Do you breathe into just the front of your belly when you play? Most musicians know diaphragmatic breathing matters, but the real key is three-dimensional expansion — lateral, anterior, and posterior. In this post, Portland musician physical therapist Dr. Hope Hampton breaks down proper breathing mechanics for sitting and standing, and explains how hypermobility and EDS can quietly undermine your breath support and contribute to playing-related pain.

Back pain that worsens through a rehearsal, makes you shift constantly in your chair, or forces you to stand between movements is one of the most disruptive injuries a musician can experience — and one of the most misunderstood. Two of the most common culprits, lumbar disc herniation and lumbar segmental instability, look similar from the outside but behave very differently and require entirely different treatment approaches. In this post, I break down the mechanics behind each, how to recognize which one you might be dealing with, and what physical therapy can do to get you back to playing comfortably.