Hand Therapy for Musicians by Dr. Aviva Wolff
Aviva works with individual musicians and musical groups to educate, prevent and manage performance related injuries. She uses a customized approach that is based on the player’s specific instrument and performance demands to promote healthy habits and avoid injury. She is available for individual consultations and group presentations.
““Your instrument demands a specialist. So do you.””
Aviva Wolff, EdD, OTR/L, CHT is an occupational therapist, certified hand therapist, and clinician-scientist specializing in the prevention and treatment of performance-related injuries in musicians and performing artists.
She is an Assistant Professor at Weill Cornell Medicine and a clinician-scientist at Hospital for Special Surgery, where she leads upper extremity movement analysis and biomechanics research. She consults for The Juilliard School and is the founder of the Musicians' Health Management Program — an evidence-based approach to keeping performers healthy, on stage, and playing at their best.
With more than 30 years of clinical and research experience, Aviva brings a rare combination of scientific rigor and deep appreciation for the demands of musical performance to every consultation.
Available for individual consultations, institutional partnerships, and speaking engagements. Schedule a Consultation →
““I needed to heal to pursue a recording date...we set a 6-week goal and Aviva set forth a return to play schedule around week 5. I was able to record at the world famous Avatar studios with my band with Omar Hakim and Kurt Rosenwinkel which was a lifetime dream.””
Aviva’s clinical and research focus is based on the appreciation and understanding of the needs and abilities of the individual.
Her clinical work is focused on an individualized analysis of movement patterns and functional requirements of each patient.
When working with instrumentalists and athletes her focus is on the individual demands of the specific instrument or sport and the performance requirements.
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Aviva is a certified hand therapist and occupational therapist with 20 plus years of experience treating a wide range of upper extremity injuries and conditions. She specializes in the treatment and prevention of musician overuse injury and musician’s dystonia.
She has developed a clinical upper extremity motion analysis service to analyze functional movement and performance in athletes, musicians, and children and adults with movement disorders. Analyzed data is used to inform surgical and therapy decision making for improved functional performance.
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Aviva's research has focused on musician injury prevention and management, wrist biomechanics and function, elbow biomechanics and function, and hand and arm function in brachial plexus injury and cerebral palsy.
She has independently led and collaborated with orthopedic surgeons, physiatrists, sports medicine physicians, scientists, and biomechanists on several funded studies that have led to multiple presentations and publications.
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Speaker
Aviva has earned the reputation as a national and international lecturer on injury prevention in musicians, and upper extremity rehabilitation and related research.
Awards and achievements
Aviva has received multiple awards in recognition for her work in the hand therapy, hand surgery, and upper extremity biomechanics, including a recently awarded prestigious Vargas International Teaching Award, presented by the American Association for Hand Surgery in 2016.
