Injury profile of musicians in the Bloemfontein-based Free State symphony orchestra: a short report

Abstract

Similar to professional athletes, musicians are required to perform optimally. Few studies have been conducted to clarify the nature of injuries associated with musicians. This study aimed to determine the types of injuries and their prevalence amongst the musicians of the Free State Symphony orchestra (FSSo), contributing factors, the musicians’ response to injury, and their perception of physiotherapy. Forty-five members of the FSSO participated in this descriptive study. Analysis of data included frequencies and percentages for categorical data and percentiles for continuous data. Thirty-eight (84.4%) participants reported injuries related to playing their instruments. Insufficient resting periods during playing sessions (70.3%), continuing to play while experiencing symptoms (63.2%) and performing the same movement repetitively (64.9%) were identified as the perceived risk factors in the development of symptoms. Seventeen (44.7%) participants indicated that they did nothing to relieve their symptoms, while 34.2% sought physiotherapy treatment, 31.6% took medication to alleviate their symptoms and 31.6% reduced their playing hours. Majority of participants (75%) felt that their symptoms could be relieved by physiotherapy. Injuries amongst musicians result from a combination of factors such as posture, repetitive movements and fatigue. Possible physiotherapeutic intervention identified included educating musicians on the advantages of early management of injuries in extending their professional careers.

Keywords

• injury profile
• musicians
• symphony orchestra
• classical instruments
• SOUTH AFRICA