Effect of an Exercise Program Designed for Orchestral Musicians

Laval University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Musculoskeletal Disorder

Treatments: Other: Exercise program and education

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03288688

Orch musicians

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study is a randomized clinical trial evaluating the effect of an exercise program designed specifically for orchestral musicians on performance-related musculoskeletal problems (PRMPs). Professional and conservatory-level orchestral musicians will be recruited. Half of the subjects will participate in an 11-week home exercise program and attend three group exercise sessions and an educational presentation on injury prevention, while the other half of the subjects will receive no intervention, and continue their usual activities.

Enrollment: 30 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 65 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• professional or freelance orchestral musician, or tertiary-level full-time music student majoring in an orchestral instrument
• able to commit to performing exercises 2 times per week over an 11-week period
• medical condition permitting participation in an exercise program (ie. no serious heart or lung condition that may be exacerbated by physical exertion)

Exclusion criteria

• presence of musculoskeletal injuries definitively non-related to musical practice or performance
• fewer than 15 hours per week playing their instrument
• corticosteroid infiltration in the 6 weeks preceding recruitment
• prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs or neurontin in the 3 weeks preceding recruitment

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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30 participants in 2 patient groups

Exercise program and education

Experimental group

Description:

An exercise program in the form of home exercise videos will be given to the participants in this group. They will be asked to perform a minimum of two 35-minute exercise sessions per week, over a period of 11 weeks. They will also be required to attend three group exercise sessions, to confirm correct execution of the exercises. A short educational presentation on injury prevention will be offered at the beginning of the study, followed by three informative e-mails over the course of the study.

Treatment:

Other: Exercise program and education

No intervention

No Intervention group

Description:

Participants in this group will be asked to continue their usual activities.