Title: Prevalence, intensity, and playing related consequences of musculoskeletal pain, and associations with mood among professional orchestra musicians – a pilot study

Aim: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine the 7-day prevalence, intensity, and consequences of musculoskeletal pain in the upper part of the body among professional musicians. Additional aims were to examine subjective mood and associations between mood and pain.

Methods: This study is part of an ongoing national survey on musculoskeletal health conditions among professional musicians in Swedish symphony and opera orchestras. The data of this report is collected from two orchestras. Seventy-eight musicians (80%) participated, aged 45 ±9.6 years and 41% women. Results: Eighty percent of the musicians reported pain during the last 7 days. Pain was most frequent in the neck (59%) and the right shoulder (36%). The intensity of pain (11-point scale) was highest in the neck (mean 2.7, SD 1.8) and in the right hand (mean 2.7, SD 1.9). Playing related consequences were particularly related to pain in the left (71%) and right (54%) hands, and pain located to the left upper extremity did relatively more often affect playing performance compared to right side pain. Mood ratings showed that the musicians to a higher degree experienced “positive mood” (stimulated, concentrated, happy) compared to “negative mood” (stressed, exhausted, tense, nervous/anxious). Significant positive correlations were found between neck pain and stressed (rho=0.501, p=.000); neck pain and exhausted (rho=0.318, p=0.033); neck pain and tense (rho=0.314, p=0.034); and neck pain and nervous/anxious (rho=0.346, p=0.019). Significant correlations were not found between mood and pain in any other body region, except for a positive correlation between right shoulder and exhausted (rho=0.384, p=0.048).

Conclusion: These preliminary results show a high 7-day prevalence of pain among professional musicians, especially in the neck. Left upper extremity and left and right hand pain needs special clinical attention due to high impact on playing performance. The results concerning associations between perceived “negative mood” and neck pain are supported by earlier findings (1,2) but need further exploration.