Sore Vocal Chords, Ballet Injuries : N.Y. Clinic Specializes in Ills of Performers

The appointment book at the Miller Institute medical clinic reads like the latest copy of Billboard magazine.

But the clinic’s patients are from the neighborhood.

They round the corner from Lincoln Center, walk a few blocks from Carnegie Hall or hop a quick uptown bus from Broadway with their twisted ankles, throbbing thumbs and stiff necks because they like the philosophy there.

“It may not be life-threatening, but if it’s career-threatening, it’s important,” said Dr. Emil Pascarelli, medical director of the new center at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital. He said the institute is the first in the world to offer comprehensive medical services specifically for performing artists.

‘Arts Medicine’

Pascarelli calls his craft “arts medicine” and likens it to sports medicine.

“Ballet is second only to pro football in the level of exertion it requires,” Pascarelli said.

Like athletes, performing artists often need treatment that differs from what is usually prescribed for an injury.

“If the performers go to a physician without a lot of practice in dealing with performers, he may not be able to recommend a proper treatment,” Pascarelli said.

Ruth Golden, a soprano with the New York City Opera Company who has been a patient at the Miller Institute, said she was once given a shot of cortisone to treat a swollen throat during a tour, even though she could only tolerate small doses of the drug in pill form.

Performers’ Special Needs

“When I said this (to the doctor), his attitude was, ‘I’m the doctor and you’re the patient.’ It dried out my throat and I had an allergic reaction to the shot,” she said.

“This man is a respected ear, nose and throat doctor, but he was not aware of the problems of performers.”

Some actors have unusual complaints brought on by the demands of the roles they play, Pascarelli said. There is Walter Charles who suffered sore calves and sore Achilles tendons after 14 months in three-inch heels as the transvestite Albin in the musical “La Cage aux Folles.”

The entire cast of the Broadway show “Creeps” came in after they portrayed cerebral palsy victims and suffered ill effects from the contortions required.

Some Structural Problems

Pascarelli said that most performers’ complaints are treatable unless, as was the case with a bowlegged ballet dancer, the problem is related to body structure.

The clinic’s official name is the Kathryn and Gilbert Miller Institute, after the foundation that donated $750,000 to start it within the hospital in February, 1985. It moved to new quarters on 59th Street last April.

The institute has purchased equipment not usually found in health clinics--including a voice lab with a soundproof booth, sophisticated fiber-optic equipment to examine vocal chords and a lab with a sprung-wood dance floor and barre . The clinic has a piano, mirrors and a video camera to observe dancers and musicians at work, and it offers free initial physical and cancer screening.

Performers, Pascarelli said, are not known for indulging in regular checkups when they are feeling well.

Motivated Patients

“They lead a fast-track life style with lots of travel, lots of stress and poor nutrition, which leads to poor general health,” he said. Once they have been seen, however, “performers are good patients because they’re highly motivated to do what they’re told to do.”

Often, doctors at the institute treat a recurring problem by teaching performers how to sit or to hold their instruments properly.

That was the prescription for Bruce Springsteen’s drummer, Max Weinberg, who made the rounds to many doctors and was told to give up drumming. After taping “Born in the USA,” Weinberg came to the clinic and was operated on by a hand surgeon, Dr. Richard Eaton.

“Max Weinberg could barely move his hand,” Pascarelli said. “Now he warms up for 45 minutes before he performs. We changed the way he holds his drumstick and he wears Isotoner gloves.”

More than half of the 850 patients seen to date were actors and musicians, and the majority were 21 to 35 years old. But Pascarelli said some of the patients were older with problems related to aging.

Other Approaches

“Some (older) violinists can’t keep their arms up and may need something that supports the arm,” he said.

Others may just need to take a more gradual approach to intense practice.

“Now I warm up and cool down just like an athlete. I’m playing now with no pain,” said Jake Kella, 38, first violist with the Metropolitan Opera and the American Ballet Theater orchestras, who had suffered a bout of tendinitis.

The center also provides psychological counseling for problems such as career transition, stage fright and eating disorders.

In the future, Pascarelli said he hopes that the center will be an important training ground for arts medicine. Another goal is to conduct research to learn about the physical limits of performers.