--- In organfocus-newsletter@yahoogroups.com, "Pavel Stetsenko"
<Paul@...> wrote:
>
> Hello, fellow organists!
>
> I just wanted to start a discussion on the topic of organ playing and
> herniated discs. Are the two related? Any solid data on the
> subject?
>
> Just two days ago I had my operation, and now I am trying to figure
> out what caused the injury in the first place. An organist friend,
> who BTW also suffers from the same condition, just told me that this
> trouble comes from practicing the organ; after all, all that sitting
> on the hard bench, moving your feet and trying to get to the swell
> manual that it placed way too high must be detrimental to one's
> health. Just wanted to hear opinions of colleagues.

One problem is that many organists sit too close to the console.
If the organist pushes the bench farther back, this makes for a much
more comfortable position, in my opinion. And as for reaching the
far-away Swell manual: try reaching the 5th manual on some large organs!

Of course: if the organist is in a situation where the organ bench can
NOT be pushed back, the issue becomes moot. The organist just has to
suffer. I encountered this at my recent (2-hour) recital at the
Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul in Lewiston, Maine: the organ bench
was fixed into position with a fixed barrier directly behind it. I had
to play that whole recital from a very cramped and uncomfortable
position.