Effect of an Exercise Program Designed for Orchestral Musicians

NCT ID: NCT03288688

Last Updated: 2018-06-12

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 30 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2017-09-08
• Study Completion Date: 2017-11-17

Brief Summary

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.

Conditions

Musculoskeletal Disorder

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Exercise program and education

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.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Exercise program and education

Intervention Type: OTHER

The exercise program comprises warm-ups, exercises and cool-downs and aims to improve recruitment, strength and endurance of postural muscle groups that are key to the work of a musician. Basic activation exercises progress to dynamic and resisted exercises as well as functional musical movements. There is a series of six exercises of increasing difficulty for each of the following bodily regions: hips, back, neck, shoulders and abdominals.

Topics to be discussed in the educational presentation and e-mails include healthy practice habits, activity dosage, the importance of physical activity, how the body adapts to workload and physical stressors, and instructions pertaining to the exercise program.

No intervention

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

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

Exercise program and education

The exercise program comprises warm-ups, exercises and cool-downs and aims to improve recruitment, strength and endurance of postural muscle groups that are key to the work of a musician. Basic activation exercises progress to dynamic and resisted exercises as well as functional musical movements. There is a series of six exercises of increasing difficulty for each of the following bodily regions: hips, back, neck, shoulders and abdominals.

Topics to be discussed in the educational presentation and e-mails include healthy practice habits, activity dosage, the importance of physical activity, how the body adapts to workload and physical stressors, and instructions pertaining to the exercise program.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

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

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 65 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Laval University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Jean-Sébastien Roy

PhD

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

CIRRIS

Québec, Quebec, Canada

Countries

Canada

Other Identifiers

Orch musicians

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id