Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Pain and Generalised Joint Hypermobility among Jazz Musicians in Swedish Big Bands

Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain and generalised joint hypermobility (GJH) among professional jazz musicians in Swedish big bands and to investigate possible associations between GJH and pain.Methods: An existing health questionnaire developed for professional orchestra musicians, including the 5-part questionnaire for GJH [1], the standardised Nordic questionnaire for musculoskeletal pain disorders [2] and additional specific questions about playing related musculoskeletal pain (PRMD), was presented to jazz musicians employed at three professional Swedish big bands. Thirty musicians (86%) participated, aged 45 (±10) years, only two (7%) of the participants were women.Results: The total prevalence of musculoskeletal pain within the previous 12 months was 91%, while total point prevalence was 47%. The neck, lower back and left shoulder were the most common regions for both 12 month and point prevalence among the musicians.The total prevalence of PRMD, defined as pain or related symptoms that interferes with ability to play, within the last 7 days was 27%. Most common regions were the neck and left shoulder, followed by low back and left hand.Twenty-seven percent reported GJH, and binary logistic regression analyses showed significant association between GJH and left hand pain within the last 12 months (p=0.04).Discussion/Conclusion: Remarkably few research studies have investigated pain prevalence among jazz musicians. This study displays, in accordance with previous studies on professional classical orchestra musicians [3,4], that the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain is high among jazz musicians. Significant association was seen between GJH and left hand pain. Although 86% of the jazz musicians employed at Swedish big bands participated in the study, the sample is still relatively small. More research on the health situation among jazz musicians is warranted, including freelance musicians who constitute a large group of the professional jazz musicians.References 1: Hakim, A. J., and R. Grahame. A simple questionnaire to detect hypermobility: an adjunct to the assessment of patients with diffuse musculoskeletal pain. International journal of clinical practice.2003; 57(3): 163-166.2: Kuorinka, Ilkka, et al. Standardised Nordic questionnaires for the analysis of musculoskeletal symptoms. Applied ergonomics. 1987; 18(3): 233-7.3: Paarup HM, Baelum J, Holm JW, Manniche C, Wedderkopp N. Prevalence and consequences of musculoskeletal symptoms in symphony orchestra musicians vary by gender: a cross-sectional study. Bmc Musculoskeletal Disorders. 2011; 12: 223-234.4: Leaver R, Harris EC, Palmer KT. Musculoskeletal pain in elite professional musicians from British symphony orchestras. Occup Med (Lond). 2011;61:549-55.<p>Godkänd; 2015; 20150530 (ulrroi)</p>Hälsa och prestation vid Musicerand