Role of occupational therapy in musicians’ health: a scoping review protocol (original) (raw)

Evaluation and Treatment of Musicians from a Holistic Perspective

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy, 2019

Throughout the past 3 decades, treatment of injured musicians in a health care setting has been reported; however, the quality of care from a musician's standpoint is poor. As musicians are speaking up more about their pain, the profession of occupational therapy has the capacity to make an impact on the way musicians are treated from a rehabilitative perspective. Musicians often do not trust medical practitioners who follow the traditional medical model because their symptoms and concerns are not addressed. Occupational therapists, especially those working in the realm of hand rehabilitation, are well equipped to treat injured musicians using our unique activity analysis skills and holistic frame of reference; the goal is to return them back to their prior levels of playing. To support the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain and Process's vision, this article discusses evaluation and treatment of the unique musician emphasizing the musician's point of view through an occupation-based, client-centered, and evidence-based practice. Comments The authors report that they have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Injured Professional Musicians and the Complex Relationship between Occupation and Health

Journal of Occupational Science, 2012

This mixed format (research and discussion) article addresses the relationship between occupation and health. The conceptual discussion is deepened by including findings from a phenomenological study of the lived experience of professional musicians with playing-related injuries. Participants described decreased awareness of time and of their bodies when they were healthy, particularly when experiencing flow. Participants described flow as detrimental to their health, and used strategies to disrupt flow in order to continue in their chosen occupation. This choice can be seen as unhealthy, particularly in cases where the musician has been advised to decrease or stop playing for health reasons. However, occupational science theories favour individual choice in occupations. This apparent contradiction can be resolved if the definition of health is broad and includes justice and freedom to choose.

A New Look at Musician's Health

Looking for solutions to the health problems of musicians can lead one through many corridors of information. A new wing of interdisciplinary research has been opened which offers more possibilities to solving medical problems without traditional medicines or therapies. The following is a report on the Art in Motion Symposium held at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Graz in May 2008. This paper seeks to assimilate the physiological and medical research of Horst Hildebrandt, Victor Candia and Jane Ginsborg with the research in motor learning of Richard Schmidt and Gabrielle Wulf to advocate for healthier and more productive practice for musicians. Where the medical research was done by and musicians, the research in psychology and motor learning was done by sports scientists. This collaboration of information made this symposium unique in its output. The assimilation of this information is new and ongoing, providing musicians new food for thought as to how they incorporate healthier practice.

Sound Practice—improving occupational health and safety for professional orchestral musicians in Australia

Frontiers in Psychology, 2014

The Sound Practice Project is a 5-year study involving baseline evaluation, development, and implementation of musician-specific work health and safety initiatives. A cross-sectional population physical and psychological survey and physical assessment were conducted at the same time, with an auditory health assessment conducted later. The results were used to guide the development of a series of targeted interventions, encompassing physical, psychological, and auditory health components. This paper provides an overview of the project but focuses on the health findings arising from the cross-sectional survey. Three hundred and seventy-seven musicians from the eight professional symphony orchestras in Australia took part in the cross-sectional study (about 70% of eligible musicians). Eighty-four percent (84%) of musicians reported past performance-related musculoskeletal disorder (PRMD) episodes; 50% were suffering a current PRMD. Of the 63% who returned hearing surveys, 43% believed they had hearing loss, and 64% used earplugs at least intermittently. Noise exposure was found to be high in private practice, although awareness of risk and earplug use in this environment was lower than in orchestral settings. Improved strategic approaches, acoustic screens and recently developed active earplugs were found to provide effective new options for hearing protection. With respect to psychosocial screening, female musicians reported significantly more trait anxiety, music performance anxiety, social anxiety, and other forms of anxiety and depression than male musicians. The youngest musicians were significantly more anxious compared with the oldest musicians. Thirty-three percent (33%) of musicians may meet criteria for a diagnosis of social phobia; 32% returned a positive depression screen and 22% for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PRMDs and trigger point discomfort levels were strongly associated with increasing severity of psychological issues such as depression and music performance anxiety.

Health outcomes of occupational stress in passionate musicians

Ansiedad y Estrés, 2021

Becoming a professional musician is highly demanding and requires a deliberate practice that involves participation in a highly structured activity to improve performance and high levels of concentration. Musicians often begin to study music at a very young age, and their lives are subjected to constant pressure and prone to high levels of stress that may impact their well-being. The aim of this study is to identify the effects of occupational stress and deliberate practice on the performance anxiety of passionate musicians and on their degree of well-being. A total of 483 musicians completed questionnaires measuring their levels of occupational stress, passion, performance anxiety and wellness. The results indicated that gender, low control, high demands, overcommitment and obsessive passion are predictors of musicians' level of performance anxiety. Meanwhile, experiencing control, low demands, rewards, low overcommitment, harmonious passion and low obsessive passion contributed to the explanation for musicians' well-being. These findings show that occupational stress and passion, but not deliberate practice, are directly related with performance anxiety and with musicians' well-being. Resultados de salud del estrés laboral en músicos apasionados R E S U M E N Convertirse en músico profesional es muy exigente y requiere una práctica deliberada que implica la participación en una actividad altamente estructurada para mejorar el rendimiento y altos niveles de concentración. Los músicos a menudo comienzan a estudiar música a una edad muy temprana, y sus vidas están sujetas a una presión constante y son propensas a altos niveles de estrés que pueden afectar su bienestar. El objetivo de este estudio es identificar los efectos del estrés ocupacional y la práctica deliberada sobre la ansiedad de interpretación de músicos apasionados y sobre su grado de bienestar. Un total de 483 músicos completaron cuestionarios que miden sus niveles de estrés ocupacional, pasión, ansiedad por el desempeño y bienestar. Los resultados indicaron que el género, el bajo control, las altas exigencias, el compromiso excesivo y la pasión obsesiva son predictores del nivel de ansiedad de interpretación de los músicos. Mientras tanto, experimentar control, bajas exigencias, recompensas, bajo compromiso excesivo, pasión armoniosa y poca pasión obsesiva contribuyeron a la explicación del bienestar de los músicos. Estos hallazgos muestran que el estrés y la pasión ocupacional, pero no la práctica deliberada, están directamente relacionados con la ansiedad por la interpretación y con el bienestar de los músicos.

Health problems in musicians–a review

Acta dermatovenerologica Croatica: ADC / Hrvatsko dermatolosko drustvo

Among artists, musicians suffer from special health problems related to their occupation and lifestyle. These mainly include musculoskeletal disorders, skin disorders, respiratory disorders, and noise induced hearing impairment. In this review we point out the most prevalent health problems that musicians face in their professional lives as well as the means to prevent them. The characteristics of individual performer and the type of instrument that he/she plays will determine the occupational disorder or disease that a musician may suffer from. The main worry about health problems in musicians is that they can become potentially career-ending disabilities. Therefore well-planned preventive strategies should be employed to help musicians in obtaining long and healthy career.