Did Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Kill Keith Emerson?

Los Angeles, California, March 22, 2016 (Newswire.com) -   Of the many tragedies surrounding renowned rock keyboardist Keith Emerson’s suicide on March 11, 2016, there’s one that could have been avoided.

“For a musician to come prone to something like focal dystonia or carpal tunnel is subject to the end. Nobody wants to employ a session musician with any disability. Some musicians have resorted to suicide …”

"For a musician to come prone to something like focal dystonia or carpal tunnel is subject to the end. Nobody wants to employ a session musician with any disability. Some musicians have resorted to suicide ..."

Keith Emerson, Keyboardist, Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Keith himself wrote that two years ago when author Jill Gambaro approached Emerson to endorse her book The Truth About Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Gambaro admits, “I wrote the book for and as a computer user, but living in Austin, Texas, where you can’t cross the street without running into a musician, I discovered that musicians suffer the same injuries.” Anecdotal numbers show 50% of musicians fall prey to repetitive strain injuries, but in Australia, where every player in their eight professional orchestras was surveyed, 84% were in pain. Unfortunately, most suffer in silence for fear of losing their next gig.

Emerson was a long time sufferer of depression as well as carpal tunnel syndrome and a neurological disorder called focal dystonia. His injuries hampered his ability to perform, something he clearly loved. From her own case of carpal tunnel syndrome and her work with support groups over the years, Gambaro recognizes the pattern of depression and injury. In one chat room someone commented, ‘I didn’t know you could die from carpal tunnel syndrome.’ Gambaro knows too many who have.

“What Keith wrote was poetic, personal and clearly from a man in a lot of pain,” says Gambaro, “in retrospect, it’s haunting.” Weylon Jennings, Chick Corea, Max Weinberg and Ani DeFranco are just a few others who have publicly admitted to suffering from repetitive strain injuries. How many more suffer in silence? And as computer become part of the music making process, how many more will come? While medicine is baffled by these injuries, computer users have found ways to get a handle on them through a grass roots patient movement. Gambaro ran one such group in Los Angeles for many years and, through her book and blog, continues to help patients find ways to regain their lives.

Unfortunately, because of their silence, musicians haven’t benefitted from that knowledge. “The tragedy here is that prevention is simple. Not easy, but simple”, Gambaro laments. There are many layers that make treating musicians with repetitive injuries more difficult including performance anxiety and just plain groove. Still Gambaro feels she has a lot to share, “While carpal tunnel syndrome impacts patients and their families, the end of a musician’s career impacts us all.”

Jill Gambaro is a writer and independent film producer. She has lived with multiple repetitive strain injuries known as a “double crush” for over 15 years. Her articles have appeared in Washington Free Press, Written By, International Musician, Making Music and Overture magazines. She has spoken at Musicians Institute in Hollywood, the Los Angeles Public Library Main Branch, and the California state capitol. Her radio and television appearances include CBS and NPR. She produced the award-winning documentary Imagine a School … Summerhill staring Rebecca DeMornay, Jake Webber, Peter Coyote, Tom Conti and Orson Bean. 

Contact Reflection Media, Inc. 
(323) 736-0964