Laura Kok is an orthopaedic surgeon specialised in treating injured musicians. After obtaining her masters degree in both medicine and viola (Royal Conservatory, The Hague), she continued to combine her experience of these two working areas.  After finishing her PhD ‘Musculoskeletal health in musicians: Epidemiology and biomechanics’ in 2018, she initiated the ‘musicispreekuur’, an outpatient clinic dedicated to provide high level healthcare for musicians in the Spaarne Hospital (Haarlem).

Injuries are part of a professional career in music, especially if you play the viola. Of all instruments present in the symphonic orchestra, the viola is the one which brings the highest risk of getting injured: up to 90% of the viola players has at least one injury every year. So it is time to accept that injuries come together with the instrument and to start working on how we could optimally deal with them.

The aim of the workshop is to empower you to take the lead in creating a healthy playing environment. During the workshop we will work on the following topics:

– What is an injury and why do we get injured? What injuries are common among viola players?

– How to influence the occurrence and course of an injury? What is the relation between body and mind with respect to injuries? And how can we use this knowledge to prevent problems?

– And finally, we will talk on how to make sure you are getting the most optimal care in case you are injured. How can we collaborate with healthcare providers, in order to optimise the results of the treatment?

Date:  Saturday, March 13th, at 14:00h
Place:  Online, Jitsi Meet (registered participants will receive a link)
Language:  The workshop will be given in English
Costs:  Voluntary financial donation, we suggest €10,-
Registration: Use form below

P.S. You may also find the following related workshop interesting:
March 6th, 2021: “Finding Fabulous Freedom“, with Asdis Valdimarsdottir