Medical problems of performing artists
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Med Probl Perform Art · Jun 2016
Musculoskeletal Pain in Trombonists: Results from the UNT Trombone Health Survey.
The trombone is a popular, versatile, and unique member of the brass family of musical instruments. Yet the musculoskeletal health concerns of trombonists are grossly understudied. The purpose of this study was to develop and apply a novel online research strategy for assessing musical and non-musical demographics along with prevalence, frequency, intensity, quality, timing, and location of site-specific trombone-related pain. ⋯ Over 35% (n=114) reported that trombone-related pain prevented playing their instrument. Site-specific characteristics of pain suggest that future epidemiologic studies seek to better understand location-specific intensity, frequency, quality, and timing of pain. Such details will assist educators, performers, and clinicians understand, prevent, and treat musculoskeletal problems associated with learning and performing musical instruments.
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Med Probl Perform Art · Jun 2016
Playing-Related Musculoskeletal Problems Among Professional Orchestra Musicians in Scotland: A Prevalence Study Using a Validated Instrument, the Musculoskeletal Pain Intensity and Interference Questionnaire for Musicians (MPIIQM).
Many epidemiological surveys on playing-related musculoskeletal problems (PRMPs) have been carried out on professional musicians, but none have evaluated or confirmed the psychometric properties of the instruments that were used. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence of PRMPs among professional orchestra musicians and to gather information on pain intensity and pain interference on function and psychosocial variables, using a self-report instrument developed and validated specifically for a population of professional orchestra musicians. ⋯ This study confirms that musculoskeletal complaints are common in elite professional musicians and that the use of an operational definition and a validated self-report instrument allows for more accurate and meaningful estimates of pain prevalence.
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Med Probl Perform Art · Jun 2016
Inefficiencies in Motor Strategies of Horn Players with Embouchure Dystonia: Comparisons to Elite Performers.
Motor control of the muscles of the face, lips, and tongue of horn players has traditionally been described from externally observed phenomena. Developments in real-time, high-speed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) extend the scope of study to include descriptive and quantitative information from within the mouth. We employed these developments to compare oral movement strategies between 12 elite horn players and 5 horn players with embouchure dystonia (ED). ⋯ Differing motor strategies of controlling the tongue and jaw were observed during ascending and descending exercises. In ascending exercises, the elite players employed a strategy of elevation and anterior tongue displacement and elevation of the jaw, whereas dystonic players exhibited more variability in their responses. With descending exercises, both groups exhibited a lowering of the tongue and jaw, though this was more pronounced and consistent in the elite horn players. Sustained note exercises also elicited differences between groups. We suggest that elite strategies are more efficient and that the less-efficient patterns of dystonic players may exacerbate muscular tension with ED.