As the old saying goes, music soothes even the savage beast, but it can also wreck havoc on your body and create a spinal cord injury.  Legendary rockstar Phil Collins knows too well the pain of a spinal cord injury, and he recently gave an interview to Rolling Stone magazine about how his vertebrae was crushing his spinal cord because of the way he drums.

This is a first for our firm’s San Diego paralysis lawyers — who knew drumming could hurt your back?

Years of drumming caused Phil Collins’ spinal cord injury.

Years of drumming caused Phil Collins’ spinal cord injury (Source: Rolling Stone)

As man who uses art and creativity every day, Collins never imagined the way he was drumming could cause his spinal cord to deteriorate.  He finally sought out paralysis treatment and underwent surgery to correct the spinal cord injury and nerve damage.

“It comes from years of playing,” said Collins.  “I can’t even hold the sticks properly without it being painful.”

Collins has since found a new way to drum so that he might avoid another spinal cord injury.

“The first time I picked up the drumsticks after my neck surgery, they flew across the room because I couldn’t grip them.  When I play, I’ve had to tape the sticks to my hand.  It’s like wearing a condom.  It’s very strange.  It really cramps your style.”

Collins also cautions other drummers out there that might be hurting their backs and not realizing it.

Most of the time, our firm’s paralysis lawyers associate car accidents or bacterial infections with spinal cord injuries, so this is a new cause for us, but one that should be taken seriously.  Our view is that if it can happen to an award winning musician like Phil Collins, it can happen to you.

Rock on, percussion musicians everywhere.  Just be careful not to thrash your spinal cords at the same time.

If you or a loved one have been involved in an accident and suffered a spinal cord injury or paralysis, we urge you to contact our bilingual offices as soon as possible following the accident at 1-858-551-2090 or please click here for a FREE consultation with an experienced paralysis lawyer in San Diego.  We handle all cases on a contingency fee basis, which means that you owe us nothing until we recover money on your behalf.