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Karolin Krell

Karolin Krell

Performing Arts Medicine MSc

Professional Biography

Karolin Krell is a qualified Osteopath and Physiotherapist working in private practise in London and lectures at the Osteopathic College Germany in Hamburg. She holds various postgraduate qualifications such as in Neurokinetic Therapy -NKT®, Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilisation, Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Therapy and contributed to two forthcoming publications in Osteopathy. She has just returned from assisting with the first NKT course in Dubai, something she has assisted with previously in London and NYC.

Karolin is currently a student on the MSc in Performing Arts Medicine (PAM) programme, run by UCL in collaboration with BAPAM, RCM, TL and the ISEH.

“I chose the course to further my research interests across the Performing Arts Community”, she says. “For example in music, performance enhancement is traditionally encouraged through intense practice routines rather than complementary training focusing on the strength and conditioning of the Artist. That’s a very different approach in comparison to, say, dance.”

Karolin’s MSc research project is exploring Sleep Disturbance amongst Performing Artists. For the study, which uses the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, she is recruiting Performers based both in the UK and internationally, including those who regularly travel and cross time zones.

The study is also looking into the effect of rehearsal and performance breaks, as these can affect sleep patterns and performance quality. Different Performing Arts genres are being studied to try and identify, for example, whether the extreme physicality of dance counteracts the increased adrenaline levels generated by any performance, and thus leads to dancers sleeping better than musicians.

Karolin’s main passion is for acrobatics and dance within the Performing Arts, she supported the Acrobats and Artists of Zippo Circus and Cirque Berserk on site, something she says was also a catalyst for her applying for the MSc in Performing Arts Medicine.

“Because they are constantly travelling but also often for financial reasons, Circus Performers often can’t make great use of Osteopathy and Physiotherapy”, she says. “At first some of them were quite suspicious – you had to win their trust as their bodies and health means everything to them – but quickly the Circus Family was really appreciative.”

Karolin is also very eager to enhance the importance of postural habits and the physical well-being amongst dentists and their teams as those also have to be able to tolerate unique working postures for prolonged periods. Being a daughter of a dentist and orthodontist she is familiar with strains and injuries that can occur due to work related postures. She is very proud being an honorary speaker for the British Dental Association (BDA) on Ergonomics in Dentistry to further raise the importance in Ergonomics in the Dental Practise.