Patient
Care
The patient care component,
represented by the Performing Arts Medicine Clinic, is
involved with diagnosis and treatment of musicians and
dancers with performance-related disorders. Its medical
staff is equipped to treat a wide range of
performance-related problems – for example, the
pianist or guitarist experiencing a loss of hand
dexterity, the brass player with a dental problem, the
singer with a sore throat. Our health care professionals
are uniquely qualified to work with performing artists;
many are musicians themselves. Therefore, they have
valuable insights into the demands placed upon performers
and can explore the physical and emotional aspect of
performance with the patient. They look at health
problems from the perspectives of both the health care
professional and the performer.
James Abbott McNeil
Whistler - At the Piano - The Taft Museum
A variety of medical specialties are represented within
the Performing Arts Medicine Clinic, including:
| Rheumatology |
Pediatric
medicine |
| General
internal medicine |
Psychiatry |
| Neurology |
Dentistry/Orthodontics |
| Orthopaedic
surgery |
Occupational
therapy |
Otorhinolaryngology (diseases
.....of the ear, nose, or throat) |
Physical
therapy |
| Nursing |
The Clinic employs a
team approach to diagnose and treat patients. During an
evaluation (often, within a single visit) a patient may,
for example, be seen by a rheumatologist, a neurologist
and an occupational therapist, each of whom will look at
the problem from the perspective of their specialty. By
comparing their findings, the team can gain maximal
insight into the patient’s complaint and devise an
effective individualized treatment plan.
Often, the only way to evaluate the
impact of an ailment on a performer’s technique and
to diagnose accurately the patient’s medical problem
is to observe the artist during performance. Therefore,
as a part of the physical examination, musicians are
routinely asked to bring their instrument with them on
their visit to the Clinic (a piano is available in the
examining room).
For an appointment in the Indiana
University Medical Center Performing Arts Medicine
Clinic, call (317) 274-ARTS between 8:00 AM and 4:30 PM,
Monday through Friday. A consultation will be arranged.
We will make every effort to keep you performing in the
best of health.
Research
Performing Arts Medicine is
a new specialty of medicine. Much is still unknown about
many of the disorders affecting performers. We have
undertaken a variety of research projects to increase our
understanding of the types and prevalence of these
problems, their causes and their optimal treatment. For
example, in a survey of premier violinists, we identified
common medical problems associated with playing the
violin, their perceived causes, their impact upon playing
technique, and treatments employed by the musicians
– both successful and unsuccessful. Based on that
data we implemented a long-term, prospective,
instrument-specific survey of music students, to learn
more about the performance-related health problems they
develop during their academic careers. In another
project, we have analyzed joint motions and forces in the
upper extremities of keyboard players, and have compared
the biomechanics in performers who are healthy with those
in musicians who are experiencing symptoms in their hands
or wrists.
Education Outreach
The Education Component of
the Performing Arts Medicine Program is involved with
individual patient education and community outreach
activities, such as seminars and workshops on
performance-related health problems. These instructional
programs, conducted and evaluated by professionals from
both medicine and the performing arts, are designed to
teach performers, students, and teachers how to prevent,
recognize and overcome performance-related health
problems. Through these collaborative programs, musicians
and dancers will learn about potential health problems
and our staff will gain additional insight into the
special health problems of performers.
Supported in part by the
Indiana University Multipurpose Arthritis Center,
Indiana University School of Medicine
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