Postural disorders in conservatory students: the Diesis project

Prolonged and incorrect postures are one of the main risk factors for the development of musculoskeletal pathologies. The aims of this study were to study the prevalence of incorrect postures among conservatory students; to identify if the use of an asymmetric instrument represents a risk factor for developing postural disorders; and to investigate whether a correlation exists between years of study, physical activity, and prevalence of postural disorders.

METHODS

The subjects were recruited among students of the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory of Milano. All musical instruments were investigated and classified as asymmetric and symmetrical. The observed student posture was classified without instrument as "correct posture" or "postural disorder" and with an with instrument as "optimal posture" or "non-optimal posture." While playing, the postural disorder was classified as "unchanged" or "increased." The data were analyzed with chi-square and linear regression methods.

RESULTS

Of the 148 conservatory students entered into the study, 66.2% had a postural disorder; 73.4% had a non-optimal posture, and playing an asymmetric instrument was the only variable associated (p=0.01). While playing, the postural disorder was increased in 59.2%; playing an asymmetric instrument (p=0.01) and years of practice (p=0.007) were the significantly associated variables.

CONCLUSIONS

To play an asymmetric instrument exposes musicians to an increased risk of non-optimal postures and to a worsened postural disorder when present. Considering that the years of practice have an additional negative impact on postural disorders, further studies are needed to clarify the role of non-optimal postures in the development of musculoskeletal complaints among students and professional musicians.

Effects of short term cast wearing on respiratory and cardiac responses to submaximal and maximal exercise in adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis

AIM

Bracing is widely used to treat adolescent scoliosis. However, bracing may also affect respiratory and cardiovascular function. In this thirteen-weeks longitudinal study we evaluated the effect of brace wearing on maximal and submaximal cardiorespiratory capacity in adolescents with moderate idiopathic scoliosis.

METHODS

Eight boys and 8 girls (12-18 years) with scoliosis of the thoracic spine (Cobb angle range 32 degrees - 42 degrees in boys and 32 degrees - 60 degrees in girls) were enrolled. Respiratory basal function (forced vital capacity, FVC, and forced expired volume in 1 s, FEV(1)) and cardiorespiratory adjustments to submaximal and maximal cycle ergometer exercise (heart rate, HR, pulmonary ventilation, VE, and oxygen consumption, VO(2)) were measured a week before fitting a brace, after 1 and 12 weeks of brace wearing, and a week after brace removal.

RESULTS

With respect to pretreatment values: a) after 1 week of brace wearing FVC and FEV(1) were significantly reduced in both genders; b) after 12 weeks of bracing the amount of oxygen consumed per heart beat was reduced during maximal and submaximal exercises in females only; c) ventilatory efficiency was unchanged in both genders in each condition; d) oxygen uptake during maximal exercise was decreased (by about 10-20%) in females only; e) after brace removal all variables tended to regress to pretreatment values.

CONCLUSIONS

Although data are preliminary and need to be confirmed on larger samples of patients, the brace appears to limit maximal exercise performance especially in girls, where it affects the cardiopulmonary efficiency. Thus, moderate physical exercise during brace wearing is advised to counteract respiratory, cardiovascular and muscle inefficiency due to ribcage movement limitations.