by Dr. Gregory Werner

Practicing chiropractic in New York City since 1995, Dr. Gregory Werner is a graduate of Palmer Chiropractic College West in San Jose, CA. His practice has enabled him to assist many professional musicians, entertainers and sports figures with their career. A graduate from the Swedish Institute of Massage in NYC Dr. Werner practiced massage therapy prior to becoming a practicing Chiropractor.

When my good friend Jonathan Mover asked me to write about drummers and the injuries they get from prolonged playing and rapid repetitive movement, a whole host of afflictions came to mind. Where to start was the question that I had to ask myself. But first, a little background on myself, and my experience with drummers. I have been a chiropractor for the past 12 years, and working here in Manhattan, I was fortunate enough to meet many people in the music industry. This led to my becoming the “set chiropractor” for “Sessions at West 54th,” the PBS live music special that aired from 1997 to 1999. As you know, the music world is a small universe and Sessions led me to working with many bands that were either traveling through, or based around the tri-state area. The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stone Temple Pilots, Korn, Limp Bizkit, Garbage, No Doubt, Linkin Park, Rob Zombie and The Wiggles (for those without children they are The Beatles of the 2-year-olds), to name a few. Working on both the crews and the bands, one thing that I noticed was that, often, it was the drummers that had the most complaints. This of course led me to work with some of the best: Charley Drayton, Eric Kretz, John Tempesta and Chad Smith being just a few.

In the coming issues I will be discussing problems often associated with fingers, wrists, elbows, shoulders, neck, lower back, feet, knees and hips. I will not only be looking at how these parts of the body are injured, but also how to prevent those injuries and of course, the therapy needed to fix them. I will also be answering questions that I receive via e mail at drgreg@drumheadmag.com .

For drummers who have, as of yet, been uninjured, it is imperative to start a prevention program. The best way to do this is by warming up before you even take the seat at your kit, (this also applies to Slim Jim Phantom, for all you drummers over 40). All great athletes, dancers and acrobats warm up before they start performing.

Backstage with The Wiggles, they do 20 to 30 minutes of warm up before their performance. This includes everyone from the dancers to the musicians. I work with their drummer, Duncan Kerr, who also happens to be their personal trainer. Duncan has everyone stretch for 10 to 15 minutes, and then do some form of aerobic activity before every show. Thanks to Duncan working with them on the road, their rate of injury has significantly decreased in the past year.

You might be asking yourself, “I am not on the road so how does this relate to me?” Well, let’s put it this way, if you just sit down and start drumming, you will inevitably injure yourself. The injuries will happen if you are just at home practicing or on the road. So, in order to avoid that, here are a few basic finger and wrist stretches to begin with, to help you stay injury-free.

The Stretches

1 Pull each finger straight out gently. 3 reps .

2 Rotate each finger gently clockwise and counter clockwise. 3 reps.

3 Keeping your hand in a fist, extend all fingers as far and wide as possible, hold for 5 seconds. 5 reps.

4 Interlock fingers and rotate hands clockwise, then counterclockwise. 3 reps .

5 Bend one wrist back, fingers pointing to the sky. Gently pull back your fingers with your other hand, stretching your wrist. 3 reps, hold for 10 seconds.

6 Bend one wrist down, fingers pointing toward the floor. Gently push the fingers of your right hand towards you, bending your wrist slightly further. 3 reps, hold for 10 seconds.