How Physiotherapy Helps Britain’s Talent Keep on Performing

You don’t have to channel surf for too long to find a talent show on TV where the best of Britain’s amateur performers take the stage.

Singers, dancers, gymnasts and other types of performers with dreams of achieving stardom are happy to brave the cameras for our entertainment.

In the past half dozen years the likes of Britain’s Got Talent, X-Factor and Over the Rainbow have given us a new generation of celebs, including Cheryl Cole, Will Young, Susan Boyle and dance geniuses Diversity.

For every single wannabe who ‘Dreams a Dream’ of making their name on the stage and screen there are dozens of committed professionals already making their living as performers in theatres and concert halls the length of the country.

All too often they suffer for their art – and that’s where physiotherapists like me and a network of other medics across the UK come in.

Strains, sprains, back pain, joint problems and repetitive stress injuries are all part of the performance landscape.

Singers can suffer throat and neck problems, technicians can end up with aches from working in awkward spaces, musicians are afflicted by RSI and dancers are renowned for the injuries which go with their punishing schedules.

It is essential those aches, pains and injuries are treated promptly and properly.

For 20 years we’ve worked with performers and treated injuries including people suffering neck strains from wearing heavy wigs to a circus performer with a bad back from repeatedly mounting an elephant.

At the weekend I was proud to speak at an event in Edinburgh organised by the UK-Wide British Association for Performing Arts Medicine. It was a gathering of around 50 GPs, osteopaths, physiotherapists and other specialists working in this niche area.

Highlight of the day for me was watching a spectacular breakdancing performance by a young man called Daniel. His routine was amazing, his control and expertise sublime. Watching up close was a privilege.

I watched with a keen professional interest and the demonstration gave me a real insight into the incredible stresses such dancers put on their shoulder joints in particular.

For all the medical experts on hand it was another reminder of the damage risked by the young dancers from Diversity, or that other Britain’s got Talent winner, George Sampson and the legion of young people who strive to be like them.

Another speaker at the event was a singing teacher. She explained how nature decrees that even the most talented child singers have a limited natural vocal range. Yet too often we are asking them to sing songs out with that range, bringing the risk of long-term damage.

Britain most definitely has got talent. Whether aspiring amateur or committed professional anyone with a yen for performing can do themselves a favour by seeking help at the first sign of problems.

Unchecked pains, sprains or aches might seem like trivial niggles, but all too easily they can turn into career-threatening, long-term problems. Getting the earliest possible advice from a professional is essential.

That is the best way to ensure the show will go on.