Epidemiology of neuromuscular injuries in guitar players living in Portugal: Associated risk factors.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Playing guitar involves several physical demands, most inclusive of which are long hours of practice, which can make musculoskeletal symptoms common. OBJETIVE To determine the epidemiology of neuromuscular injuries in guitar players residing in Portugal and risk factors. METHODS: The sample consisted of 105 guitar players, being 103 (98.10%) men, aged between 30-75 years (29,83±10,23). The measurement instrument used was a digital survey, shared by email, on social networks and in person. RESULTS: Fifty-six (53.30%) guitar players had injuries throughout their musical practice, totaling 132 injuries, 13 (12.40%) guitar players were injured at the time of assessment and 31 (29.5%) guitar players had injuries in the last 12 months, totaling 63 injuries. The value of injury proportion was 0.29 (CI 95% 0.14-0.44) and the injury rate was 0.42 injuries per 1,000 hours of music practice. The most common types of injury were tendinopathy (22; 34.92%) and low back pain (9; 14.29%). The most affected anatomical sites were wrist (18; 28.57%) and lumbar spine (10; 15.87%). Repetitive movement was the injury mechanism most mentioned by guitar players (24; 35.29%) followed by maintaining postures for a prolonged period of time (15; 22.06%). Guitar players who did not warm up before practicing were 0.33 (CI 0.13-0.79; p = 0.013) more likely to have an injury. CONCLUSIONS: There was a high percentage of injuries in guitar players and failure to warm up was a risk factor for the development of injuries. This type of study can help in creating injury prevention strategies in this type of population.