Musicians injuries: Upper quarter motor control deficits in musicians with prolonged symptoms - A case-control study.
Flavio M Silva, Jean-Michel Brismée, Phillip S Sizer and 3 others
PMID 29738929WHAT IT FOUND
Musicians with prolonged neck or shoulder pain showed more abnormal shoulder blade movement and lower deep neck flexor control than matched musicians without pain; neck flexor endurance did not differ.
Key findings
01Musicians with prolonged upper quarter symptoms were more likely to have abnormal shoulder blade movement on testing than matched controls (26 of 36 versus 9 of 36).
02Symptomatic musicians had lower craniocervical flexion test scores than controls (26.2 versus 28.4).
03The groups did not differ on neck flexor endurance test scores.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
This was a case-control study of people who already had symptoms, so it cannot show that motor control deficits caused the pain or that fixing them would reduce pain. Group assignment relied on self-reported symptom history, and 11 control participants reported occasional intermittent upper quarter pain at testing. A single tester performed all clinical tests, which may limit how well the results apply to other clinicians. Musicians were grouped broadly as string or other, so findings may not apply equally to every instrument. The sample came from local music schools and musicians' unions, so it may not represent all musicians.
Declared interests
The article text does not report a conflict of interest statement; the supplied publication types list non-U.S. government research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that these motor control deficits caused musicians' pain or that treating them will improve symptoms. The study compared groups with and without prolonged symptoms and did not test an intervention.