CMAT: 'I fractured my neck rocking out on stage'

As workplace injuries go, fracturing your cervix on-stage portion rocking retired successful to a assemblage of thousands of fans is simply a beauteous antithetic one.

But that's what happened to vocalist CMAT, existent sanction Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson.

What's adjacent much astonishing astir her wounded is that she didn't realise she'd done it. At slightest not consecutive away.

It was lone erstwhile her larynx collapsed - causing her to suffer her dependable - that the occupation became obvious.

CMAT - who won the Ireland's Choice Music Prize for Best Album of the Year - spoke to BBC Newsbeat arsenic she prepared for her archetypal gig since.

She was successful the mediate of her past circuit erstwhile she injured her neck.

"I didn't cognize I fractured my cervix from rocking out," she says.

"I was conscionable throwing my caput successful a circle, caput banging and stuff. And I fractured my neck."

CMAT says she continued to play live, and kept caput banging on-stage.

"Over the people of the full tour, I was conscionable fracturing it small by little," she says.

Eventually, she couldn't disregard it.

"My larynx collapsed" she says.

"It twisted and my dependable container wasn't closing together, truthful I mislaid my dependable for a month."

In an Instagram station astatine the time, CMAT told fans it had "rotated and has somewhat collapsed connected 1 side".

Or, arsenic she besides enactment it, her larynx was "in its flop era".

Vocal physiotherapist Nikki Franklin says it's not that antithetic for singers to get injuries to their vocal organs.

"We bash spot this benignant of repetitive strain and wounded with performance," she says.

Nikki says performers doing "something rather unsocial for galore shows passim the twelvemonth connected repeat" tin instrumentality its toll.

But she admits that CMAT's injuries are "pretty unique".

"It sounds rather utmost doesn't it?" she says.

"Singers are athletes successful that tiny country of their neck, pharynx and dependable box.

"We spot them utilizing their bodies successful antithetic ways and putting a batch of strain connected that area."

Nikki says this tin gradually pb to build-ups of hostility and micro trauma until it ends with "something that breaks the camel's back"

"Or, successful this case, a singer's neck."

CMAT, who lone cancelled 2 shows earlier getting backmost to her time job, says she's "all healed" now.

She says a vocal manager "reinvigorated" her dependable done a programme of physio and dependable coaching.

But volition she beryllium doing thing otherwise present she's backmost connected stage?

"I've chopped my hairsbreadth shorter. So hopefully that should help," she says.

"But I'll astir apt beryllium retired determination rocking retired tonight."

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