Lip pain

[apsapienza]

Wondering if I can pull from the experience of other tubists here...

Right before my audition for President's Own, during my warm up, I started getting SHARP, stabbing pains on my bottom lip, right side. The pain was sharp enough I stopped playing until my audition, and managed to get through the first round without it happening again. I didn't play my horn again until I got home. Last night the same pain returned, I stopped playing for the day. I've warmed up very briefly this morning, and although I didn't get the same recurring pain, my lower lip feels strained in the same area.

Based on the tiny bit of knowledge I have on this, I understand that it could be an internal lip muscle tear. I certainly accept that this may not be the case, but I'd also like to take caution. One of the other grad students at my university suffered from a muscle tear last year, and it ended up being quite debilitating for them, missing their recital, concerts, etc.

Has anyone experienced this before? Can anyone point me in the direction of figuring out what I'm experiencing and what I can do to make sure I don't do any further damage?

Thanks guys.

[scottw]

Go to the doctor. Do it now, before it gets worse. Hopefully it is simple, but go instead of waiting.