<<You think he really has to play his guitar that hard? It looks cool to play drums like that dude..showmanship. Get with it>>
Get with what? Pain? Sorry, I don't buy that. Acute pain, yes, chronic pain, no. Showmanship is jumping around, throwing stuff, working the crowd. It's isn't repetitive motion injury.
Look, I play a few shows a year, not nearly enough to worry about occupational injury. I could do any dumbass thing I wanted--beat the drums with 2x4s, crank all the amps to 12, scream my lungs out, no problem, it's only 4 times a year so I'll recover.
But if you're doing it 100 times a year, that's a big problem. Still, I have no sympathy for Foos or E St. or Pete Townshend or any other rich idiot that does it EXCEPT that they create the exact expectation you just stated.
Problem is all the bands playing 300 shows a year trying to make ends meet and make it big can't afford to pay for the medical care not to mention never being able to play their instruments again.
There was an article in the Wash. Post a few weeks back about the National Symphony Orchestra stating that about a third or more of their players suffer from near constant pain due to overuse, but they are all afraid to speak up or they'll lose their jobs.
This kind of shit has to stop. This 'it's better to burn out than fade away' is a crock. To quote Toshiro Mifune, 'a long life eating porridge is best'. Or if that isn't familiar, try some S.O.D.:
Save that fist bang shit, for bands like Motley Crue. Or when you come see us, we'll dive on top of you.
There you go--stage diving, a few lacerations; fist banging, tennis elbow. Your choice.