• Agnieszka Nawrocka, Władysław Mynarski, Aneta Powerska-Didkowska, Małgorzata Grabara, and Wiesław Garbaciak.
• Department of Recreation, The Jerzy Kukuczka Academy of Physical Education, Mikołowska 72a, 40-065 Katowice, Poland. Tel +48 32 207 51 69. a.nawrocka@awf.katowice.pl.
• Med Probl Perform Art. 2014 Jun 1; 29 (2): 64-9.

ObjectiveTo assess the prevalence and intensity of musculoskeletal pain and to estimate probability of developing playing-related musculoskeletal disorders, depending on risk factors, including gender, years of playing the musical instrument, frequency of practice (number of days per week), average daily practice time, and habitual physical activity level, in young instrumentalists.MethodsA total of 225 instrumentalists aged 10-18 years, including 107 string-players, 64 keyboardists, and 54 wind-players, were investigated. The Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) together with a numerical visual-analogue pain intensity scale (VAS) was used to assess the participants' musculoskeletal pain.ResultsThe young instrumentalists most often complained of pain located in the neck (60.4%), wrists (44.4%), and upper (41.7%) and lower back (38.2%) areas. Girls complained of musculoskeletal pain significantly more often than the boys. A probability of the pain symptoms was increased with each consecutive year of practice (OR 1.135; 95%CI 1.021-1.261).ConclusionsMusculoskeletal pain in various body parts had already commenced at a young age in our sample of music students, and there was a gender difference (girls were more often affected). Results of our study suggest that an early prophylaxis of playing-related musculoskeletal disorders is needed among young musicians playing the various instruments.

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