Dr. Steve Rock is a sports medicine physician at Medical Associates.

On any given day, he can be found seeing athletes, but he also sees musicians.

That's because he's a certified Performing Arts Physician.

He says he sees musicians who might have broken knuckles, sore shoulders or even concussions.

"We're trying to prevent injuries in them but also condition them for that activity ahead of time to try to prevent things down the road," he said.

He was recently certified by the Performing Arts Medicine Association.

"You go for two days of intense classes and then you take an exam at the end. So it's really taking everything you're learned over the years and kind of putting it into one course," Rock said of the course.

Rock primarily works with Colts Drum and Bugle Corps musicians, like Harlan Pfohl.

Pfohl says their practices can last up to 12 hours a day when they're in season.

"Usually you're sore, so you wanna stretch before you go to bed," Pfohl said.

But stretching can't fix everything. For those problems, there's Dr. Rock.

He said, "you just have to think through, 'okay, from a mechanics stand point, what are you doing, what's going to be stressed, and how can we reduce that stress so they can play better?'"

Rock says he gives three tips to all musicians: take frequent breaks when practicing, get hearing tests at least once a year, never play through pain and establish a fitness routine.

He said, "a lot of professional musicians will take up swimming, running, cycling, yoga, just because it breaks up the day and helps them relax because it's something different for them to do."

Rock is also a representative to

, which is a national organization that works to bring the sports medicine model to the performing arts.

You can learn more about the Performing Arts Medicine Association