Highlights
- •High level of reported musculoskeletal playing related pain at baseline in cohort of musician students at intensive summer music festival program.
- •An injury prevention workshop is feasible to implement at a summer festival program.
- •Pain incidence level decreased in the cohort that participated in the health education and injury prevention program.
Abstract
Background
There is a high incidence of performance-related musculoskeletal disorders in musicians
that may be reduced via education programs. However, the efficacy of formalized injury prevention programs has not been rigorously studied.
Purpose
To assess the feasibility and effect of a formalized injury prevention education workshop
on incidence and severity of musculoskeletal pain in a cohort of musician-students
attending an intensive summer music festival compared to controls.
Study design
Randomized-controlled-pilot trial.
Methods
Musicians at an 8-week long intensive summer festival were randomized to an intervention
(workshop) or control group. Workshop attendees participated in a 90-minute session
of injury prevention strategies. Musculoskeletal outcome data were collected at the
start and end of the festival. Outcomes included presence of musculoskeletal pain,
adherence level, and sub-scales of the Musculoskeletal Pain Intensity and Interference
Questionnaire for Musicians.
Results
A total of 57 musician-students (ages 17-30, 23 females) participated in the study,
and 48(84%) completed the study. Seventy-five percent of workshop participants reported
adherence over 8 weeks. At baseline, 84% of participants reported a history of playing-related
pain, and 47% recent or current pain. Participants played a range of instruments (50%
string, 34% piano, 16% woodwind/brass). At baseline, average weekly reported playing
time was 39 hours (±11). At follow-up, reported pain decreased by 32% in the intervention
group and increased by 8% in controls (P < .01). Pain interference scores were lower (Post – Pre = -4.58, 95% CI -9.26 to
0.11, P = .055). There was no statistically significant difference between groups for pain
intensity.
Conclusions
The high compliance and willingness to participate suggests that injury prevention
education implementation is feasible. Our preliminary findings suggest a positive
effect on pain incidence and pain interference in the intervention group. Future studies
will examine the relationship between adherence levels and injury rates in a larger
cohort and identify obstacles to implementation.
Keywords
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Journal of Hand TherapyAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
Yellin, E, Weinstein, S, King, T. BMUS: The burden of musculoskeletal diseases in the United States. Accessed February 1, 2021. Available at: https://www.boneandjointburden.org/
- The occurrence of musculoskeletal complaints among professional musicians: a systematic review.Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2016; 89: 373-396https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-015-1090-6
- Musicians’ playing-related musculoskeletal disorders: an examination of risk factors.Am J Ind Med. 1997; 32: 292-300
- Musculoskeletal pain and injury in professional orchestral musicians in Australia.Med Probl Perform Art. 2012; 27: 181-187
- Playing-related musculoskeletal disorders in music students-associated musculoskeletal signs.Eur J Phys Rehabil Med. 2012; 48: 625-633
- A cross-sectional study of pain among U.S. college music students and faculty.Med Probl Perform Art. 2017; 32: 20-26https://doi.org/10.21091/mppa.2017.1005
- Occurrence and co-existence of localized musculoskeletal symptoms and findings in work-attending orchestra musicians - an exploratory cross-sectional study.BMC Res Notes. 2012; 5: 541https://doi.org/10.1186/1756-0500-5-541
- Prevalence and consequences of musculoskeletal symptoms in symphony orchestra musicians vary by gender: a cross-sectional study.BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2011; 12: 223https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2474-12-223
- Systematic review: risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders in musicians.Occup Med (Lond). 2016; 66: 614-622https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqw052
- Health education for musicians.Front Psychol. 2018; 9: 1137https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01137
- Effect of a rehabilitation program on performance-related musculoskeletal disorders in student and professional orchestral musicians: a randomized controlled trial.Clin Rehabil. 2018; 32: 1656-1665https://doi.org/10.1177/0269215518785000
- A systematic review of the effects of upper body warm-up on performance and injury.Br J Sports Med. 2015; 49: 935-942https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2014-094228
- Evidence-informed physical therapy management of performance-related musculoskeletal disorders in musicians.Front Psychol. 2014; 5: 706https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00706
- Health promotion and prevention in higher music education: results of a longitudinal study.Med Probl Perform Art. 2010; 25: 54-65
- Playing-related musculoskeletal disorders among Icelandic music students: differences between students playing classical vs rhythmic music.Med Probl Perform Art. 2014; 29: 74-79https://doi.org/10.21091/mppa.2014.2017
- Effect of a musicians’ exercise intervention on performance-related musculoskeletal disorders.Med Probl Perform Art. 2014; 29: 181-188
- PREvention STudy On preventing or reducing disability from musculoskeletal complaints in music school students (PRESTO): protocol of a randomised controlled trial.J Physiother. 2014; 60 (discussion 232): 232https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphys.2014.09.001
- Preventing musculoskeletal complaints in music students: a randomized controlled trial.Occup Med (Lond). 2018; 68: 469-477https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqy105
- Musculoskeletal demands in violin and viola playing: a literature review.Med Probl Perform Art. 2018; 33: 265-274https://doi.org/10.21091/mppa.2018.4040
- Development of a specific exercise programme for professional orchestral musicians.Inj Prev. 2013; 19: 257-263https://doi.org/10.1136/injuryprev-2012-040608
- Exercise DVD effect on musculoskeletal disorders in professional orchestral musicians.Occup Med (Lond). 2014; 64: 23-30https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqt117
- Impact of changes in playing time on playing-related musculoskeletal pain in string music students.Med Probl Perform Art. 2018; 33: 6-13https://doi.org/10.21091/mppa.2018.1003
- Barriers and facilitators in implementing an exercise-based injury prevention program for string players.Work. 2019; https://doi.org/10.3233/WOR-193033
JHT Read for Credit
Quiz: # 750
Record your answers on the Return Answer Form found on the tear-out coupon at the back of this issue or to complete online and use a credit card, go to JHTReadforCredit.com. There is only one best answer for each question.
- # 1.The study design was
- a.RCTs
- b.large cohort
- c.randomized pilot
- d.qualitative
- a.
- # 2.Subjects participated in
- a.a 90 minute instructional session
- b.8 weeks of injury prevention instruction
- c.2 days of instruction
- d.2 semesters of injury prevention instruction
- a.
- # 3.Outcome measures included
- a.sub-scales of a specific self-report instrument for musicians
- b.adherence level
- c.pain
- d.all of the above
- a.
- # 4.Almost ________ of participants reported pre-existing pain related to playing of their musical instrument
- a.10%
- b.25%
- c.75%
- d.95%
- a.
- # 5.The authors felt that the experimental results justified further study of the program
- a.not true
- b.true
- a.
When submitting to the HTCC for re-certification, please batch your JHT RFC certificates in groups of 3 or more to get full credit.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: April 15, 2021
Accepted:
April 5,
2021
Received:
March 19,
2021
Footnotes
Research Institution: Hospital for Special Surgery.
Conflict of interest: All named authors hereby declare that they have no conflicts.
Identification
Copyright
© 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
