Mike Portnoy Reveals How To Face Physical Problems That Start Menua

Dream Theater Drummer Mike Portnoy (Instagram @mikeportnoy)

JAKARTA - Playing high-intensity drums for a long time like Mike Portnoy is certainly not easy not only from a technical point of view but also there are physical problems that are getting older and older.

Portnoy made his Dream Theater debut at the age of 22. Currently, he is 57 years old, but the type of music he plays still demands high intensity.

The drummer did not shut himself up, that he had a physical problem, which had accumulated more than 20 years ago.

For me, the pain has accumulated over the years. I mean, I'm going to be 58 years old, and playing a very tough musical performance for three hours really drains the power of Dream Theater playing for three hours. So, my body has to bear a lot of things, "said Portnoy during a recent interview with Samus Paulicelli on the YouTube channel 66Samus.

Portnoy said he had experienced his first physical illness since his 30s. At that time, he was at the peak of a progressive rock game with Dream Theater.

"If you watch the Dream Theater DVD 'Live At Budokan', my right elbow was blocked at that time. At that time I really started experiencing tendonitis problems, and it happened 20 years ago, more than 20 years ago. So, I was in my thirties when I started experiencing it," said the drummer.

"And I have to start massaged regularly. I'll go to the massager at the show before every show, if possible, or when I come home, I go to the regular massager, a therapist. That's very helpful. And the pyropractic therapy also helps, because I've had times when it bothered me on stage, "he continued.

Portnoy also told how his back had cramps when he appeared in Toronto in the 1990s.

"I can't move. So on the sidelines of the song, we have to ask if there are any hikropractics at home, and really stop the show for 15 minutes so a hikriopractice comes to get me back to its original position," he said.

Currently, in the midst of his physical problems, Portnoy is trying to warm up as well as possible before the show.

"Usually about half an hour before the show, I have training gear in the dressing room. And I don't have a special routine I'm not the type of player who's still a beginner but I'm just going to do singles and doubles games, just to smooth out the flow of blood and warm the muscles a little bit and try not to perform on stage in the cold," he concluded.