Musician Services
Shae Sawatsky (Arlington Location)

Shae is a former piano teacher, competitor and medallist. If you have questions for Shae you can contact her via email, or you can book an appointment with her through our online booking platform.

When you're sitting waiting for the symphony to start and all the musicians walk out and sit down, they always tune their instruments. On a violin, there are two ways they can do this: using the pegs for larger adjustments, and the fine tuners for dialing in to the nth degree. Working with a physiotherapist who understands your craft allows this detailed tuning to occur at the organism you use to create music: your body. This can take many forms.

For the beginner, we might look at more "peg" adjustments, such as posture while practising, seating, and general strengthening. For those who have advanced into the musical world, we can delve into "fine-tuning": techniques that release tension up the chain while still producing enough force at the strings/keys, tweaking practice scheduling/habits, or training to reduce aches and pains in specific muscles or joints.

My job is to come alongside and optimize what is happening in each individual client's body for their specific instrument - which takes marrying a detailed understanding of the body's biomechanics and function with the technical/physical requirements of different instruments. Musicians often experience injuries related to posture and repetitive strain, which means you need an individualized assessment and planning to help you reach your specific goals. What do you need from your body to allow you to be the best musician you can be?

An assessment could include such things as:

• discussion of practice routine/habits 
• in person or video analysis of playing techniques to fine-tune which muscles could be improved upon through strengthening, adjusting tension/grip/positioning while playing
• development of ergonomic changes which may decrease/prevent repetitive strain issues 
• designing strength programs where needed to improve overall capacity/endurance of the body to meet physical demands of the client's instrument 
  
• hands-on treatment to decrease tension, improve joint mobility, or maintain current level of function 
• common areas which may be addressed include: neck, jaw, shoulders, forearms, hands 
  

I want to help musicians focus on what they are creating without having to worry about the vessel they use to produce their music. I know musicians spend time taking care of their instruments, and it's even more important to make sure your bodies are functioning well.

We can help you maintain and regain functionality through treatment of the following issues:

• Muscle soreness: we can provide assisted stretching performed by a licensed physiotherapist
• Postural irritation: treated using specific strengthening programming
• Repetitive strain: assessment of program/practice routine and treatment of related symptoms
• Pain: complete assessment and hands-on treatment to restore optimal function for performance

Mackie Physiotherapy is geared toward using strength and mobility to target prevention and management of injuries. We can help you prevent an injury from happening and help you get relief from the symptoms when one occurs.

To book an appointment with Shae you may use our online booking system, or contact our front office staff.

Contact Us

Ask us a question!

Book an Appointment

Book an appointment with one of our professionals.

Book Now