Here is the transcription of my most recent video blog:
(And here’s the audio on AnchorFM)
Hey everybody – this is Queen Mab, and today I’m going to talk a little bit more about my playing-related injury. So a couple posts ago, I talked about going to a rehearsal for the band that I’m playing with and being really nervous about how it was going to go, because I left my drums in the car for a long time, because…executive dysfunction. And it wound up being a really great rehearsal, and I felt really, really happy afterwards. I was like “Yes, I love what I do. I’m so blessed to do what I do. Everything is great.” And I was also feeling really happy because my elbows did not hurt after playing, and this is something that I always have to worry about any time I practice or play is like, “How am I gonna feel afterwards?”
So I felt fine, and I thought everything was great, and then I went to sleep. And I woke up at like 3:30 in the morning with really intense pain in both of my elbows. And I don’t know if this happens to any of you where you wake up in the middle of the night and all the stuff that you’re afraid of just like, comes right out and starts circulating nonstop in your head. And that was exactly what happened – it was like, “Oh my God! My elbows are hurting. I am being punished for the sin of thinking that I could ever earn a living as a musician, and I’m gonna have to quit and learn to code. And I’m never gonna be any better, and I’m never going to improve, and the way that I am right now is the best I’m ever going to be as a musician, and my career is over.” Okay?
And you know, the funny part of that is that one of the other things that really inflames this injury is typing. And yet when I feel pain after typing at the computer, my brain never goes into this kind of spin cycle. So…that’s really interesting.
So what did I do about it? Well, what I probably should have done is iced it, but I’m so not a big fan of icing, so I just kind of took it easy, and then I went to yoga the next night. And then I felt better. So one of the hard things about this is trying to figure out what helps and what doesn’t, because it isn’t the same all the time. Sometimes I go to yoga and I feel better. Sometimes I go to yoga and it aggravates things, and everything feels worse. I mean, it’s just such a crapshoot, and it’s tough to get any kind of helpful medical opinion, because doctors are mostly just like, “Well, wear a brace.” And I tried that for awhile, and that didn’t really help. So I don’t like that I’m reliant on things like Google and sitting here on the Internet and asking other people for their opinion, but it’s just really hard to know what to do. And it’s really scary, because it’s something that means so much to me and is so important to me, so…
The whole point of this video is if you’re struggling with a playing-related injury, you’re not alone. I’m going to talk openly about what I’m going through with the hopes that more musicians will be able to do that, and then maybe someday, we’ll be in a place where, you know, we don’t have to go trolling the Internet trying to find the answer – that we might actually be able to go to the freaking doctor and say, “Hey, I have a playing-related injury,” and they will actually know how to help us. Anyway, that’s all I have for you today. Don’t forget to like, comment, subscribe, and if you’d like to see more of my content, you can visit queenmabmusic.com. Thanks so much! See you next time.