Musicians' medicine: musculoskeletal problems in string players.

Musicians' medicine: musculoskeletal problems in string players. Clin Orthop Surg. 2013 Sep;5(3):155-60 Authors: Lee HS, Park HY, Yoon JO, Kim JS, Chun JM, Aminata IW, Cho WJ, Jeon IH Abstract There is increasing attention to medical problems of musicians. Many studies find a high prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders in musicians, ranging from 73.4% to 87.7%, and string players have the highest prevalence of musculoskeletal problems. This paper examines the various positions and movements of the upper extremities in string players: 1) basic postures for holding instruments, 2) movements of left upper extremity: fingering, forearm posture, high position and vibrato, 3) movements of right upper extremity: bowing, bow angles, pizzicato and other bowing techniques. These isotonic and isometric movements can lead to musculoskeletal problems in musicians. We reviewed orthopedic disorders that are specific to string players: overuse syndrome, muscle-tendon syndrome, focal dystonia, hypermobility syndrome, and compressive neuropathy. Symptoms, interrelationships with musical performances, diagnosis and treatment of these problems were then discussed. PMID: 24009899 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Source: Clinics in Orthopedic Surgery - Category: Orthopaedics Tags: Clin Orthop Surg Source Type: research