Retired Military Band Hornist on Chops
What was the nature of the injury and the circumstances of how it occurred?
It was overuse due to trauma and scar tissue. I had had a lot of trauma before 2011. A frisbee hit me in the mouth in 1987, the night before I had the Navy Band audition. I was standing in the lobby waiting for the elevator at the music school, and a couple guys were throwing a frisbee inside the lobby, and it hit me right in the chops. Then, when my youngest daughter was a toddler, I received several (accidental) fat, bloody lips when she had her meltdowns. The scar tissue that develops over the decades of playing added to that. In March of 2011 I hit my mouth right in the sweet spot, and that’s when the ripples of pain began and did not stop.
What treatment did you seek?
I found a chiropractor in Old Saybrook, CT. He did Active Release Therapy (ART) and encouraged me to massage my lips and surrounding muscles. Once I found ART in February of 2012, the pain subsided.
What therapeutic at-home treatments did you do or try?
Ice, ibuprofen, ointments, tea bags, massage. The ice, massage, and OTC meds were the most helpful. Now and then, when I get a twinge of pain, time off and massage take care of it.
Did you have to stop working?
I didn’t stop working, but I avoided principal parts or exposed parts as much as possible until “recovered.”
What were the greatest frustrations?
Fear, pain, loss of my good sound, humiliation. For years after March of 2011, my lips were not right. I still have good and bad days, but for several years, most days were bad days. Everythingbothered them—they were swollen every day. I had to be careful with the temperature of my coffee and tea, and be very careful they wouldn’t get chapped or sunburned when I was outside. I iced them down several times a day for months. I’d wake up in the morning and my lips would be dried out and stuck together. I figured out my bite plate (like a retainer) that I used for my TMJ pushed my top lip out just enough that the ceiling fan dried my lips out and my top lip stuck to the retainer. Ouch. Some mornings I would try to start my buzzing as usual, and I just couldn’t get my lips to vibrate. And when I finally did, I could only play in the extreme low register.
What seemed to help the most?
ART, massage, and prayer.
Did you change/tweak your approach or technique?
My embouchure had shifted a bit over the years of playing in the band to compensate for fatigue, so it wasn’t exactly perfect anymore, and I had noticed that. I used to wonder if I had kept it perfect, and rested more often instead of playing constantly, would I have had a problem? Who knows? But the injury definitely prompted me to put my embouchure back where it belonged.
I focused on daily buzzing with everything proper, in a mirror.I did shorter sessions, and, on a day off, I only practiced one hour a day as per Lucinda Lewis’ materials. I iced every day after practicing and after rehearsal if possible, before bed, and before leaving for work. I buzzed intervals, and still do, with air attacks, then the tongue, and then flutter tongue. I used straws to hold in my mouth and strengthen more muscles. I even tried an ink pen with washers on it as weights, but I abandoned that practice when the weights were too much for the top part of my embouchure. I still buzz in the car, and for the last year I’ve used my “Gatorade Horn.” My friend Roger Blackburn (retired trumpet player of the Philadelphia Orchestra) suggested this. I drilled small holes in the bottom of a Gatorade bottle, and drilled a big hole in the lid for my mouthpiece.
Did you change equipment?
I had changed equipment prior to the final blow that caused the problem, from an 8D to a Yamaha 667V. Eventually, I went back to my 8D I haven’t looked back or regretted it.
Did you make any lifestyle changes?
I monitor water intake more closely and wear sunblock on my lips when outside. I pay more attention.
How did you structure your practice throughout recovery?
Smaller sessions. Although, I have to say, the first session always sounded the best. Subsequent sessions on the same day didn’t always sound good (I’m still trying to figure that out!), and I always start the subsequent sessions with buzzing again. Buzzing truly helped get my sound back.
Were there any resources that you found particularly helpful through all this?
All of Lucinda Lewis’ articles. Although she does not agree with my Active Release Therapy approach, I know it turned my problem around and pointed me in the right direction and I recommend it to anyone with an injury. I was at a point where I had nothing to lose, and if anybody is talking to me about an injury, I’m guessing they’re at the same point I was. It’s not a happy place, and if ART relieves pain and adhesions, it’s a step in the right direction.
Did you come to feel “yourself” again?
I am aware that I’ll never feel like I used to, and I’ve accepted that. On my good days, I can sound like my old self and that makes me happy to experience that, knowing it may be fleeting. Even when I sound like my old self, it doesn’t feel like it, because one side of my lips feels flatter than the other, the other side feels stiffer and “bigger”, maybe due to scar tissue. But I’ve learned that as long as my embouchure is correct and flat, and my lips vibrate, I have a good day of playing.
I have found that regaining trust in the body is no small task. Is it just a matter of time?
It takes time. It was seven years ago. I am still playing, and, although I’m “retired,” I’m playing more and better than I thought I would post-injury. I sound good again, but it took a longtime.
I had to rely on experience, and I also had to believe in myself more, and rely on the Lord to guide me – should I keep playing, should I quietly pack it up and ask for His strength to overcome the sadness? But now, I just keep being given fun playing opportunities, so I figure I’ll ride this renaissance as long as I can.
Do you have any general advice to those going through an injury or recovery?
Research everything you can on the subject, try everything and find what works for your problem. Pray, if you’re a person of faith. Build your confidence in yourself and your gifts. Work on being okay with yourself regardless of the horn, because eventually we’ll have to stop playing some day anyway. (Still working on it.)
Also, one of my first pieces of advice to anyone is “Don’t panic!” Time and patience are key with injuries. I’m lucky I could still work during the recovery period. I feel that I didn’t sound like myself again until after retirement, and even then, it was over a year later until I reached that sound. I had come to terms with the idea that I’d never sound like myself again, so it was a wonderful surprise when it returned. Time and patience were ideas I had to remind myself about, in addition to remembering to keep my spirits up.