Therapeutic chinrest
for Violinists and Violists
This chinrest was developed during the late 1970’s by Dr. Colin Anthony Ross, chief of Thoracic Surgery at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, Edmonton, Alberta, and by Dr. Norman Ibsen, a Chiropractor who specialized in musicians' related injuries and abnormalities, and by Bow Maker/Luthier Michael Vann.
Our group studied a large number of patients in the violin/viola category with chronic neck, back and shoulder problems and found that most, if not all suffered from lateral scoliosis. The curvature was similar in direction with each and it became evident that most had begun this malformation during their physically formative years and through puberty.
Abnormalities included marked atrification of the neck muscles on the right side and an obvious over-development of those on the left. There was also marked over-rotation of the radius and ulna (bones of the forearm) within the left arm. This did not show in the right (bow) arm.
Patients with advanced chronic pain in the regions of the lower back and the neck were generally in an age group beyond the early thirties, although one young lady had reached only 15 years when this condition set in.
Most, but not all, suffered dermatosis or "fiddler’s neck". This is a common skin condition found on violinists and violists. This condition, we discovered, was nothing more than the result of a very large amount of pressure applied by the base of the mandible (jaw bone) on a very small area of the chinrest. This condition was described in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, December, 1979.
We discovered that by forcing the upper (cervical) region of the spine into a near vertical position and dividing ten fold the load placed by the jaw upon the chinrest we accomplished a relative degree of therapeutic correction, reduction of chronic pain in the cervical and lumbar regions and almost completely eradicating the edema suffered in the neck area.
This is accomplished by correcting the relationship between the shoulder and the head while holding and playing the instrument. We lower the shoulder by introducing a relatively solid platform under the violin or viola. We found that the KUN brand of shoulder rest served this purpose best of all available.
Next we forced the head into a near vertical position on the chinrest by increasing the height of the chinrest itself and lastly increased the contact area with the cup from the normal one to two square centimeters to between twenty and thirty square centimeters. This is accomplished through an impression made by the musician unto a butyl rubber mold from which a permanent chinrest can be cast. The process is not unlike taking an impression of the mouth cavity to fit false teeth except the time required for the chinrest impression takes considerably longer.
Ideally the patient makes the mold and returns days later to have the chinrest finally fitted. Minor adjustments can then be made. The casting material from which the chinrest is made is epoxy based and guaranteed by its manufacturer to be hyper allergenic once fully cured, which is seven days from the day it is mixed and cast.
Patient adaptivity to the new regime is a time line curve proportionate to age of the patient. Normally the younger the patient, the shorter the course and the quicker the recovery.
We always recommend physician or therapist follow-up during the first few months so that progress can be monitored and no other course of trauma sets in. If no marked improvement is found at the end of three months, changes may have to be made to the physical set-up of the new platform, or the entire new set-up may have to be abandoned.
We also recommend that if a primary or secondary infection is present in the neck region, or if the area is raw, it should be treated before we see the patient. We recommended Cortisone ointment in the early 80’s with good results. Open wounds should be treated by a physician and completely healed before we see the patient. It is our preference that a P/A neck X-ray be obtained by the patient with the current instrument set-up in place under the chin, held there with a reasonable amount of pressure. There should be no fear of X-radiation damage to the violin since our industry uses X-rays as a method of treating instruments with worm and larva infestation. This X-ray should be brought along for us to see.
In each case history of the clients who underwent this program, our success rate has been good to excellent. All cases were due to prolonged bad posture during the younger years and several were accident related. Other mitigating circumstances may prevail in patients who suffer from problems beyond these conditions and we therefor offer no warrantee of any kind excepting the chinrest itself should it break during normal usage.
Cost for this process is $1,000. This includes first and all subsequent visits, fittings and corrections. We offer additional copies of the first chinrest at the time of manufacture for $200. Prices quoted are in US funds. Since the pre-existing conditions are job related, or as a result of a vehicle or other type of accident, insurance companies will often cover this type of prosthetic device.
We strongly urge that this device be recommended by the physician, physio-therapist or healthcare worker who will do the follow-up.
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Dealer, Maker, Restorations, Evaluations.
Serving musicians since 1975
841 Canso Drive. P.O. Box 126
Gabriola, B.C.
VOR 1XO.
Telephone (250) 247-8030
Fax Line (250) 247-9411.
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ŠVann Bowed Instruments Ltd, 1997
This site last updated Thursday, September 11, 2008