Physical & Personal Development in the Arts: Hand, Mouth, Voice, and Whole Body Injuries

VOCABULARY flashcards covering the artist's body injuries, repetitive strain, dystonias, vocal disorders, and nutritional guidelines based on the lecture notes.

Overuse injuries

Injuries to tendons, muscles, joints, and other tissues resulting from repetitive activity that creates small amounts of trauma over time.

Ligaments and tendons (Gender Difference)

Women are more commonly affected by overuse injuries because they have finer ligaments and tendons compared to men.

Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI)

A general term for pain in muscles, nerves, and tendons caused by repetitive movement and overuse, mostly affecting the upper body.

Bursitis / Tennis elbow

Swelling that occurs when the sac of fluid around a joint is injured by a sprain or irritated due to repetitive strain.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

A condition where the Median Nerve passing through the wrist becomes irritated, causing tingling and numbness in the fingers.

Median Nerve

The specific nerve in the wrist affected by Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Rotator Cuff disorder

A condition where normal movement is reduced and painful, resulting in an inability to lift or twist the arm.

Nerve Impingement

Also known as a “pinched nerve,” it occurs when too much pressure is applied to a nerve by surrounding tissues like bone, tendon, cartilage, or muscles.

Chronic nerve damage

The result of pressure remaining on a nerve, leading to permanent sensation loss, loss of reflexes, or loss of muscle strength.

Task-specific focal dystonia

A movement disorder characterized by involuntary muscle contractions that interfere with specific tasks like writing or playing an instrument.

Focal

A type of dystonia that affects only a single part of the body, such as the hand or jaw.

Writer’s Cramp

The most common focal dystonia, involving muscle cramps or spasms in the hand, wrist, or forearm that interfere with holding a pen.

Musician's dystonia

A form of task-specific focal dystonia characterized by muscle cramps and spasms occurring while playing a musical instrument.

Embouchure Dystonia

Focal dystonia affecting woodwind or brass players, causing spasms in the lips, tongue, or jaw that prevent proper mouth positioning.

Neurotransmitter chemicals

Brain chemicals that relay information; a shortage or malfunction in these can cause dystonia.

Basal ganglia

A collection of brain cells responsible for sending messages to various muscles to enable movement.

Vocal cords (Vocal folds)

Two bands of smooth muscle tissue found in the larynx that vibrate to produce sound.

Larynx

Commonly known as the voice box, it houses the vocal cords.

Laryngitis

Inflammation of the voice box or vocal cords caused by overuse, irritation, or infection.

Acute Laryngitis

Short-term inflammation of the vocal cords lasting less than three weeks.

Chronic Laryngitis

Long-term inflammation of the vocal cords lasting more than three weeks.

Vocal Nodules

Hard, rough, noncancerous growths on the vocal cords that can range from the size of a pinhead to a pea.

Vocal Polyps

Soft, noncancerous growths, similar to a blister, that can contain blood.

Vocal Cysts

Spherical or ovoid structures located deeper within the vocal cord than nodules, which can be solid or fluid-filled.

Congenital cyst

A vocal cord cyst that a patient is born with.

Vocal cord paralysis

A condition where one or both vocal cords do not open or close properly, potentially causing swallowing or breathing issues.

Ankle sprain

The most common dance-related sprain/strain, involving an acute injury to the ligaments.

Lateral sprain

The typical mechanism of an ankle sprain caused by “rolling over” the outside of the ankle.

Stress Fracture

A chronic injury caused when a bone experiences more repetitive load than it can tolerate.

Base of the second metatarsal

One of the three common places where dancers experience a stress fracture.

Femoral neck

The area of the hip where performers frequently experience stress fractures.

Myalgia

A term for muscle pain that can be localized to one group or diffuse across multiple muscle groups.

Fasted state

A state of performing or rehearsing without having eaten, which impairs performance by reducing available energy.

Pre-event meal timing

Meals should be consumed between $3$ to $4$ hours prior to a performance.

Pre-event meal composition

A meal consisting mostly of carbohydrates, moderate protein, and low fat.

Pre-performance hydration amount

Performers should drink $12\,to\,20\,ounces$ of water or a sports drink.

Pre-performance hydration timing

Hydration should occur at least $2\,to\,3\,hours$ before a performance to allow for excretion of excess fluid.

Post-performance carbohydrate timing

Consumption within $30\,minutes$ after practice replaces muscle energy and decreases recovery time.

Post-event recovery snack

A snack that should include protein to support muscle repair and growth.

Optimal rehydration volume

Consuming $1.5\,times$ more fluid than was lost during the performance.

Fluid to weight loss ratio

Consuming $3\,cups$ of fluid for each pound lost during the performance.

Noised Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL)

Hearing loss associated with continuous or intermittent noise exposure.

Occupational NIHL

A sensorineural condition affecting the cochlear hair cells in the inner ear.

NIHL Prevalence in Musicians

Approximately $50\%$ of musicians may have problems with hearing loss.

Mechanical errors

One of the most common causes of overuse injuries alongside too many hours of repetitive motion.

Tingling (Pins and needles)

A common symptom associated with both Nerve Impingement and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Muscle fatigue

A primary cause for both ankle sprains and stress fractures in performers.

Amenorrhea

A condition listed as a cause for stress fractures, alongside low bone density and inadequate nutrition.

Keratin cyst

A type of vocal cyst that is characterized by being solid.

Mucus retention cyst

A type of vocal cyst that is characterized by being filled with fluid.