Athletes and the arts--the role of sports medicine in the performing arts.
Performing artists are athletes. Like athletes, performing artists practice and/or perform most days with little off season, play through pain, "compete" in challenging environments, and risk career-threatening injury. Athletes and the Arts is a multiorganizational initiative linking the sport athlete and musician/performing artist communities. Performing artists of all ages and genre are an underserved population related to medical coverage, care, injury prevention, performance enhancement, and wellness. Sports medicine professionals are a valuable resource for filling this gap by applying existing knowledge of treating sport athletes (nutrition, injury prevention) while gaining a better understanding of performers' unique needs (hearing loss, focal dystonia) and environment. These applications can occur in the clinical setting and through developing organizational policies. By better understanding the needs of the performing arts population and applying existing concepts and knowledge, sports medicine professionals can expand their impact to a new patient base that desperately needs support.
1Health and Safety Sports Consultants, LLC, Carmel, IN; 2University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO; 3Orthopedic Surgery, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Glenview, IL; 4Department of Psychiatry, MGH Sport Psychology Program, Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA; 5Sports Medicine North, Peabody, MA; and 6Wellington Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio.
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D001154:Art; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D009787:Occupational Medicine / Q000458:organization & administration*; D013178:Sports Medicine / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014481:United States