[TPIN] Advil, surgery, and the trumpet

[David Adams]

When I have a hard blowing show (especially two in a day), or a lot  
of heavy playing to do in one day, I will take a few ibuprofen to  
keep the swelling down.  I certainly last a lot longer, and avoid the  
damage that happens when things swell up and make me use more  
pressure.  The trick, though, is to use the ibuprofen before doing  
the heavy lifting, not later.  Also, a good gentle and early warm-up  
is essential.  Dave
On Jan 22, 2007, at 9:13 AM, Glenn Bengry wrote:

> Mates,
>
>    I have determined that when I take ibuprofen early in the day  
> usually 2  200 milligram tablets.  It keeps any puffiness or  
> swelling down,  allows me to get a "no pressure" (if there is such  
> a thing) warm up. Those two things give me my best trumpet days.
>
>     I had the 5th, 6th, and 7th cervical vertebrae(neck) fused in  
> '93.  They removed the discs from between the vertebrae, carved out  
> 2  U shaped chunks of bone from my hip( I was way too hip anyway),  
> placed them in between the vertebrae, then immobilized my neck for  
> 6 weeks.  Needless to say I have had some back, hip, and neck pain  
> at times since then and would eat ibuprofen like candy.  I like the  
> chocolate covered ibuprofen the best.  I would take 4 tablets, 800  
> milligrams every six hours on some bad days.  This is how I  
> discovered how much effect it had on my lip tissue.  If the tissue  
> is slightly(or majorly) swollen and the tissue does not vibrate  
> quite as readily and freely, the tendency is to use a little more  
> pressure which often exacerbates any swelling. So, if I take a  
> tablet or two in the morning it seems to consistently improve my  
> chances for a good day on the horn.  Just because I need a liver  
> transplant doesn't mean ibuprofen is bad for you:+)
>
>    Anyone facing a spinal fusion should know that you can come back  
> and play at your previous level soon after healing. While still in  
> the neck brace immobilizer(could not move my neck and head at all)  
> I would prop my elbows on a music stand, sit in a chair and  
> practice violating doctors orders.  But I was able to win a  
> principal trumpet audition 2 wks out of the brace, began Mahler 5  
> rehearsals and played Mahler 5 two months out of the brace.  I  
> played better after the surgery than before.   probably would never  
> have won an audition otherwise.  That's all I did for the 6 wks in  
> a brace was practice and focus on the audition.  Before that I was  
> just a normal idiot with a trumpet.
>
>
> glenn
>
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David B. Adams
Palo Alto Unified School District
Director, Foothill Symphonic Winds
www.windband.org/foothill