ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on material from R. Sataloff, A. Brandfonbrener, and R. Lederman’s Performing Arts Medicine and their Textbook of Performing Arts Medicine as well as the texts by J. Horvath, D. Enos, S. Storm, H. Bird, N. Taylor. Student size is important in instrument selection, as the student must be able to reach keys and strings without causing tension, muscle strain. The musculoskeletal system is comprised of muscles, bones, tendons, and ligaments. The skeleton is somewhat like the girders in tall buildings but, unlike the girders, the structure must allow one to bend, twist, and move. Tension can be caused by many movements or postures of the body and may be unrecognized. A physician who in midlife elected to obtain a doctorate in music begins his dissertation stating that playing the guitar involves the whole musculoskeletal system, from lower limbs and trunk to fingers.
