Joan McMeeken | PubMed Health

PubMed2005

A systematic review of prevalence and risk factors associated with playing-related musculoskeletal disorders in pianists.

BACKGROUND: Playing-related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMDs) are a recognized problem amongst instrumental musicians. Although pianists are prominent in data regarding prevalence of PRMDs, there is poor understanding of piano-specific risk factors associated with PRMDs. AIM: To synthesize published literature on the prevalence of and risk factors associated with PRMDs in pianists. METHODS: Thirty-eight databases were searched. Eligible studies were those investigating prevalence of or risk factors associated with PRMDs in pianists, using an appropriate methodology according to a hierarchy of evidence. Information regarding study population, operational definition of PRMD, risk factors investigated, statistical tests used and outcomes was extracted and narratively synthesized for all eligible papers above an arbitrarily chosen quality score. RESULTS: The literature search identified 482 citations. Fifty-two papers were ranked in a hierarchy of evidence; 12 were eligible for evaluation using a quality assessment tool. Common methodological limitations included sampling/measurement biases, inadequate reporting of reliability/validity of outcome measures, lack of operational definition of PRMD and no statistical significance testing. Prevalence rates for PRMDs in pianists varied widely (26-93%). Four authors demonstrated statistically significant risk factors; however, no authors combined a clear operational definition of PRMD with statistically established risk factors. There was no consensus between authors regarding risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: Current evidence does not provide sufficient information regarding prevalence of and risk factors associated with PRMDs in pianists. Future studies should provide an operational definition of PRMD, use valid, reliable measurement tools, utilize a prospective cohort study design and perform appropriate statistical tests.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1997

Benchmarking in physiotherapy education: a collaborative project.

Many factors including demands for accountability and funding reductions give rise to the need for educational institutions to demonstrate their quality for purposes of public accountability and in order to attract students, both local and international. Benchmarking is a process which can address this need. Benchmarking also is a strategy for program evaluation and development which can be used in other fields such as clinical practice. The project reported in this paper concerns the school of physiotherapy in Australia and New Zealand. It utilises the concept of benchmarking within a collaborative context in order to incorporate the most positive aspects of seeking and achieving excellence within a peer review framework.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1996

Use of a video time display in determining general gait measures.

By superimposing a video time display (VTD) onto videotapes of patients walking, and using pause-motion replay, precise measures of walking speed, cadence and stride length may be obtained. Five groups of 10 subjects were used to investigate VTD-based gait analysis under different test conditions. An additional 20 healthy subjects were retested on two occasions on average 10.2 weeks apart. These subjects demonstrated moderate reliability for cadence and poor reliability for speed and stride length. It is recommended that progress be assessed by serial testing with regular time intervals. The results from healthy subjects were comparable with results from studies using other instruments. VTD-based gait analysis is a simple, accurate and inexpensive test procedure under a variety of clinical conditions.

Journal Article↗