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Updated: Aug 8, 2026

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Published on: September 11, 2017
[What demands does playing an instrument make on the hand?]
Summary
Musicians
Area of Science:
- Biomechanics
- Occupational Health
- Musculoskeletal Disorders
Context:
- Musicians face unique manual demands unlike daily tasks, involving finger isolation, unequal task distribution, and complex movements.
- High-frequency movements and precise timing are critical in instrumental playing, posing challenges for compensating organic defects.
- Occupational diseases of the locomotor system are frequent in musicians, prompting investigation into underlying manual preconditions.
Purpose:
- To investigate the role of manual preconditions in the development of occupational locomotor system diseases in musicians.
- To present a method for examining manual preconditions specific to musical instruments, considering biomechanical characteristics.
- To analyze the influence of heredity versus training on these manual characteristics.
Summary:
- A study of 160 orchestral string players and ~600 professional musicians examined manual preconditions (hand size, joint mobility) influencing dexterity.
- Findings suggest these characteristics are primarily hereditary, not trained.
- Musicians with instrument difficulties or upper extremity disorders often had disadvantageous manual prerequisites.
Impact:
- Introduces a
- Biomechanical Handprofile
- to visualize individual manual characteristics against a reference group.
- Provides practical conclusions for aptitude testing and understanding musician health.
- Highlights the importance of assessing biomechanical factors in preventing musician injuries.
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