Injury Prevention Education: How Survivors Can Help the Next Generation of Musicians

This research study used a phenomenological methodology drawing from the work of Heidegger, Gadamer, Merleau-Ponty, and Van Manen. Ten self-identified professional musicians from Ontario who had experienced playing-related injuries were recruited using purposeful, snowball sampling. They participated in two in-depth interviews at a location of their choice, from one to two hours in length. Six participants also attended a focus group session where preliminary findings were shared. Novels, movies, and other artistic representations, and the experiences of the researcher herself, also provided sources from which to draw upon in order to understand the lived-experience of professional musicians with injuries. The researcher also kept a journal, documenting field notes and the evolving understanding of the phenomenon. Interviews and the focus group were transcribed verbatim and identifying information was removed, with pseudonyms used. Analysis included data immersion; the generation of field and narrative texts; data transformation; thematic analysis; and the generation of a thick description of the phenomenon. The hermeneutic circle drove the analysis process, moving from detailed examination of parts of the data to the view of the whole until both could be seen simultaneously. Rigour was applied by opening up the inquiry to examination by an experienced researcher who was part of the researcher’s dissertation committee, and by the focus group. Lengthy quotes provided rich descriptions which allow readers to assess the accuracy with which the phenomenon is described. All ten of the participants recruited were music educators, in settings ranging from private studios, to the public school system, to universities. This study found that the participants experienced an absence of awareness of time and of their bodies when engaged in their occupation. They also experienced, to differing degrees, their instruments as extension of their bodily experience of playing music. Pain and injury changed this experience, with participants describing how time, their bodies, and the distance between their musical intentions and expressions became more apparent. Participants in this study expressed regret that they were not provided with adequate information about the prevalence of playing-related injuries and means of preventing injury as young musicians. They also expressed a desire to change these circumstances for future generations of musicians. For these participants, the experience of being injured changed what and how they teach. They provided a wide range of information and advice, which for some was as simple as checking with students to ensure they were comfortable, or adjusting posture. Others recommended practitioners and exercises, limited extra-curricular playing, and even advised students who experienced injuries not to pursue a performance career. Music teachers can have a strong influence on developing musicians. This study highlights the importance of increased deliberate efforts to provide injury prevention education in music performance curriculum and pedagogy. Such efforts are recommended by, among others, the National Association for Music Education in the US and performing arts medicine associations worldwide. Drawing on the findings from this study and literature from the fields of performing arts health and music education, we can begin to envision models of health promotion in schools of music that can be applied in both the Canadian and international contexts