Playing-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders of Professional Orchestra Musicians from the North of Portugal: Comparing String and Wind Musicians

Abstract

It is well known that musicians are a group prone to suffer from playing-related musculoskeletal disorders. Professional orchestra musicians play for several hours a week and have to fight against pain caused by their profession. The aim of this study was to explore and describe self-reported complaints among professional orchestra musicians and to compare its intensity and the prevalence between string and wind instruments. Material and Methods: Hundred and twelve professional orchestra musicians from the three main professional orchestras from the North of Portugal were individually interviewed about the prevalence and the intensity (measured by verbal numerical scale for pain) of their playing-related musculoskeletal disorders. Results: About two third (62.5%) of the interviewed musicians presented playing-related musculoskeletal disorders during the time of the interview. Despite there are no significant statistic values between groups, results suggested that playing-related musculoskeletal disorders are more common in string players and more intense in wind players. Discussion: Referring to the prevalence of playing-related musculoskeletal disorders, our data is in line with other studies from different countries. More than half of professional orchestra musicians in the North of Portugal are playing with a mild to moderate pain. Conclusion:Future studies focusing on working-related problems among professional orchestra musicians in Portugal would be useful to better describe the problem of occupational diseases among performing artist.

Integrating piezoresistive sensors on the embouchure analysis of the lower lip in single reed instrumentalists: implementation of the lip pressure appliance (LPA)

“…They found three studies suggesting an optimal continuous force from 50 to 200 cN for tipping premolar and 100 to 500 cN for tipping molars (Ren, Maltha, & Kuijpers‐Jagtman, ). Along with the possibility of occurring tooth movement, wind musicians may usually suffer other consequences of their profession, such as temporomandibular disorders (TMD), myospasms, hear loss, musculoskeletal disorders, and trauma associated to the upper and lower lips muscles (Nishiyama & Tsuchida, ; Sayegh Ghoussoub et al, ; Sousa, Machado, Greten, & Coimbra, ). Mucosal pressure ulcers and erosions are frequent in single reed wind instrumentalists, like saxophonists and clarinetists.…”

Influence of ergonomic layout of musician chairs on posture and seat pressure in musicians of different playing levels

“…These symptoms are also associated with playing-related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMD) [2]. These disorders appear in professional musicians [3–7] and music students [8–10], as well as in amateur orchestra musicians [11, 12], and are a central theme of complaint. These PRMD are generally documented in many questionnaires [7, 9, 10, 13–19], whereas women have a higher prevalence [7, 17, 20].…”

Μυοσκελετικές Διαταραχές Σε Επαγγελματίες Μουσικούς

“…Σε μελέτη των Fishbein et al, (1988) η οποία ανακοινώθηκε στο Διεθνές Συνέδριο Μουσικών Συμφωνικών Ορχηστρών και Όπερας (ICSOM), διαπιστώθηκε ότι οι μουσικοί εγχόρδων οργάνων είχαν τα υψηλότερα ποσοστά μυοσκελετικών διαταραχών (66%) σε σχέση με μουσικούς άλλων οργάνων, οι οποίες εντοπίζονταν κυρίως στον αυχένα και την ωμική ζώνη (Fishbein et al, 1988). Έκτοτε αυτό το αποτέλεσμα επιβεβαιώθηκε με αντίστοιχα ποσοστά και από άλλες μεταγενέστερες μελέτες (Sousa, Machado, Greten, & Coimbra, 2017;Steinmetz, Scheffer, Esmer, Delank, & Peroz, 2015;Kaufman-Cohen & Ratzon, 2011;Črnivec, 2004;Lockwood, 1989;Hoppmann & Patrone, 1989).…”

“… Το είδος του μουσικού οργάνου μπορεί να αποτελέσει παράγοντα κινδύνου για συγκεκριμένες μυοσκελετικές διαταραχές (Sousa et al, 2017;Steinmetz et al, 2015;Ackermann, Driscoll & Kenny, 2012;Kaufman-Cohen & Ratzon, 2011). Διαφορές καταγράφονται ανάμεσα στις ομάδες των εγχόρδων οργάνων, των ξύλινων πνευστών, των χάλκινων πνευστών και των κρουστών οργάνων.…”

“…Διαφορές καταγράφονται ανάμεσα στις ομάδες των εγχόρδων οργάνων, των ξύλινων πνευστών, των χάλκινων πνευστών και των κρουστών οργάνων. Στις περισσότερες μελέτες, οι μουσικοί των εγχόρδων οργάνων φαίνεται να παρουσιάζουν μεγαλύτερα ποσοστά μυοσκελετικών διαταραχών (Sousa et al, 2017;Steinmetz et al, 2015;Ackermann et al, 2012;Heming, 2004).…”