title: Musicians' playing-related musculoskeletal disorders: an examination of risk factors.
abstract: Several studies have shown that playing-related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMDs) present a significant health problem for musicians. To examine physiological, psychological, and behavioral risk factors of musicians' PRMDs, data for a case-control analysis were collected from classically-trained professional and university student musicians in the Canadian province of Ontario in 1994. Two-hundred and eighty-one subjects completed a self-report questionnaire and hypermobility and hand-span measurements. Cases were identified according to an operational PRMD definition developed by musicians and health care professionals in a qualitative study. Logistic regression was used to compare data from 44 prevalent PRMD cases who had no previous history of a PRMD, and 90 controls who had never experienced a PRMD. Data from all subjects were analyzed to examine the role of a prior PRMD on the risk of a current PRMD. This study suggests that females and string players were at a higher PRMD risk. A number of other individual characteristics were also important determinants of the development of a PRMD. Warming up before and taking breaks during practice sessions protected the subject from a PRMD. Given the high proportion of musicians who experience PRMDs, prevention programs are warranted.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. zaza@fhs.mcmaster.ca
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zaza
authors.forename: V T
authors.initials: VT
authors.lastname: Farewell
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006225:Hand / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D009146:Music; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D009864:Ontario; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors