Neck muscle causes violinist hand pain and numbness

I find myself on a mission to let serious musicians know how much muscle spasms and contractions can cause them to end their career! I only wish I could speak to them in large groups, it is so terrible to see gifted individuals stop playing because of something as minor as a taut muscle causing pain and numbness.
The violinist has been told by several caring people to revise her posture. This is certainly a possibility that could help her, and one that she should examine, but it won't totally resolve her issue.

The following is a message I just posted on http://www.violinist.com/ as an answer to an individual who is experiencing pain that could end a career, yet all that she has been told is to "stop playing," a totally unacceptable answer for a dedicated violinist:

While I absolutely agree that you need to examine your posture, the repetitive nature of playing the violin, and how to treat the muscles, is one that that is missing in all of the messages I've read.
Regardless of how perfect your posture becomes, you are still using the levator scapulae muscle to raise your shoulders to play your violin. This muscle originates on C1-4 and as it shortens due to repetitive use, it will pull these vertebrae out of alignment. Every vertebra is attached to the one above and below it, so it becomes a negative chain effect.

Also, the anterior scalenes originate on C3-6 and unilaterally work together to bring your head down. You hold this contraction for hours while you are playing. The static contraction of the muscle will eventually cause it to shorten (called "muscle memory") and when you try to lift your head the non-shorter muscle is pulling C3-6 down, putting pressure onto the vertebrae and your disks, and pulling the vertebrae out of alignment.

Tension on the scalenes causes the muscle to impinge on your brachial plexus, the bundle of nerves that give sensation to your shoulders, upper back, upper chest, down your arm and into your hand. It not only causes pain and numbness, but also can cause edema in your fingers.

Unfortunately to just tell someone to adjust their posture is impossible since you must have your head down in order to play the violin. It is important to massage these muscles so you can flush out the lactic acid (a toxin that forms during muscle action, and becomes entrapped because of the static contraction). The biggest problem here is that you need more massage than you have the time to receive!
You need to work on the muscle at least once a day, at the end of hours of practice, and even better is to work on the muscle several times a day. So, the thing to do is to learn how to do self-massage on the muscles.

I suggest that you read "Anatomy Lessons." You'll see a graphic of the scalenes that will make this discussion easier to understand. It's logical that the muscles will shorten from the repetitive nature of playing the violin, and it's also logical that you are the most important person to treat the muscles so you can continue to play your instrument while maintaining healthy muscles.

Wishing you well, Julie