title: Survey of health problems in musical theater students: a pilot study.
abstract: Musical theater performers are the "triathletes" in the performing arts. The field requires versatility in a combination of skills including dancing, singing, and drama in a high frequency of performances. The aim of this study was to analyze and evaluate the health situation of musical theater students using a complete musical educational institute as an example (n = 37).
  
  
  METHODS
  The basis for the evaluation was a questionnaire survey (standardized F 1000). All students of the school participated (20 males, 17 females).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the students, 62% have a part-time job for financial reasons, and 67.7% state only a "partial satisfaction" with their body. Regarding injury, 45.9% claim to sustain an orthopaedic injury up to twice a year, and 29.7% up to three or four times. A total of 49 acute injuries (1.3/student) and 42 chronic complaints (1.1/student) were stated. The lower extremity was the most common acutely injured region (65.3%), followed by the spine (16.3%) and upper extremity (14.3%). Of chronic complaints, the lumbar spine was the most commonly affected area, followed by the hip joint and pelvic area. Thirty-three and 24% of acute injuries occurred during "spins" and/or "stretching," respectively. There were various causes for physical and mental problems.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results show both parallels and differences to the relevant literature. It is shown that health hazards already arise in the education of musical performers. This provides particulars for the implementation of injury prevention measures during the theoretical and practical education of musical students.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dance Medicine, Charité University, Berlin, Germany. Eileen.wanke@charite.de
authors.forename: Eileen M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Wanke
authors.forename: Esther K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Kunath
authors.forename: Franziska
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Koch
authors.forename: Jaqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Davenport
authors.forename: Burkhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Weisser
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Groneberg
authors.forename: Stefanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mache
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Endres
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Vitzthum
mesh_terms: D003615:Dancing; D004324:Drama; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008297:Male; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D060051:Occupational Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012307:Risk Factors; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult