- 1. Art Materials
- 2. Professions
- Ceramics [17]
- Drawing [4]
- Glasswork [8]
- Metalworking/ Sculpture/ Jewelery [15]
- Museum Work [9]
- Music [20]
- Chin Rests and Violin Players
- Ergonomic Musical Instruments
- Fog and Smoke
- Guitar Strings Cause Dermatitis
- Hand and Upper Limb Problems in Children
- Medical Problems of Musicians
- Musicians Can Be Victims of Peculiar Skin Problems
- Return to Play After Injury
- Rosin Hazards
- Secondary School Musicians Hazards
- Shared Musical Instruments
- Singing and Dancing with Pain
- Hearing and Noise
- Painting [4]
- Papermaking [1]
- Performing Artists [8]
- Photography [5]
- Printmaking [9]
- Theatre, TV, Film [27]
- Woodworking [7]
- 3. General Safety and Health
- 4. Health Effects/Disorders
- 5. Special Subjects
- 6. Local Health and Safety Resources
- Glossary of Terms
Hand and Upper Limb Problems in Children
Hand injuries in pediatric and adolescent musicians can be difficult to assess. It is useful to categorize the patient based on age, which provides a framework for understanding the child's development and relationship to instrumental music. Watching the child at play and during instrumental practice is imperative because it allows evaluation of broth physical factors and the interaction between the child, the instrument, and the parent(s). Non-performance-related injuries are the most common and must be treated in a manner to preserve the span of the hand and maximize hand function. In performance-related injuries, one most consider the size and strength of the child or adolescent. Often simple modifications to the instrument or modifications in technique help greatly. Children are usually excellent patients in terms of rehabilitative potential, and rapid recovery is the rule in both types of injuries. If recovery is prolonged, and no physical basis is apparent, psychosocial factors must be considered. The therapist not only can provide hand rehabilitation expertise, but can supply critical additional insight into the dynamics of the parent - child - teacher - instrument interaction.
(The fact that injuries exist in child musicians points to the importance of finding music teachers who can understand the physical capabilities of children. -Ed.)
The preceding abstract was reprinted with permission from Section 35 (Occupational Health and Industrial Medicine) of Excerpta Medica.
Hand and Upper Limb Problems in the Pediatric Musician
Havlik R. and Upton J. - 830 Boyleston Street, Chestnut Hill, MA 02167 USA - Med. Probl. Perform Artists 1996 11/2 (56-63).
Art Hazard News, Volume 20, No. 3, 1997
This article was originally printed for Art Hazard News, © copyright Center for Safety in the Arts 1997. It appears on CAR courtesy of the Health in the Arts Program, University of Illinois at Chicago, who have curated a collection of these articles from their archive which are still relevant to artists today.