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Ajidahun A.T.1, Mudzi W.1, Myezwa H.1, Wood W.-A.1
1University of the Witwatersrand, Physiotherapy, Johannesburg, South Africa
Background: The relationship between musculoskeletal problems and playing the string instrument is a common phenomenon. Standard practice of play of string instruments involves the awkward position of the left hand and the repetitive action of the right hand as well as the trunk, which have been the main areas of musculoskeletal problems. An evaluation of the ergonomic demands of performance using objective measures would be important in the implementation of injury prevention strategies.
Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the postural demands associated with playing a standard Mozart piece by using the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment outcome measure.
Methods: String players who were 18 years old and not currently carrying any disabling musculoskeletal problems were recruited from professional and youth orchestras. Each participant was required to play a moderately difficult piece (Allegro, Eine kleine Nachtmusik by Mozart) . The rapid upper limb assessment (RULA) tool was administered by the same researcher on all participants and the results were evaluated according to the standard evaluation guidelines.
Results: A total of 13 string players volunteered for the study. The mean age and the years of experience of the volunteers were 24.7±4.8 years and 13.6±7.3 years respectively. Eight participants played the violin and eight participants from the study sample were females. Four participants reported having playing related musculoskeletal problem in the last seven days. The grand RULA scores for the trunk, right and left upper extremity were 4.1±0.8, 4.9±1 and 4.1±0.9 respectively. The participants had higher RULA scores in the right upper extremity than the left upper extremity (p 0.001). There was no significant difference in the RULA scores between male and female participants and neither were there any differences between the upper (violin and viola) and lower string (cello) instrumentalists scores.
Conclusion(s): The results of this study showed that the demand of playing the string instrument puts the string instrumentalist in a medium risk position for the upper limbs which may require an injury prevention strategy to reduce the potential risk of musculoskeletal problems.
Implications: Changing the pattern of play might not be a feasible plan in this population but preparing the instrumentalist physically for the demands of the profession might be an important injury prevention strategy putting into consideration the loading in the upper extremity and trunk.
Funding acknowledgements: This work was supported by FRC Individual grant, Faculty of Health sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.
Topic: Musculoskeletal: upper limb
Ethics approval: University of the Witwatersrand Human Research Ethics Committee
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
