Myofascial Release for Musicians
We are uniquely situated to help musicians specifically.
Kristin Kunzelman is a performing musician and has taught music for over 20 years.
Review: Scott Pingel
Principal Bass of the San Francisco Symphony
“Like many performing musicians, I have experienced a variety of different modalities for treatment of injuries and general wear and tear over the course of my career. I found Myofascial Release Therapy remarkably effective. In just the first session, I was amazed when I first stood up and felt relief from numerous points of tension, immediate improvement in my posture, and energized. Kristin is a highly skilled, intuitive, and responsive therapist who has great understanding of the mechanics and demands of playing a musical instrument from all her years working in the field of music education, and therefore I highly recommend her for any performing artist.”
Maybe you experience pain from carpal tunnel or tendonitis in your arms, or perhaps you feel pain down your leg with piriformis syndrome. Perhaps you have discomfort in your neck, back, jaw or shoulder when you practice or play a concert. There are many ways that musicians can feel pain from the activity of playing their instrument. Your pain might be a recent development or maybe you’ve been trying to “play through it” for a while.
As with any client, myofascial release will first bring you relief by treating your symptoms, and then will seek to find and release the cause of the pain - which might be located in a different part of the body. The cause might be from playing your instrument, or it might be from an entirely different activity or event. Perhaps your posture is a factor, or a past injury/surgery. Many times stress or anxiety are factors - whether it’s from your music endeavors or other things going on in your life.
MFR can provide relief, decrease pain, and help you to avoid medication or ineffective treatments. MFR can help you return to playing music pain-free.
Prior to her work as a Myofascial Release Therapist, Kristin Kunzelman spent over 20 years leading instrumental musicians. She is an experienced band director, conductor, and private lesson teacher. She understands the hours that musicians spend in rehearsal and practicing, as well as performance stress, ideal playing posture and common misuse/overuse patterns of different instruments. While Kristin cannot diagnose health conditions, she can help you to alleviate discomfort and return to playing music pain-free. Kristin has treated musicians from the community level through professionals in the San Francisco Symphony.
Kristin’s background uniquely situates her to help musicians experiencing chronic pain. She earned a Masters degree in Music Education with a minor in jazz studies from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelors of Music Education from the University of Puget Sound. She can play all of the band and orchestra instruments, piano, guitar, and sing. In addition to her music degrees, Kristin earned her CMT license through the San Francisco School of Massage and Bodywork, and has studied Myofascial Release Therapy all around the country.
Please Note: We recommend booking your appointment for a day when you do not have a performance. After your body releases fascial restrictions, it may need time to integrate the changes. Other muscles might have been compensating, or perhaps your posture has improved and muscle groups are now used differently. It’s best to allow time to practice again and let your body adjust before hitting the stage!
Please know that your MFR therapist cannot diagnose conditions. It is a good idea to have any concerns also checked out by your doctor.