Further Experience with Rupture of the Orbicularis Oris in Trumpet Players

I came across this set of articles written by a surgeon who has experience mending torn muscles in trumpet players. There are some pictures of the surgery, just FYI.

1. Jaime Planas, Barcelona Spain: Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery on Embouchures

2. Another Ruptured Orbicularis Oris Case

Ice Packing VS Heat Packing

Article Post: When to Use Hot and Cold Therapy

Every now and then I come across musicians who either swear by ice packing or heat packing (or both, like I do!)......or the opposite...they absolutely refuse to do it when injured, mainly due to misusing one or the other because they were not trained on how to properly ice pack and heat pack, or they heard from a professional musician who misused it...yes, even professionals make mistakes (because not a lot of musicians are trained in how to physically take care of injuries). Therefore, I wanted to share this medical post from the University of Rochester Medical Center over the benefits of ice packing and heat packing and when to use either. 

I feel it is vital to ice pack and heat pack if you have a new or old injury to your embouchure. This post shows not only how to ice pack and heat pack, but when to use it, how long, and what exactly happens to your tissue. I hope this helps many musicians who are newly injured or who have a old injury but still experiencing pain, to heal a bit! Or at least prevent further damage. :-)

Who to Contact for Help Rehabilitating from Upper Lip Injury or Muscle Tear

I came across-----> THIS <----great blog a while ago and forgot to post it on here. I also posted it under my resources on the side bar to the right.

The author of the blog writes:

"I’m Jonathan Vieker, a trumpet player who’s been living with a severe lip injury since May 7, 2010. I created The Lip Rip Blues to help brass players understand lip injuries. The morning after I got hurt, as I made a cup of coffee and sat down at the computer to figure out what was wrong with the muscle in my lip, I discovered quickly that there just wasn’t enough information available about embouchure injuries.

This site is my attempt to do something about that."

A HUGE THANK YOU TO JONATHAN for his website/blog! :-)

Month of March Research Articles

Apologies for not imputing much into my blog this year! My first year teaching has been one of the most challenging, yet rewarding blessing in my life. I'm finally doing what I love, but do feel a bit sad over not having enough time to tend to my blog. This blog means so much to me! I'm writing to you from the desk in the photo...I finally have a place to work at home. Until summer rolls around, I'll be posting mainly resources/research articles.

Here are two research articles I've read recently. I'm been searching a great deal to find information over tests focused around the somatosensory part of the brain in musicians with dystonia. Last month I posted an article that explains what acetylcholine is and how it supports the CNS/PNS systems (and the somatosensory cortical neurons).

The first article below is pretty self explanatory; how we should focus on somatosensory, as it may be another key component in research on musician's dystonia, and what these researchers have found. The second one involves some EMG electrode work in stimulating muscles of musicians who have dystonia and how this has helped restore sensorimotor organization.

That is all for now! I will post more if and when I can. Thank you to those who have reached out...I promise to be in touch as soon as possible.

Focal Dystonia in Musicians: Linking Motor Symptoms to Somatosensory Dysfunction

Regaining Motor Control in Musician's Dystonia by Restoring Sensorimotor Organization