Musicians are a group with a high prevalence of musculoskeletal injuries. In particular, wind musicians, due to their playing requirements, are prone to suffer from cervical and mandibular alterations. For this reason, a specific exercise programme has been designed with the aim of analysing its effectiveness in improving these regions.
This study is a clinical trial with a control group whose participants are university music students specialising in wind instrument performance. The intervention of the participants in the Experimental Group consists of the individual performance of a specific programme of warm-up exercises prior to instrumental practice aimed at improving the mobility and strength of the cervical and mandibular regions, as well as a series of cool-down exercises after instrumental practice based on stretching the main muscles of both regions. Participants in the Control Group will continue their normal life without performing any specific exercise previously taught by the researchers. For the evaluation of the programme, an initial evaluation and a re-evaluation after 12 weeks will be carried out. In both, cervical and jaw mobility as well as body posture will be assessed. In addition, at the muscular level, the activity of the upper trapezius and masseter muscles will be assessed, and the pain threshold at trigger points will also be measured. The hypotheses are that by carrying out the exercise programme designed for wind musicians, an improvement in body posture, in the range of cervical and jaw mobility and in muscle activation will be achieved, as well as a decrease in the pain threshold. For the study of the results, an inferential statistical analysis of the data will be carried out using the Wilcoxon test for paired data or Student's t-test for repeated measures according to the sample characteristics in order to determine the effect of the exercise programme on the different variables of the experimental process. Correlation statistics will be used to establish the association between certain quantitative explanatory variables and ANOVA for categorical variables. The level of significance will be kept at p\<.05 and all calculations will be carried out using the SPSS 22.0 statistical programme.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
40
Performing a programme of warm-up and stretching exercises for the cervico-mandibular region aimed at improving mobility and muscle condition.
Facultade de Ciencias da Educación e do Deporte
Pontevedra, Spain
Cervical range of movement
Evaluation of cervical range of motion (flexion-extension, tilts and rotations) with Kinovea software. The Kinovea software is a validated tool to measure the movements of the cervical spine.
Time frame: Change from baseline at 3 months
Temporomandibular range of movement
Evaluation of the maximum jaw opening with a vernier caliper. A vernier caliper is a validated tool to measure the MMO (maximum mouth opening).
Time frame: Change from baseline at 3 months
Head position
Assessment of head position by calculation of the craniovertebral angle, sagittal head angle and shoulder angle using SAPO software. SAPO is a validated tool for head posture analysis.
Time frame: Change from baseline at 3 months
Head alignment
Horizontal alignment of the head and shoulders using SAPO software. SAPO is a validated tool for head posture analysis.
Time frame: Change from baseline at 3 months
Cervical and orofacial pain
Visual Analogic Scale. The pain VAS is a unidimensional measure of pain intensity, which has been widely used in diverse adult populations. The VAS is a straight horizontal line of fixed length, usually 100 mm. The ends are defined as the extreme limits of the parameter to be measured from 0 (no pain) to 10 (maximum pain). All the subjects will showed their pain level.
Time frame: Change from baseline at 3 months
Trapezius muscle activation
EMG assessment of resting and maximal contraction activation of the trapezius muscle. Surface EMG is a validated tool for measuring muscle activation.
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Time frame: Change from baseline at 3 months
Masseter muscle activation
EMG assessment of resting and maximal contraction activation of the masseter muscle. Surface EMG is a validated tool for measuring muscle activation.
Time frame: Change from baseline at 3 months
Trapezius muscle pain threshold
Pain threshold assessment at the trigger point of the upper trapezius muscle with a digital algometer. The digital algometer is a validated tool for assessing muscle pain threshold.
Time frame: Change from baseline at 3 months
Masseter muscle pain threshold
Pain threshold assessment at the trigger point of the masseter muscle with a digital algometer. The digital algometer is a validated tool for assessing muscle pain threshold.
Time frame: Change from baseline at 3 months