As a singer, we have all heard the phrase “oh I have nodes” in fact is was made a huge focal point in the movie “Pitch Perfect” Most of the time when I get a phone or email from someone who is injured they always say that their number one fear is nodules or another vocal injury. If there is an injury it is not the end of your career. In fact, there are very few vocal injuries that would force you to seek another path. One fear that we need to work hard to take away; that if an injury happens, it’s not the end of the world. We need to make sure we understand what caused it, what happened, and move forward from there.
An injury may occur based on something that a person wasn’t even doing while they were singing or talking. A voice injury can happen because of an emotional trauma, a mental trauma, or another physical trauma on another part of their body that pulls everything out of place.
I understand what it’s like to be injured, because I personally have been vocally injured. I understand the guilt and shame that comes with that injury. My injury didn’t come from a voice injury, it came from an emotional trauma which later manifested itself in my voice.
When I work with my clients on voice rehabilitation, we work with some of the best medical teams in the United States. I consult with either my team or your medical team on behalf of you, my client, so we can figure out a plan based on the diagnosis that was given. Once we are cleared, we then gently get you back into voicing again, rehabbing the voice back where it should be and better than it was. If you don’t have a team then I am there helping you find the right professionals who fit your needs both medically and personally. Every singer or vocal athlete should have medical team that they can call and consult with at any time. But that is going to be another blog post for another time!
As a client who is focusing on rehabilitation we set up healthy vocal and physical boundaries and limits and the work towards how to voice again within your full potential and scope of vocal range without re-injury and without being afraid to sing and voice again because of an injury. We discuss and practice how to move forward, how to make the best choices possible and how not to live in fear or have that fear control us. This will work on vocal warmups and cool downs and technical application. We will also dive deep into repertoire and dissecting your songs, scripts, and vocal acrobatics as well as your speech!
Although some people are nervous to talk about injury, I am willing to bet that those that have been injured feels that fear, that fear of voicing or fear of singing again because they think they will re-injure. If the rehabilitation is taken seriously and done appropriately our goal would be that it doesn’t happen again. Through proper vocal rehabilitation the artist can gain more control , freedom and flexibility of their voice.
I want to be an advocate for the injured, to let them know that they are not alone and no matter what we can rehab back out of it. It might be a little stumbling block, but we will learn from it, do what we need to prevent it from happening again and get back out there letting the world hear what you are meant to do!
Let’s embrace the journey together and move forward, without fear, so artists and vocal professionals can get back out on stage and do what they were meant to do, do what’s a part of them, their soul and life purpose, and that a vocal injury is not an end. It might be a little stumbling block, but we will learn from it, do what we need to prevent it from happening again and get back out on the road.