Article

OBJECTIVE: To explore the muscle activation patterns in relation to pain
complaints in bassists studied during a musical task. This study was based on the
assumption that pain complaints are caused by increased muscle activation during
playing or relaxation and/or faster onset of fatigue of muscles. DESIGN:
Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Nonclinical. PARTICIPANTS: Student bass
guitarists (N=36) from conservatories in the Netherlands. INTERVENTIONS: Not
applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Bassists played a standard music piece for 30
minutes. Muscle activation levels and pain were recorded. Pain was registered
with a Numeric Rating Scale (NRS 0-10). The muscle activation level of both the
trapezius muscles and flexor carpi radialis was measured with sEMG: sEMG as the
percentage of the maximal voluntary isometric contraction (%MVC) and the slope of
the sEMG (slope of %MVC) were calculated. The %MVC as a function of time and the
slope of %MVC were calculated during playing and for rest periods before and
after playing. For statistic analysis, the Mann-Whitney U test and a multilevel
multiregression analysis were used for comparing the sEMG data of bassists with
and without pain. RESULTS: No significant differences in %MVC or the slope of
%MVC were between the bassists with and without pain complaints. CONCLUSIONS: The
results surprisingly indicate that pain complaints of bassists may not be
associated with another muscle activation pattern. It is, therefore, not likely
that pain is caused by increased muscle activation during playing and/or
relaxation, nor by faster onset of fatigue.
CI - Copyright (c) 2013 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS