Oh man, let me tell you about this reed injury I dealt with recently. It was a real pain in the neck, literally. It all started a few weeks ago when I was playing my saxophone. I noticed this sharp pain in my neck, and I thought maybe I just pulled a muscle or something.
So, I stopped playing for the day and figured some rest would do the trick. I mean, rest usually fixes everything, right? But the next day, it was still there, just as bad, maybe even worse. I tried to play again, thinking maybe I just needed to warm up, but nope, that pain was still there, sharp as a tack.
At that point, I started to get a little worried. I took some painkillers, the usual over-the-counter stuff, hoping that would help. They took the edge off a bit, but the pain was still lingering. I thought, okay, maybe I need to give it more time. After all, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither is a healed neck muscle, I guess.
A couple more days went by, and I was still in pain. It was really starting to get to me, you know? Not being able to play my sax was driving me nuts. Plus, just doing everyday stuff like turning my head or even sleeping was a chore. So, I tried massaging the area, thinking that might loosen things up.
- I got my wife to rub my neck, which felt good for a little while, but the pain always came back.
- I even bought one of those fancy massage guns, hoping that would do the trick. It helped a little, but not enough.
Then, a friend of mine suggested acupuncture. I’d never tried it before, but I was getting desperate. I found a local acupuncturist and gave it a shot. Honestly, I was skeptical at first, but I figured, what did I have to lose?
The first session was… interesting. It didn’t hurt as much as I thought it would, and actually, it felt kind of relaxing. But I didn’t notice any immediate improvement in my neck pain. Still, I decided to stick with it. I went for a few more sessions, and slowly but surely, I started to feel a difference.
Finally getting better
The pain started to subside, and I could move my neck more freely. It wasn’t a miracle cure, but it definitely helped. After a few weeks of acupuncture, combined with rest and some gentle stretching, I was finally able to play my sax again without wincing in pain.
It was a long and frustrating process, but I learned a lot about dealing with injuries. I mean, I usually just push through pain, but this time, I realized that sometimes you really do need to listen to your body and take it easy. And hey, I even discovered a new appreciation for acupuncture. Who knew?
So yeah, that’s my story about my reed injury. It wasn’t fun, but I got through it. And now, I’m back to making music, which is all that really matters.
