Risks and protective factors for injury among musicians: The impact of motivation, self-efficacy and rumination

Musical performances require significant physical effort and musculoskeletal injuries are an integral part of musicians’ careers. The physical strains of performances are often accompanied by psychological stresses that can accelerate the development of particular physical injuries. This study aimed to understand the protective or deleterious effects of motivation, self-efficacy and rumination. We conducted a cross-sectional study of data collected retrospectively from 121 musical artists. Participants completed sociodemographic, medical, and psychological questionnaires. The artists were divided into previously injured ( n = 66, 54.5%) and not previously injured ( n = 55, 45.5%) groups. Significant inter-group differences were found for age ( p < .05), years of performing ( p < .01), and hours of practising ( p < .001). No differences were found for sex and total musical practice. Overall, 74.1% of the periods lost to injury lasted under 30 days. Almost all injuries (98.4%) involved the upper limbs or trunk, most frequently hands (15.3%) and wrists (15.3%). Muscles (39.7%) and tendons (26.5%) were the usual tissues damaged. The previously injured and not previously injured groups showed no differences regarding the dimensions of motivation ( p > .05), self-efficacy ( p > .05 ) or rumination. However, there were significant inter-group differences for the subdimensions of integrated motivation ( p < .05), introjected motivation ( p < .05), and the intrusiveness of repetitive negative thinking ( p < .05). The present study’s epidemiological data highlighted the need to provide musicians with better support for their physical preparedness. Promoting more comprehensive care for this population and improving their biopsychosocial well-being could improve their ability to manage stress and injuries and implement effective coping strategies.