Addressing reality of musical injuries

Print

By Paul Mayne
Thursday, November 6, 2008
You wouldn’t think a violinist or pianist would have reason to visit an occupational therapist.
 
 
Christine Guptill
 
Think again.
 
While it is still hard to pinpoint whether the playing of music alone can be the cause of an injury or disability, graduate student Christine Guptill (BMus'95, BSc'96) is hoping more people begin to recognize the legitimacy of musical injuries and the role of occupational therapy as a potential solution.
As a music student in the early 90s, Guptill, an obo player, was suffering from what was determined at the time to be carpal tunnel syndrome, which can cause pain in the forearm.
 
Always interested in science, she pursued her Master’s degree in occupational therapy at Western Michigan University.
 
Following a few years in Sarnia and London as an occupational therapist, Guptill decided to pursue her PhD at Western, focusing on playing-related injuries among musicians.
 
With past studies showing a high response rate from musicians in regards to injuries, Guptill says it’s hard to get people to talk about it.
 
“Even talking about it is still new,” she says. “A lot of it is a cultural thing as well – the old adage of suffering for my art.”
 
A number of factors, such as type of instrument, age of musician, how they play and how often they play, influence the injury. There is even a psychological component at work, adds Guptill, because some musicians identify so strongly with their music that the injury is ignored.
 
The solution is often a multi-pronged approach, involving everyone from health-care practitioners and post-secondary institutions to conductors, orchestra managers and even the musicians themselves.
 
For her part, Guptill begins teaching a new course at Western in January, possibly a first in Canada, entitled Health in Music Performance.
 
“I am totally thrilled to be doing this,” she says. “To open the students’ eyes and minds, along with other teachers, at this level is important.”
 
A whole other side of the discussion is the fact occupational therapy is not covered under OHIP.
 
“Then comes the idea of where to go and who can pay for this,” she says, noting Hamilton and Toronto are the only locations where musicians can go. “Musicians don’t make a lot of money and benefit plans, if they have any, don’t cover this form of treatment.”
 
While there are plenty of potential hurdles, Guptill wants eventually to see a multi-disciplinary clinic on campus. For now, however, just the fact a discussion is underway is considered a plus. 

Also from this web page:

About

Hours

Weekdays
8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
(holidays excluded)

Contact

Publisher:
Helen Connell (hconnell@uwo.ca)

Editor:
Jason Winders (newseditor@uwo.ca)

Reporter/Photographer:
Paul Mayne (pmayne@uwo.ca)

Reporter/Photographer:
Heather Travis (htravis2@uwo.ca)

Advertising Coordinator:
Denise Jones (advertise@uwo.ca)

Off-Campus Advertising Sales:
Chris Amyot, Campus Ad (campusad@sympatico.ca)

National Advertising Representative:
Campus Plus

Phone:
519-661-2045

Fax:
519-661-3921

Mail:
Western News, Suite 360
Westminster Hall
The University of Western Ontario, London N6A 3K7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Western provides the best student experience among Canada's leading research-intensive universities.