Musical theater performers face a wide variety of injury risk factors as they dance, sing, and act and perform a wide variety of repertoire both musically and physically. To obtain a clearer picture of the health problems faced by musical theater students, the authors surveyed the 37 students attending one musical theater school in Germany. Of all of the students, nearly half reported suffering an orthopedic or internal illness up to twice per year. The students cited the pressure of expectation and performance from their peers, family members, and school administrators and fears regarding casting or exams as the highest-rated problems that may contribute to the onset of illness or injury. In this cohort, the lower extremity was the most common site of injury, with nearly two-thirds of the students reporting acute injuries there and almost as many students reporting a chronic injury to the lower extremity. Strains, sprains, and contusions were the most commonly reported injuries. Interestingly, 76% of the injuries reported in this cohort occurred during well-known movement sequences.
Perhaps the most interesting results from this study for medical professionals are the responses to questions regarding participating despite physical complaints. While many performing artists (and athletes) feel that the decision to continue to participate despite pain or injury depends heavily on the situation and the severity of the symptoms, nearly half of the students surveyed reported that they would continue a performance despite physical complaints, regardless of the situation or severity. Among the female students, 86% stated they would rather continue an exam despite an injury, 92% would continue a casting, and 94% would continue a performance.
Lastly, in this small group of students, less than two-thirds of the acute injuries reported were treated medically and only 40% of the chronic injuries received treatment.
Wanke EM, Kunath E, et al. Survey of health problems in musical theater students: A pilot study. Med Probl Perf Art. 2012;27(4):205-211.
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