Musicians' medicine – potential health problems among violinists and violists caused by playing the string instrument – the review of the literature

Ręka Gabriela, Machowiec Piotr, Maksymowicz Marcela, Piecewicz-Szczęsna Halina. Musicians’ medicine – potential health problems among violinists and violists caused by playing the string instrument – the review of the literature. Journal of Education, Health and Sport. 2021;11(12):273-279. eISSN 2391-8306. DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.12775/JEHS.2021.11.12.020

https://apcz.umk.pl/JEHS/article/view/JEHS.2021.11.12.020

https://zenodo.org/record/5799671

 

 

 

 

 

The journal has had 40 points in Ministry of Education and Science of Poland parametric evaluation. Annex to the announcement of the Minister of Education and Science of December 1, 2021. No. 32343.

Has a Journal's Unique Identifier: 201159. Scientific disciplines assigned: Physical Culture Sciences (Field of Medical sciences and health sciences); Health Sciences (Field of Medical Sciences and Health Sciences).

 

Punkty Ministerialne z 2019 - aktualny rok 40 punktów. Załącznik do komunikatu Ministra Edukacji i Nauki z dnia 1 grudnia 2021 r. Lp. 32343. Posiada Unikatowy Identyfikator Czasopisma: 201159.

Przypisane dyscypliny naukowe:Nauki o kulturze fizycznej (Dziedzina nauk medycznych i nauk o zdrowiu); Nauki o zdrowiu (Dziedzina nauk medycznych i nauk o zdrowiu).

 

© The Authors 2021;

This article is published with open access at Licensee Open Journal Systems of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland

Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author (s) and source are credited. This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non commercial license Share alike.

(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper.

 

Received: 05.12.2021. Revised: 22.12.2021. Accepted: 22.12.2021.

 

 

 

 

 

Musicians’ medicine – potential health problems among violinists and violists caused by playing the string instrument – the review of the literature

 

Gabriela Ręka, Piotr Machowiec, Marcela Maksymowicz, Halina Piecewicz-Szczęsna

 

Gabriela Ręka¹

gabrysia.reka@gmail.com, ORCID: 0000-0001-9728-5281

 

Piotr Machowiec¹

piotr.machowiec1997@gmail.com, ORCID: 0000-0002-5418-0110

 

Marcela Maksymowicz¹

marcela.maksymowicz@gmail.com, ORCID: 0000-0003-2611-1609

 

Halina Piecewicz-Szczęsna²

halpiec@gmail.com, ORCID: 0000-0002-0573-7226

 

¹ Students’ Scientific Association of Chair and Department of Epidemiology and Clinical Research Methodology, Medical University of Lublin, Radziwiłłowska 11, 20-080 Lublin

² Chair and Department of Epidemiology and Clinical Research Methodology, Medical University of Lublin, Radziwiłłowska 11, 20-080 Lublin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Abstract

Introduction and purpose

            Musicians' medicine has received increasing attention recently. It is known that listening to music or playing an instrument has beneficial effects on cognitive and neural functions. Playing the string instrument demands repetitive precise movements of fingers and arms in a non-ergonomic posture that might give rise to health problems.

The study aims to present the current state of knowledge regarding different potential health problems among violinists and violists. The article reviews the 24 newest scientific publications available on PubMed and Google Scholar.

 

A brief description of the state of knowledge

            The literature review indicated several potential health consequences of excessive playing the violin or viola, as follows: Fiddler's neck and skin allergy, Garrod’s pads, temporomandibular disorders, carpal tunnel syndrome, cubital tunnel syndrome, tennis elbow, compression of the right ulnar nerve in the ulnar (Guyon's) canal, rotator cuff tendonitis, tenosynovitis, bursitis, focal dystonia, thoracic outlet syndrome, bone asymmetry, pain in the neck, cheeks, fingers, wrist, forearm, shoulder, waist, and the back.

 

Conclusions

            Musicians should be aware of potential health problems that occur during prolonged playing the violin or the viola. An important issue is maintaining the accurate proportions between the amount of time spent playing the instrument and resting. The first signs of neurological or musculoskeletal changes should prompt the musician to seek professional medical help to prevent the disorder's progression.

 

Key words: health; overuse injury; nerve entrapments; muscle pain; string instrument