stukvalve

Hi Ed!

I had a question for you, and for anyone else who reads this forum: How is it that trumpet players get hernias, and how would it be possible to avoid them?

Has anyone here dealt with these? I know of a few people that are fantastic players that have been sidelined for quite a while due to these things, and I think it would be wise to be more informed of them.

Happy new year!

ecarroll

Hi Max,

I've had two, which qualifies me to answer your first question but, obviously, not the second.

Trumpet players get hernias from blowing hard through a small tube that is too small at the opening to drop a pencil through. 'nuff said.

The abdominal pressure of playing Romantic symphonies (insert big-blow here) with 109 others takes its toll on some trumpeters (something, in addition to being Juilliard classmates, that I have in common with Phil Smith). Not isometric tension, mind you . . . I'm speaking of simple back pressure. Ideally our sound would be so resonant that we could carry the ball without blowing ourselves to bits, but. . .

Solutions? General fitness is probably a factor. Another would be choosing your parents carefully or, as Gerry Schwarz decided, conduct. Now there's a gig!

Happy new year,
EC

W Scott

And it's not just abdominal hernias either. You can herniate the tissues of the throat resulting in a laryngocele. You can abuse your chops to where the muscle ruptures and then sags, preventing an effective embochure from forming. So, keep yourself in good shape, use minimal pressure and pay attention to when the body is saying 'enough!'.

davidjohnson

i was born with weakened inguinal canal floors. for years, i wondered why i would occasionally be sore or achy. when i hit my 40s, they both became hernias. after operations, things are much better. man...did it hurt when those spots eventually entered herniahood!!!

dj

ecarroll

WS,

I remember (many years ago) Stevie Burns wearing a wrap around his neck until a hernia there cound be repaired.

DJ,

My hernia was in the naval region. I would pop my bulging insides back with my thumb through the bubble formed by the tear after playing (perhaps more information than is necessary, but we're slaves to our art, yes?). A mesh/screen was eventually inserted to keep this from happening again.

Happy new year to you both,
EC

W Scott

Happy New Year, Ed!

Sounds like you were lucky with your hernia. I had a non-trumpet playing hernia in the area above the liver. The gut would poke through the hole and the muscle would go into spasm. I had no idea I had a hernia until that happened. Rest, and time healed the problem. You do have to be careful though.

Bill