Throat Strain

[lahinkle10]

Anyone ever strained their throat playing and ended up with really bad acid reflux? Kind of going crazy because I haven’t had much success with the doctors I’ve seen, but I’m wondering if I just need to let my body heal more. I also stopped playing my trumpet because it hurt too much. Been about a 5 week process, so any advice is appreciated.

[invisiblewasp]

Hi! Same thing happened to me. I just stopped playing for a month and then was completely fine. I've had to do that again since then, but it works every time.
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Austin

[lahinkle10]

Did you do any buzzing or small bits of playing, or just a clean month off?

Also how bad did your reflux get? I’ve got like the backwash in my throat 24/7, probably caused by the tightness in my muscles. They gave me omeprazole but it didn’t do anything.

[Doug Elliott]

It could be a hiatal hernia, which is when the top part of your stomach is pushed up through your diaphragm where the esophagus passes through. Abdominal pressure from playing (or coughing or sneezing or straining) can cause stuff like that. The throat irritation is only the symptom, not the problem.

You should get an upper GI to check it out with a gastroenterologist. I don't think it can be fixed, but you can alter your playing to minimize the pressure, and take an acid blocker similar to the omeprazole you tried.

I know this stuff because I just had it diagnosed for myself. I even got a collection of pictures from the procedure...

[lahinkle10]

[TrumpetMD]

[JonathanM]

As others have said - Welcome to TH!

Right up front I'll say that I have not shared all your symptoms, and I'm sorry I can't offer more thoughts along the physical lines. I did want to address one of your thoughts on keeping your lip in shape while you may be unable to play.

Buzzing is not exactly the same as playing the trumpet, but I think it does use many/some of the same muscles. I always begin with light lip buzzing, then progress to mouthpiece buzzing, then to horn playing. There's a fantastic vid at YouTube (which for the life of me I can no longer find) where Chris Smith, an excellent player, Principal Trumpet of the San Diego Symphony, and a contributor here, warms up with this same thing: Lip buzzing, Mouthpiece buzzing, then on to the trumpet. I'm on the road a lot with extremely varied schedules. When I can't practice, I'll at least do some lip buzzing or mouthpiece buzzing. And sometimes when I'm forcing a horn - if I'll just back off and buzz a bit I can re-acclimate myself to a softer approach.

Wrapping up a lengthier post than necessary, I think if you are very careful lip and/or mouthpiece buzzing may 'keep you in the game' so to speak, and buzzing may enable you to play with less stress when you get back on your horn.

One other thought... While buzzing is a fantastic help to me - to others it seems to be much less beneficial. My only thought to this is that some chop setups benefit more from buzzing - and other chop setups obviously benefit less; maybe even much less. I can't guarantee that buzzing will help you, but it is a mainstay for many, and I hope that it is a benefit to you.

Best wishes - and keep us informed how you're getting along.
_________________
Jonathan Milam
Trumpets: Mt Vernon Strad, 18043B w/ Blackburn leadpipe, 180L25, 180M38, Benge 4x, P Mauriat 75TLB, Olds: '34 Symphony, '47 Super, '48 Standard, '52 Recording
Puje: American Belle

[Doug Elliott]

I had long term acid reflux which I had been using OTC Prilosec for 14 days about 3 or 4 times a year, and it helped a lot. Sleep apnea, chronic congestion, and occasional difficulty swallowing, which I suspect were all resulting from the reflux causing irritation. I just asked for the upper GI while I was getting a colonoscopy. No other issues found.

The value (or detriment) of freebuzzing depends entirely on how you do it. I use it extensively in my teaching, to fix problems.

[JayKosta]

Do you know what caused your 'throat strain'?
Do you get a feeling of 'maximum throat effort' when playing?
What physical actions do you do to increase internal oral cavity air pressure?
Do you you use tongue is any extreme muscular manner that might be interfering with air passage through your throat.
_________________
method 1: DO it right and right things will HAPPEN
method 2: make the RIGHT THINGS happen
--
See / Think / Adjust / Do
becomes See & Do.

[lahinkle10]

Thanks for the replies so far. I think it is important to mention that I've seen 3 doctors. One who gave me steroids for tonsil inflammation, another who did blood work and a CT of my neck to rule out physical abnormalities, and an ENT who did a scope of my throat and agreed that it was likely muscle strain. She thinks the strain is causing the reflux as well. She gave meds for the reflux and suggested time off the horn, but two weeks later and not much has changed, which is why I came here to see if anyone else has been in a similar boat. She did greenlight taking another 2-week course of omeprazole until I see a GI doc, though.

The strain came from some intense sessions on piccolo, specifically on Bach's magnificat. I haven't really played a picc since maybe 2019, and I didn't try to warm myself up to it either. Pushed way too hard for the super high notes, didn't listen to my body, continued to practice, and ended up with all of my symptoms a few days later. Hard to talk, reflux, tightness in throat, pain in throat while playing.

I am not super worried about keeping my chops up, although it sucks taking time off. I've had to cancel auditions and turn down gigs, but I'm terrified of ruining my playing career, so I havent touched my trumpet and don't plan on picking it up again soon. My primary income is through teaching lessons, so I can afford time off the horn. Sorry if I missed any questions, I'm just glad I have a space to chat. Not a lot of info out there for trumpet-related injuries.

[lahinkle10]

Hi all,

Wanted to update that I saw a Speech Pathologist today and she confidently diagnosed me with muscle tension dysphonia. Have to do several sessions of therapy to work on relieving the muscle tension in my neck. Not actually sure if I have reflux anymore, or if I just have the sensation of reflux caused by throat tightness. Doc said it could be either way so I’m staying on omeprazole for now. The muscle tension was caused by the strain though. Hopefully the exercises we do from here on out will help. It’s unclear if playing will make it worse, but it probably won’t make it better so I’m still staying off the horn until I experience some type of relief.

[andybharms]

Your average doctor will probably be skeptical of a “trumpet related injury.” It is a fairly uncommon problem and the production mechanism of playing is pretty poorly understand even among trumpeters, let alone even an educated public. However, you might be looking at a hiatal hernia. A CT scan can image it.
_________________
Andrew Harms, DMA
http://www.andrewbharms.com

[Doug Elliott]

I was told by multiple doctors that acid reflux can cause muscle spasms.