Dystonia and pre/post-performance body maintenance among high-speed stringed instrument players: A pilot study

Hirofumi Tanabe 1, *, Hiroshi Tanabe 2, Toshimasa Mikawa 1 and Yuichi Takata 3

1 Department of Rehabilitation, Shonan University of Medical Sciences, 16-48 Kamishinano, Totsuka, Kanagawa, Japan.
2 Tokyo metropolitan Fuchu ryouiku center, 2-9-2 Musashidai, Fuchu City, Tokyo, Japan. 
3 Faculty of Human Sciences, Hokkaido Bunkyo University, 5-196-1 Ogonchuou, Eniwa, Hokkaidou, Japan.
 
Research Article
International Journal of Science and Research Archive, 2022, 07(02), 087–091.
Article DOI: 10.30574/ijsra.2022.7.2.0236
Publication history: 
Received on 30 September 2022; revised on 02 November 2022; accepted on 05 November 2022
 
Abstract: 
There are likely numerous professional musicians who have not been diagnosed with Focal task specific dystonia, but nonetheless experience hand and muscle tension accompanied by a loss of motor control during performance. As such, it is important to implement preventative measures before performance begins to suffer. The proportion of all musicians who fall into this category is unclear. This study aims to investigate the proportion of musicians who suffer from dystonia and/or have motor difficulties during performance. This study also aims to investigate the prevalence of maintenance efforts by professional musicians after rehearsal practice.76 professional high-speed stringed instrument players and 70 non-musicians with no performance experience were included in a study of dystonia and pre/post-performance body maintenance. Musicians experienced significantly more dystonia compared to non-musicians. Performers who implemented post-practice and post-performance body maintenance experienced less dystonia than those who did not. These results suggest that soft tissue maintenance of the hands and upper extremities following musical performance serve as a preventative measure for Focal Task-Specific Dystonia.
 
Keywords: 
Dystonia; Musician; Muscle Tone; Hand
 
Full text article in PDF: 
 
Copyright information: 

Copyright © 2022 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Liscense 4.0