Break a leg: performing arts medicine

Playing a musical instrument or treading the boards may not seem hazardous activities, but the range of health problems encountered by performers is surprisingly extensive. Currently, performing arts medicine is not a recognised specialty in the United Kingdom, and, despite the large volume of work, no specialist training is available from either the Royal Colleges or the medical schools. Despite the high profile of similar medical specialties--such as sports medicine--performing arts medicine is only just emerging.

Practitioners working in performing arts medicine deal with any injuries or illnesses stopping performers from reaching or maintaining their potential. Problems can be physical, psychological, or emotional and encompass everything from focal dystonia and voice problems to performance anxiety. The most common injuries are probably musculoskeletal. Performing arts medicine treats all disciplines--musicians, dancers, actors, singers, and comedians.

Performing arts medicine encompasses the expertise of a broad range of practitioners, both conventional and complementary, who offer their services to treat artists. Around half of this register is made up of doctors, including specialists in a broad spectrum of fields, and the remainder includes physiotherapists, psychologists, counsellors, technique and adaptation experts, voice coaches, and a variety of treatment specialists.

Eileen Quilter Williams is the general administrator for the British Performing Arts Medicine Trust (see box). She says, “Dancers, whether in West End shows or the Royal Ballet; singers, whether Glynebourne or Top of the Pops; musicians, whether the City of …