BAPAM deliver expert health and wellbeing services in the performing arts. Our events give artists, creators, technicians, teachers, and organisers the knowledge they need to improve health and enjoy sustainable careers.
Three-quarters of musicians have health problems that can impact their creative work, ranging from minor inconveniences to career-limiting conditions (Ackermann, Kenny 2014). Many of these conditions could be prevented by healthy practice.
This session focuses on evidence-based practical skills and draws from performance experience, research findings, psychology, and proven vocal health clinical pathways.
All our training and expert clinics for people in the performing arts are available for free because of the support of our community.Help us create a healthier world for performing arts professionals. Give £10 today.
BAPAM has seen a rise in musicians seeking appointments for upper limb injuries. To help musicians know how to avoid becoming injured, we have booked expert physiotherapist and BAPAM assessing clinician Dr Sarah Upjohn to deliver some injury prevention training. Learn how to
- Prevent career-disrupting physical health problems
- Manage pain and fatigue
- Improve performance
- Ensure sustainable lifelong music practice
Dr Sarah Upjohn, Performing Arts Medicine Physiotherapist and Educator
Sarah is a Performing Arts Medicine Physiotherapist and Educator, working mainly with instrumental musicians. She has extensive clinical experience in assessing & treating playing-related musculoskeletal injuries in instrumental musicians, and she is passionate about injury prevention, and promoting musculoskeletal well-being in musicians.
Sarah is the physiotherapist at The Purcell School for Young Musicians and well-being lead for the National Children’s Orchestra of Great Britain. She is an assessing clinician and educator for BAPAM and also works in a thriving private practice near Cambridge.
Additionally, she is in high demand as a teacher and speaker, and has contributed her expertise to school INSET sessions for visiting instrument teachers, INSET sessions at County Music Hubs, the Royal College of Music Junior Department, the Royal Northern College of Music undergraduate and post-graduate wellbeing curriculum, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic ‘Careers in the Music Industry’ Study Day, BAPAM Healthy Practice training sessions, Musicians’ Union ‘well-being for musicians’ activities and the Benedetti Foundation.
She has a Doctorate of Education from the University of Cambridge, and has had her research findings accepted for presentation at National, International and World Conferences (UK National Physiotherapy Conferences (2012, 2017 and 2019), International Society of Music Education World Conference (Baku, Azerbaijan, 2018), Performing Arts Medicine Association International Symposium (New Orleans, 2020).
Research looking at health issues within the performing arts workforce consistently finds that 70-75% of our population report both mental and physical health problems, which is much higher than the national average. We are lucky to be working with a number of health and wellbeing experts who can offer training to performers across the UK, with the aim of reducing the levels of poor health and supporting performers to have a sustainable career. Working with our partners in Equity, Musicians’ Union, Help Musicians UK and Performing Arts Education Providers – who are very kindly giving us free use of training venues – we are expanding our national training programme supporting healthy performance in the UK.