Based on a review of the literature and his clinical experience, the author reviews the etiology of musculoskeletal disorders of instrumental musicians. A discussion follows which compares and contrasts these problems with those of athletes, and a general strategy for the rehabilitation of musicians with musculoskeletal disorders is presented.

J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 1986;8(6):285-297.

A standard form of ice pack was applied to the shaved lateral surface of the thighs of anesthetized sheep and temperatures of the underlying tissues were measured by thermocouples inserted to various depths down to 4 cm as well as on the skin surface. An ice pack was applied for a single 20 minute period followed, in some sheep, by a second application 20 minutes later. This procedure was repeated a week later, immediately after physical trauma had been applied to the same area of the thigh. Temperature changes were depth dependent; after a single treatment, temperatures rose rapidly at first but after 2 hours did not regain pretreatment values; during a second application, the temperatures of the deep tissues continued to fall whereas the superficial tissue fell again to similar values as on the first application; temperatures did not fall as much after trauma and this was attributed to an increase in blood flow through the tissues.

J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 1986;8(6):294-300.

The interaction between natural aging and exercise in the knee joints of 38 female Wistar rats, 14 of which performed treadmill exercise for 6 or 12 months was assessed. Qualitative morphological changes observed with age in joint tissues other than cartilage of sedentary and exercised animals were similar. Chondrocyte counts were only significantly different between groups of young and older control animals in the lateral tibia1 condyle with older animals having a higher median than younger control animals. Defects in the articular cartilage were observed in animals of all ages and in both groups; however, exercised animals showed a significantly higher frequency and greater severity of defects than age-matched sedentary animals. The interaction between exercise intensity and age-related changes in the rat warrants further investigation since these observations suggest exercise may increase microtrauma to the articular cartilage.

J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 1986;8(6):310-319.