Nora Krohn explains why an ordinary mirror is one of the most effective tools in the recovery process from focal dystonia. It shows how the mirror reveals hidden movement patterns that we are not able to perceive correctly and how it can help in correcting the left and right hand. It also describes the use of non-traditional viewpoints, video footage and the possibility of so-called mirror therapy in restoring correct movement patterns.

In this video, Nora Krohn explains why an ordinary mirror can become one of the most important tools in recovery from focal dystonia. For string players in particular, many key parts of the body are hidden during playing – for example, the left arm of violinists and violists – and without visual inspection it is very difficult to understand exactly what the body is actually doing.

The mirror as a tool for feedback

Nora reminds that mirrors are not just a privilege of dance halls and gyms. There, they are used so that one can monitor one's movement, compare it with the sample and correct it as necessary. The same principle can be used when playing an instrument and recovering from dystonia: if we want to change technique, we have to see what we are doing.

An intuitive description like "the right hand holds the bow and the left hand pulls the strings" is about as useful as saying that the deadlift "uses the hands" because it's holding a barbell. For real change, we need to understand the details – the position of the forearm, the thumb, the axis of the joints, the orientation of the arm to the tool. Most people can't do it without visual inspection.

Mirror and proprioception disorder

In musicians with focal dystonia, proprioception is often impaired - i.e. the ability to perceive the position of one's own body in space. The feeling of where the hand "is" does not correspond to reality. The mirror therefore serves as a correction: it allows you to compare the subjective perception with the objective image.

Nora describes that at the beginning of her recovery, she would not have been able to tell without a mirror if her left arm was twisted, if her elbow was moving to the side, or if she was stretching her fingers and thumb. Thanks to regular work in front of the mirror, she gradually learned to feel these differences - but first she had to see them.

View from unusual angles

It is not just a classic view "from the audience". For violinists and violists, there are often very valuable angles that they don't normally see: the thumb side of the left arm, the back of the right arm, the space behind the hand. These views are so unusual that one often cannot even imagine them, let alone check them accurately without a mirror.

Nora mentions, for example, observing the path of the left thumb or the amount of space behind the left arm. It was thanks to the mirror that she realized that her arm refused to enter the space behind the body and that because of this the hand was unnecessarily pulling away from the tool.

Video recording as an extended "mirror"

It is not always possible to place a mirror where we need it. In such situations, it is very useful to record yourself on video. The camera will make it possible to track movement in parts of the body that are usually out of focus - for example, in the right hand, if the dystonia was primarily in the left.

Nora admits that every time she looks at herself on video after a long time, she discovers another habit that she had no idea about. And it almost always leads to further improvement of playing and the stability of the movement.

Mirror therapy and copying a healthy formula

In the end, Nora mentions the so-called mirror therapy, which is used in neurological rehabilitation. The principle is that the brain is visually "fooled": it sees a healthy moving limb in the mirror and interprets it as the affected one. This activates healthy motor programs even for the sick side.

A similar logic is behind the "copy-paste" strategy that Nora uses in the Till Approach: first, a healthy, logical movement is sought in the unaffected limb, it is clearly named and felt, and then the same movement is deliberately "copied" in the affected hand. In both cases, it involves the use of neuroplasticity and the transfer of the correct pattern from one place in the brain to another.

The importance of the mirror in the recovery process

For Nora's personal experience, the mirror was one of the key tools: it allowed her to see what the body was really doing, confront sensation with reality and gradually build new, stable and meaningful movement patterns. A mirror alone will not cure dystonia, but without visual feedback, the process of changing technique is significantly more difficult.

Notes

This article was co-created with help from ChatGPT based on a video by Nora Krohn.

Nora Krohn's official YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@norakrohn