Years of stand-up leave Foster in agony

Stand-up Toby Foster says years of holding a microphone night after night have given him a serious work-related injury.

The 40-year-old says his shoulder has been left in agonising pain after standing for hours with his arm bent and the mic resting on his chin.

‘My shoulder is completely frozen up and I can't sleep at nights,’ he told listeners to his BBC Radio Sheffield breakfast show. ‘It’s the way I stand three or four nights a week and I can be on stage for an hour at a time.’

After seeing a physiotherapist, he now has regular massages, uses a hands-free phone and encases the shoulder in ice packs after gigs.

He has tried to perform with the microphone still in the stand, or in his left hand instead, but said it was hard to break the habit. ‘It’s just not me, I wasn’t as funny,’ he admitted.

Foster said he knew of no other comics who have suffered similar problems.

Published: 7 Apr 2010