Muscular effort and musculo-skeletal disorders in piano students - epm

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710 A. Grieco et al.structure but hand parameter measurements between 70 and 90 percentile. It cantherefore be concluded, without over-generalizing, that muscular structure andanthropometric features are undoubtedly factors that influence the degree of musculareffort a pianist is required to exert, at least in playing more difficult passages.4. DiscussionAnalysis of muscle involvement in piano exercises revealed an excessive loading ofcertain muscular structures, especially of the forearm. Moreover, musculo -skeletaldisorders avere extremely frequent for subjects of such a young age. It is highly likelythat relationships between risk conditions and injuries of the locomotor apparatus,although requiring further verification, do indeed exist and can be attributed to anumber of factors, such as:(a) intrinsic characteristics of the muscular work required in piano practice,(b) adequacy or otherwise of anthropometric characteristics and muscularstructure of the subjects for the type of functional effort required,(c) characteristics of the study posture and the placement of the piano and stool.From a prevention viewpoint, the first of these factors would be difficult to address,since the quality of music would Buffer. For the other factors a series of improvements canbe outlined which would ensure greater comfort and greater efficiency of thelocomotor apparatus of the pianist without affecting performance.S. Prevention via ergonomic improvements5.1. Posture at the pianoDuring practice, the pianist is seated without support of the trunk; the buttocks usuallyresi on the front part of the seating surface; the upper limbs are unsupported and areraised with the elbows at an angle between 90 and 130 degrees. The head is bent forwardat an angle varying between 20 and 45 degrees. The position of the trunk, depending onthe individuai, varies from erect and relaxed to bent and kyphotic (figure 7). On thebasis of evaluation criteria derived from posture analysis in other workingenvironments (Colombina et al. 1985, Occhipinti et al. 1985), postures of this kind areconsidered to constitute a risk because of the lack of support for the trunk and upperlimbs and because the posture tends to be maintained for prolonged periods of time(several hours) without breaks, and are such as to cause alterations in the correctnutrition mechanism both of the invertebral disks and other periarticular structuresand of the muscles (Kroemer et al. 1985).The seats currently used are without backrest or shaping of the seating surface. Wesuggest the students use, if not for concerts at least for practice, seats with semi-rigidupholstery and shaped seating surface plus a back-rest that will support the spine atleast from time to time.5.2. Health and movement educationThe possibility of preventing risk and injury of the osteomuscular apparatus in pianostudents (and allo in teachers and performers) is largely dependent on well plannedhealth education programmes to assist them in organizing their study and lifestyle in amanner that will help them to keep in good physical shape. This strategy is fundamentalnot only because in this context, ali the more so than in other situations, there is littlepossibility of improvement as regards functional performance and structural features(changes in study piace, in instruments, etc.), but because in other situations it has
Muscular effort and musculo-skeletal disorders in piano students 711ÍilbAOcàIc~Oori
Page 1 and 2: ERGONOMICS, 1989, VOL. 32, No. 7, 6
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Muscular effort and musculo-skeletal disorders in piano students - epm

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