injury

Back in December 2003, at the age of 12, I was diagnosed with an overuse injury of my strumming arm. Every time I moved my arm in certain directions, it felt like the muscles were going to rip apart. Mom got me in to see the pediatrician right away. She sent me to Dr. John Bruno III, an orthopedist at Baptist Hospital who specializes in arm/hand injuries. His diagnosis: Radial Tunnel Syndrome. His treatment plan: anti-inflammatory medicine, weekly sessions with an occupational therapist who specializes in arm/hand injuries, and since I wasn't relying on the dulcimer to put a roof over my head, he had me stop playing immediately.

Stop playing after almost 7 years? I couldn't do it, so I kept a commitment of performing at my church's two Christmas Eve services. What a mistake! By the time I finished performing, my arm was almost completely numb and I realized that I had to follow Dr. Bruno's advice to the letter!

At occupational therapy, I had to examine why this injury occurred and how I could correct all of the bad things I had done to cause this injury as well as start a regime of exercises that will be with me for the rest of my life.

Since I was just a kid when I started playing, I didn't concentrate on posture. Even though David Schnaufer encouraged me to sit properly in a straight-back chair with a phone book under my feet at my lessons, I did whatever was comfortable for me. I played on the floor and I practiced in the bed propped up on pillows (I know — how lazy can you get!) As I got older, things got even worse. Not only did I play propped up in the bed, but I'd play for long stretches at a time with no break in this lousy position.

I've always loved the fiddle tunes, but David tried to interest me in some slower pieces. I just wasn't bothered. Playing fast and faster was what I was all about. Even though David taught me songs like In the Bleak Midwinter and I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry, I just wasn't bothered. Fisher's Hornpipe, Liberty, and Whiskey Before Breakfast were more my speed.

I started to do a lot of performing, hour-long performances at places like the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Frist Center for the Arts, the Renaissance Center, and various schools. I filled those programs with rip-roaring tunes on the TN Music Box and dulcimer. Every now then, I'd throw in a token hymn or slow piece. I believed that the audience loved the fast pieces best and I was too immature in my music to realize that the slow tunes are just as well-loved and appealing to the audience.

By the time I realized it, the damage had already been done. Years of bad posture, squeezing a pick too hard, and playing fast coupled with a neck injury I received combined into one big disaster! The therapist said I had spent years doing little things to compensate for all the bad habits I had gotten myself into, but eventually, I couldn't compensate any longer and wham! Here came the pain!!

Now came the hard part: I had to work through the pain with occupational therapy, examine how I played the dulcimer—everything from the pick I used to how I held my shoulders, to what kind of seating arrangement I was using, banish the bad habits, and do strength training. It was hard work and sometimes I wondered if I'd ever be able to play the dulcimer again without hurting. But I stuck with it because I can't imagine my life without being able to play this music — it's too important to me.

The process has been painful, but I've learned some very valuable lessons I'd like to share in the hopes of you never having to go through what I have.

3. Take frequent stretching breaks during jam sessions. Spend a few minutes talking to your audience instead of playing every second. Use that time to do a few 'secret' stretches!

4. If you squeeze a pick really hard, make it thicker. My Gran designed a special pick for me — she took a Herdum triangular pick and placed one of those sticky furniture things on either side — you know, the felt things you put on chair or sofa or table legs to prevent the floor from getting scratched. That lessens the tension your muscles are under when you squeeze a pick.