How hidden inflammation sets young musicians up for chronic tendon pain — and how to solve it

Why so many musicians stay injured — even when they rest

NUTRITIONPERFORMANCE

Naama Neuman

8/31/20254 min read

When Pain Keeps Coming Back

You’ve taken weeks off, iced your wrist until it burned, stretched every tendon you can name. The pain eases, you start practicing again — and within days it’s back. Same dull ache, same fear: what if this never goes away?

For musicians, tendonitis feels like betrayal. You’ve put in the hours, built the technique, but your own body won’t cooperate. And no matter how much you rest, the pain seems to return stronger than before.

My Own Flare-Up

Mine started in my left thumb, right before a concert with the Israel Philharmonic’s academy under Zubin Mehta. First flute, Tchaikovsky’s 4th Symphony — a dream concert. But all I remember is the pain, the frustration, and the fear that it would never go away.

At the same time, I was dealing with a long ulcerative colitis flare, which is why I was prescribed steroids for nine months. The medication calmed my colitis and dulled the tendon pain too — but it never solved either condition. That’s the reality with drugs: they can reduce inflammation system-wide, but if the root causes remain, the body never truly heals.

Even years later, I had to massage that same spot daily, and during busy periods booked weekly deep-tissue therapy just to keep going. Looking back, it makes sense. My body was inflamed at every level. Like everyone else, I thought it was from “practicing too much.” But the truth was deeper.

Why Rest Doesn’t Fix It

Tendonitis literally means inflammation of a tendon. We think of it as “overuse”: play too much, pain sets in. Rest, ice, stretch, repeat.

But rest only quiets symptoms — it doesn’t address the fire underneath. If the body is inflamed, pain flares back as soon as you play again.

Think of rest as opening a window to let the smoke out while the fire is still burning. It looks better for a while, but the coals are still glowing. Unless you change the conditions that fuel the fire, it will keep reigniting.

The Lifestyle That Fuels It

Looking back, it’s obvious why tendonitis often starts in conservatory years: cafeteria food, long days indoors, little sleep, nonstop pressure. All of it fuels systemic inflammation.

Food. Quick meals, pizza, wraps, energy bars — even the “healthy” cafeteria options are usually cooked in seed oils, with dressings made from oils and sugar. Inflammation is built into almost every bite.

  • Refined carbs and seed oils raise insulin and oxidative stress, keeping the body in “storage mode” instead of “repair mode.”

  • Nightshades like tomatoes or potatoes can worsen joint pain in sensitive people.

  • And tendons need collagen, built from protein and fat. Like athletes, musicians need animal protein and fat — meat, fish, eggs, dairy — not hummus or lentils, which lack the full building blocks for repair.

Sunlight. I often practiced in windowless rooms and walked home after dark. Days passed without real sun. Vitamin D isn’t just a vitamin — it’s a hormone your body makes from cholesterol when skin is exposed to UVB rays. It regulates genes tied to immune balance, repair, and inflammation. Without it, tendons stay inflamed longer. And full sunlight also includes red and infrared light, which help cells recover.

Sleep. I often ran on six hours a night when my schedule was heavy. I thought staying up late for “just one more hour” was discipline. What I didn’t realize is that when we go to sleep matters as much as how long we sleep — a lesson athletes know well. Going to bed far past midnight disrupts hormone cycles, when growth hormone peaks and collagen repair happens.

Stress. Auditions, juries, orchestra weeks — stress is part of being a musician. Cortisol and adrenaline help us perform in short bursts. But when cortisol stays high, it raises blood sugar, breaks down tissue, and keeps the immune system “switched on.” For me, the audition–recital–concert cycle acted as the spark. My body was already inflamed; stress just lit the fire.

What Finally Helped

Here’s what I wish I had known: tendonitis isn’t just local. It’s systemic. Until you lower the background inflammation, the pain will keep coming back.

If you change nothing else, start here — in order:

  1. Switch cooking fats. Replace seed oils (canola, soybean, sunflower) with butter, ghee, or tallow. Save olive oil for salads or drizzling on cooked food.

  2. Add protein and fat. Build meals around animal protein: eggs, sardines, meat, cheese. Even swapping one carb-heavy lunch can make rehearsals feel easier.

  3. Get outside daily. A 20-minute walk before rehearsal, or stepping outside during breaks, boosts vitamin D and circadian rhythm. Small doses add up.

  4. Protect your sleep. Cut off screens and snacks before bed. Aim for a steady sleep rhythm, especially in busy rehearsal weeks.

Not because you stretched more or rested longer, but because your whole body will finally stop fighting itself.

Four Myths Musicians Still Believe

  • “Rest heals tendonitis.” Rest helps symptoms, but pain returns if inflammation stays high.

  • “Good technique prevents injury.” Technique matters, but even perfect form can’t protect inflamed tissues.

  • “Pills and physio will fix it.” They manage pain, but don’t fix the root causes.

  • “It’s just bad luck.” Tendonitis is common not because of genetics, but because of modern diets and schedules.

The Real Path to Recovery

I still remember that concert with Zubin Mehta, 20 years later. I remember the music — but I also remember the pain. At the time, I thought it was just the price of being a stressed musician with an overloaded schedule.

Now I know better. Tendonitis never truly heals with rest alone because the fire is deeper than the tendon. If you change what fuels the fire — your food, your sleep, your light, your stress — you change your recovery.

So the next time you feel that ache creeping in, don’t just reach for the ice. Ask yourself: what’s keeping my body inflamed? That’s where the answer lies.

Research Notes
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naama@naamaneuman.com

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