Evaluation and Treatment of Musicians from a Holistic Perspective

Abstract

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.

Exploring the Impact of Occupational Adaptation-Focused Interventions on Music Student Health

“…The findings of this study support a growing body of literature on the unique role occupational therapy can play in addressing music student health (Guptill, 2014; Ting & Rocker, 2019; Villas et al, 2020; Wolff et al, 2021). This small sample ( N = 12) exploratory study supports a holistic, occupation-based, and client-centered approach grounded in the occupational adaptation model of practice when addressing music students’ PRMDs.…”

“…Occupational therapists are skilled at assessing and treating the neuromuscular and psychosocial conditions that many music students experience. They are also trained in conducting ergonomic assessments and analyzing tasks related to music performance which are essential for a holistic approach to the evaluation and treatment of music students (Guptill, 2014; Ting & Rocker, 2019; Wolff et al, 2021; Yang et al, 2021).…”

Musculoskeletal Disorders, Pain and Fatigue among String and Wind Music Students

“…This premature retirement is due to overuse and improper technique, poor posture, stress, and insufficient rest that contribute to ailments leading to musicians' careers on hold (Maric et al, 2019). Despite the consequences, musicians usually embrace their pain and continue to play, even when it worsens, because they feel like music is their reason for being rather than just an activity or occupation (Ting & Rocker, 2019). Even though most musicians were experiencing MSD, certain parts of the body were affected more commonly than the rest of the body parts.…”

Qualitative Study on Playing-related Injury of College Student Pianists

“…Current literature suggests that musicians face a variety of health problems during their careers, with the prevalence of PRMD ranging from 39%-87% (Shanoff et al, 2019;Walankar & Patil, 2021;Zieba et al, 2019), the prevalence of playing-related musculoskeletal disorder (PRMD) in pianists is 26-93% (Bragge et al, 2006;Şebnem et al, 2021). Even 50%-84% of musicians have lifelong PRMD (Ting & Rocker, 2019;Wolff et al, 2021). While most literature has focused on professional musicians, college student musicians are also a vulnerable group to PRMD.…”