Dale Rickert

Are music students fit to play? A case study of health awareness and injury attitudes amongst tertiary student cellists

Injury risks associated with musical performance continue to be a serious problem for professional and student musicians. Much research has focused on the incidence and severity of these problems yet less information is available on the potential influence of health awareness and attitudes to injuries in these populations. This study aimed to investigate health awareness and attitudes to injury amongst Australian music students. Using a qualitative case study methodology, in-depth semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 11 student cellists. Further interviews were undertaken with 10 orchestral cellists and five orchestral management staff as a means of triangulating student data. All data were analysed using a “themes-based” analysis of narrative approach. Findings indicated that in comparison to professional cellists students demonstrated poor health awareness and behaviours such as playing through pain and inaction in response to injury. Analysis of the combined interview data (student, professional and management) suggest that there is poor health awareness and knowledge of injury prevention strategies at all levels of education and training. All three participant groups felt that changes needed to be made to current music education practices and that health education should be integrated into core curriculum.

Injury and the orchestral environment: part III: the role of psychosocial factors in the experience of musicians undertaking rehabilitation

Workplace rehabilitation in the orchestral setting poses a number of challenges that arise in part due to a poor fit between generic injury insurance and medical care and the elite performance requirements of professional musicians. Currently, the orchestral profession lacks information and strategies to best deal with the unique challenges of this complex rehabilitation environment. In order to inform future directions for research and suggest possible changes of practice, the researchers conducted a qualitative case-study aimed at understanding the injury and rehabilitation experiences of professional musicians. In-depth semi-structured interviews were undertaken with three chronically injured professional cellists from a single Australian orchestra. After initial data analysis, further interviews were undertaken with a set of five orchestral management staff as a means of data triangulation. All data were analysed using a themes-based analysis-of-narrative approach. The findings indicate that injury concealment played a considerable role in the development of chronic injuries for these musicians, and management staff felt that this concealment may be the norm amongst orchestral musicians. The musicians in this study suffered emotional and psychological trauma as the result of their injuries, and two participants felt socially marginalised. During rehabilitation, the musicians in this study encountered difficulties with medical staff not understanding the elite performance requirements of orchestral work. The article proposes recommendations that may assist in dealing with the complex challenges of injury rehabilitation in the orchestral environment.

The use of fine-wire EMG to investigate shoulder muscle recruitment patterns during cello bowing: The results of a pilot study

The physical mechanics of music making is important both in the prevention of injuries and in guiding how music is performed and taught. Electromyography has potential as a resource in understanding the loads involved in instrumental playing; however, only a small number of projects have been undertaken, and little is understood on the muscle activity used during bowing on string instruments. This study aimed to measure the muscle activity at the bowing shoulder of a cellist during cello playing and to establish if fine-wire EMG is useful in understanding muscle recruitment in string players without interfering with normal playing ability. This project used a combination of fine-wire and surface EMG to evaluate the muscular load placed on the right shoulder of a professional cellist whilst playing a set of various bowing exercises. The results indicated that different bowing techniques produced statistically different muscle activity levels, with the supraspinatus muscle in particular maintaining higher mean contraction (20% MVC) during all bowing patterns tested. Fine-wire EMG was useful in measuring shoulder muscle load and did not interfere with normal playing technique of the subject. Overall, the study presents a working protocol from which future studies may be able conduct further research.