• Cláudia Maria Sousa, Jorge Pereira Machado, Henry Johannes Greten, and Daniela Coimbra.
• Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar da Universidade do Porto, Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira no 228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal. Tel 00351 914 392 805. claudia.sousa@ua.pt.
• Med Probl Perform Art. 2016 Mar 1; 31 (1): 8-12.

BackgroundOwing to repetitive movements and a very stressful and competitive lifestyle, musicians are a group that may be prone to suffer from occupational diseases. According to the literature, musicians are affected mainly by two types of occupational diseases: music performance anxiety (MPA) and playing-related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMDs). The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of the most common complaints affecting musicians in the three professional orchestras from northern Portugal.MethodsProfessional orchestra musicians (n=112) from the three main professional orchestras from northern Portugal were individually interviewed about their physical and psychological complaints.ResultsResults indicated that 94% of musicians interviewed self-reported at least one working-related problem. PRMDs were the most common conditions, affecting 84.8% of musicians. The most affected areas were the shoulder and the cervical and lumbar regions. MPA was reported by 13.2% of musicians.ConclusionThe present work covers about 50% of all Portuguese professional orchestra musicians. It raises awareness of the importance of focusing on the high prevalence of professional diseases among musicians.

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