JAVS Summer 1989

7

"audition" doctors . If one doesn't seem to understand your problems, find another. Right now there are about fifteen clinics for musicians around the country. They have the best experts in the areas where we need help , but they aren't perfect, either. If you can't get treated at one of these clinics, perhaps you can get help at a sports medicine clinic, since many of our problems of overuse are similar to those found in sports. In my case, the doctors knew that something was wrong with my hand, but it was the physical therapist who knew not only that my hand wasn't working right but also figured out corrective exer cise. Don't ignore the benefits of a good physical therapist. We are musicians, we took lessons for many years, yet we still have people advising us how to play. If we are injured, all that past experience works well for us, since we know how to apply advice given this time from doctors and therapists to our playing. It is very helpful to involve your self in your own treatment and rehabilita tion. Don't expect the doctor, the physical therapist or the Alexander teacher to do the work for you; figure out how you can do it for yourself. With luck and with the kind of attitude described above, perhaps we can all enjoy playing viola for many pain-free years . Don Ehrlich is the assistant principal violist of the San Francisco S ymphony . He has made frequ ent chamber music app earances and was a founding member of the Stanford String Quartet . He presently instructs viola at the San Francisco Conservatory . Ehrlich took degrees at Oberlin. the Manhattan School of Music . and the Universit y of Michigan where among his major teachers were William Lincer and Francis Bundra.•

/