancers and musicians, like other athletes, are injured and develop conditions as a result of their profession. Professional musicians and dancers suffer from common injuries such as tendinitis, sprains, muscle strains, carpal tunnel syndrome, neck and back pain, and other orthopedic, neurologic, and musculoskeletal conditions that necessitate immediate medical attention, similar to what athletes receive in sports medicine clinic. 

Preventative medicine and sports therapy for performing artists can teach them how to avoid injury and lower their chances of developing an unfavorable condition. Performers can learn techniques for reducing joint force by strengthening and balancing the muscles required for performance. Musicians can learn how to reduce muscle tension caused by playing their instruments by adopting different postures. Dancers suffering from osteoarthritis in their hips and knees may benefit from having Durolane injections directly into the joints, which lubricate them and reduce pain and inflammation. Can you imagine how much relief this brings to a dancer who would otherwise have to continue dancing in pain?

It is not unusual to see medical personnel from sports therapy clinics at rehearsals and performances. These behind-the-scenes professionals can do wonders to support and enhance performing artists, assisting them in avoiding injury and mitigating injuries to prevent further harm. Sports medicine is a rapidly evolving field, with medical advances occurring on a regular basis. Performing artists have a better chance of long-term success if they establish and maintain a relationship with a good sports medicine clinic that understands and specializes in treating people in their industry.

Chronic injuries and/or conditions can develop as a result of poor posture, stress, lack of rest, and excessive force applied to the bones, ligaments, joints, muscles, or tendons. The same passion that drives performing artists produces people who are so dedicated to their craft that they accept a life of injury as easily as they accept the physical demands placed on them. However, the two are not the same, and an untreated injury can jeopardize a performer’s career. Performing artists who ignore early symptoms of an injury or condition and continue working without allowing conditions or injuries to heal are not considering the long-term effects on their body and ability to work. Ignoring a minor issue now may lead to a larger one later.

Both dancers and musicians can adopt techniques like warm-up and cool-down exercises, stretches, short breaks, adjustments in technique, use of devices and modified foot gear, massage therapy, and more. Professionals from sports medicine clinics can work with performing artists to stretch and loosen tight areas and strengthen weak ones. Combination treatment options like injections in conjunction with procedures for reducing inflammation and blood flow to a targeted region are essential restorative therapies which often remove the need for surgery.