Violinist Roman Mints on overcoming a career-threatening ganglion

It’s a musician’s worst nightmare to wake up with a pain in his hand. I had devoted the whole of my conscious life from the age of five to a career as a professional violinist; there is nothing else I know how to do. If there was a real problem with my hand, it would literally mean the end of my life. And then one day it appeared – a nagging ache, occasionally turning into a shooting pain.

What did they tell us as children? If it hurts, stop playing immediately, or you’ll only make it worse. Naturally, I stopped practising immediately and got a doctor’s note for college. To give the Royal College of Music administration their due, at this time they were paying particular attention to the problem of what to do with students suffering from hand pain, and they had a list of a phone numbers for osteopaths in Harley Street and Alexander Technique trainers, as well as a consultant specialising in musicians’ injuries and hand injuries, Dr Ian Winspur. …

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