The Center for Gifted Young Musicians
at Temple Music Prep
Master class series
presents "Don't Let This Happen To You!" Injury Prevention with violinist Pamela Frank & Physical Therapist Howard Nelson
Ms. Frank and mr. nelson WILL BE WORKING WITH STUDENTS IN THE CENTER FOR GIFTED YOUNG MUSICIANS DURING THE CLASS.
Violinist and Curtis faculty member Pamela Frank along with physical therapist Howard Nelson share their respective expertise in music-making and movement analysis to improve a player’s physical health, and possibly their performance through their Fit As A Fiddle (FaaF) collaboration.
FaaF's focus is to identify if a musician’s body mechanics, while playing and in daily life, may be the cause of their symptoms, or putting them at risk for injury. Their goal is to help the musician find a long-term solution for the problem, and/or prevent a future one.
FaaF represents the merging of many aspects of Pam Frank’s professional life. As she travels around the world, she sees that the potential for injury in musicians of all ages is a growing cause for concern. “Because of my experience with a career-threatening injury, and my recovery — thanks to physical therapist Howard Nelson — I feel the need to describe my problem and his expertise in solving it. It is my hope that, together, we can assist a growing population of untreated individuals, as well as those at risk, to prevent problems before they become career-threatening.”
By changing lifelong habits and retraining her use of the instrument for more efficiency, Pam's playing has become freer, and she is now equipped to play safely for the rest of her life.
Howard's physical therapy practice is focused on analyzing and treating the biomechanical and neuromuscular causes of injuries by modifying faulty movement patterns.
"I became fascinated with learning more about movement analysis after I retrained specific motions of my left shoulder in order to toss a tennis ball again, overcoming a year long injury.
Since Pamela Frank's treatment and recovery in 2013, I have been applying movement system principles to musicians. We realized if we combined forces and worked as a team, we could be of greater help to many more musicians in need of injury prevention and/or treatment."
FaaF is the natural synthesis of their professions, and their mission.
