Are music students at ‘high-risk’ of experiencing musculoskeletal symptom outcomes compared with other students?

Abstract

Musicians have been described as a ‘high-risk’ group for experiencing musculoskeletal symptoms (MSSs), yet few studies have tested this assumption. We aimed to determine whether the prevalence and profile of MSS outcomes differed between university music students and a reference group (science students). A survey was conducted of university music and science students. Reported MSS outcomes among the two groups were compared using regression analyses. The majority of participants in both groups reported experiencing MSSs in the last 12 months and 7 days. Music students reported a higher prevalence of wrist/hand MSSs compared with science students. Compared with symptomatic science students, music students reported a higher emotional impact of MSSs. We recommend prioritizing research into interventions for music students that address MSSs in the wrist/hand region, and the emotional impact of MSSs. Addressing these MSS outcomes could reduce the MSS burden for musicians during and beyond their studies.

KEYWORDS:

• music
• musician
• university
• student
• pain
• musculoskeletal
• prevalence
• comparison

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the colleagues who provided advice regarding this project, and those who helped facilitate recruitment. The authors would also like to thank Elizabeth Broadbent for granting us approval to use the brief illness perceptions questionnaire. J.S. was a recipient of an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship, and a SafeWork SA WHS Supplementary Scholarship (funded by the South Australian Government). SafeWork SA and the South Australian Government do not endorse the content of this material, and the views expressed herein do not represent the views of SafeWork SA or the South Australian Government.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by SafeWork SA; Australian Government.