From cowboy fiddler to DO: How a violin injury changed one physician’s life

David Shoup, DO, intended to become a mechanical engineer until a music-induced injury changed his plans. After developing severe tendinitis from hours of instrument practice, Dr. Shoup endured two years of pain before finding relief through osteopathic manipulative treatment.

Now an associate professor at the Midwestern University/Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine in Glendale, Dr. Shoup specializes in neuromusculoskeletal and performing arts medicine. He spoke to The DO about his path to osteopathic medicine and how his experiences have shaped his empathetic, whole-person approach to care.

‘No pain, no gain’

Dr. Shoup grew up in Arizona playing violin, mandolin and guitar. By his senior year of high school, he was spending up to eight hours per day practicing, as well as playing frequent gigs with a cowboy fiddle band.

Though he noticed increasing pain in his left hand, Dr. Shoup subscribed to the “no pain, no gain” philosophy and continued his aggressive musical schedule until the discomfort grew so severe that he had to stop playing altogether.

Chronic pain

The injury would change the course of Dr. Shoup’s life. “I had chronic hand pain every minute of the day for the next two years,” he says. Dr. Shoup, who is left-handed, had to learn to write with his right hand in order to take notes in his college classes. He also restrung his violin backwards and learned to bow with his left hand so he could continue performing with his band.

Depressed and frustrated, Dr. Shoup visited 14 doctors over the next two years, but none were able to treat his injury effectively. That changed when he sought treatment from Carlisle Holland, DO, who specializes in osteopathic manipulative medicine. Dr. Holland, who practiced in Phoenix at the time, now practices in Sebastapol, California.

Relief through OMT

“The first time Dr. Holland treated me with osteopathic manipulative treatment, I experienced about two hours of pain relief—I was blown away,” says Dr. Shoup. The doctors he’d seen previously had focused on his injured hand. But Dr. Holland explained that somatic dysfunction of the forearm, elbow, shoulder, back and neck had been major contributors to the injury. “Dr. Holland’s biomechanical expertise really impressed me—he saw right away that the problem wasn’t limited to just my hand,” Dr. Shoup says.

After two months of weekly OMT treatments, Dr. Shoup had improved enough to be able to play music again. “I was fascinated by the whole experience and wanted to be able to help others with similar problems, so I decided to become a DO,” he says. He completed his premed coursework before graduating from the Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific (Western U/COMP) in Pomona, California.

Music and medicine

These days, Dr. Shoup teaches first- and second-year students at MWU/AZCOM. He also treats patients with musculoskeletal complaints, some of whom are musicians and dancers. Many of his patients are hobbyists rather than professionals. Some have overuse injuries, while some have other conditions, such as arthritis, that aren’t caused by their hobby but interfere with it.

The experiences that led him to osteopathic medicine have shaped his empathetic approach to patient care, Dr. Shoup says. “I know what it feels like to suffer from chronic pain—the effects are more than just physical,” he says. “As an osteopathic physician, I’ve been trained to treat the cause of the problem, not just symptoms—that’s what allows DOs to offer unique care that can really make a difference for patients.”