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Playing-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders Among Classical Piano Students at Tertiary Institutions in Malaysia: Proportion and Associated Risk Factors

Ling CY, Loo FC, Hamedon TR

Med Probl Perform Art, 2018 06;33(2):82-89.
PMID: 29868681 DOI: 10.21091/mppa.2018.2013

Musicians are prone to performance injuries due to the nature of musical practice, and classical pianists are among the groups at high risk for playing-related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMDs). With the growing number of classical pianists in Malaysia, this study aimed to investigate the proportion of PRMDs occurring among classical piano students in tertiary institutions in Malaysia. Associations between gender, practice habits, diet, sports involvement, and PRMD were investigated. A survey was conducted among classical piano students (n=192) at tertiary institutions of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. Results showed that 35.8% (n=68) students reported having PRMD. The shoulder was the most commonly affected body site, followed by the arm, finger, and wrist. Pain, fatigue, and stiffness were the most cited symptoms by those who suffered from a PRMD. Chi-square analysis showed a significant relationship between the occurrence of PRMD and practice hours (p=0.031), the habit of taking breaks during practice (p=0.045), physical cool-down exercises (p=0.037), and special diet (p=0.007). Multivariate logistic regression analyses confirmed the independent correlation between PRMDs and the lack of taking a break during practice, physical cool-down exercises, and special diet. Because PRMDs are reported at various severity levels, this study should increase awareness of PRMD among classical piano students and encourage injury prevention in musicians in the future to ensure long-lasting music careers.
Knowledge of Playing-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders Among Classical Piano Students at Tertiary Institutions in Malaysia

Ling CY, Loo FC, Hamedon TR

Med Probl Perform Art, 2016 12;31(4):201-204.
PMID: 27942698

Performance injuries among musicians have been widely discussed for decades. However, despite the growing number of classical pianists, this is still a new issue in Malaysia. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the level of knowledge of playing-related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMDs) among tertiary music students in Malaysia. A survey was conducted among classical piano students at tertiary institutions of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. Out of 192 respondents, 76% knew that piano playing can cause PRMDs. Slightly over three-quarters of respondents (77.1%) learned about PRMDs from music educators. The survey revealed that the belief in "no pain, no gain" was still ingrained in their minds, as 50.5% respondents believed that pain experienced while playing the piano was normal and 51.6% of them considered that pain must be experienced to improve their piano skill. The respondents were also scored on questions on terminologies of pianist injury and specific PRMD examples: 7.8% of respondents scored high in the questions on the general terminology, while 99.5% of them scored low in the questions on the specific examples of PRMDs. This finding indicated a lack of knowledge of specific musicians' injuries among classical piano students. The attitudes to pain and the level of understanding of the significance of potential injuries indicate that increasing PRMD awareness and introducing courses on PRMD prevention at tertiary institutions are warranted.
Effectiveness of health education module on work safety culture in improving knowledge, attitudes and practices: a cluster randomized controlled trial among public sector administrative workers in Nigeria

Odu JO, Hamedon TR, Mahmud A, Baharudin R

Med J Malaysia, 2023 May;78(3):308-317.
PMID: 37271840

INTRODUCTION: Studies have shown that a workplace safety culture (WSC) is lacking among the general workforce in Nigeria. Poor WSC can adversely impact workers' health and high remedial costs for employers. To improve WSC, workers need to improve related knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) towards WSC through effective health interventional programs at the workplace. The main objective of this study is to develop, implement and evaluate the effectiveness of the Work Safety Culture Health Education Module (WSCHEM). The specific goals are to improve KAP related to office ergonomics towards WSC among public sector administrative workers in Abeokuta, Nigeria MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was a two-armed, singleblinded cluster randomised controlled trial (CRCT) involving 247 public sector administrative workers from clusters of 20 ministries in Abeokuta, Southwestern Nigeria. The intervention group was given WSCHEM, whereas the waitlist group received a seminar on team building and leadership skills and received the WSCHEM after the intervention program ended. The evaluation was done three times using the first formal validated, self-administered Work Safety Culture Questionnaire (WSCQ) among the administrative workers: first at baseline, second at 1 month, and third at 3 months post-intervention.
RESULT: The results showed no statistically significant differences between groups regarding the respondents' characteristics (socio-demographic and occupational/officerelated ergonomic factors) and the outcome variables KAP towards WSC at baseline. For practices towards WSC, both intervention (β 6.8, 95%CI 4.85, 8.72) and time (β 6.2, 95%CI 4.49, 7.94) significantly improved the respondents' practices towards WSC in the per-protocol analysis. In the secondary outcomes, both knowledge of WSC, intervention (β 3.5, 95%CI 2.8, 4.2) and time (β 3.4, 95%CI 2.7, 5.9); and attitudes towards WSC, intervention (β1.7, 95%CI 1.25, 2.23) and time (β 2.3, 95%CI 1.92, 2.76) significantly improved the respondents' level of knowledge and attitudes respectively towards WSC.
CONCLUSION: The intervention, WSCHEM, was effective in improving the administrative workers' KAP towards WSC, as demonstrated by the significance between and within-group differences.
Fulltext Exposure to Particulate PAHs on Potential Genotoxicity and Cancer Risk among School Children Living Near the Petrochemical Industry

Sopian NA, Jalaludin J, Abu Bakar S, Hamedon TR, Latif MT

Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2021 03 04;18(5).
PMID: 33806616 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18052575

This study aimed to assess the association of exposure to particle-bound (PM2.5) polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with potential genotoxicity and cancer risk among children living near the petrochemical industry and comparative populations in Malaysia. PM2.5 samples were collected using a low-volume sampler for 24 h at three primary schools located within 5 km of the industrial area and three comparative schools more than 20 km away from any industrial activity. A gas chromatography-mass spectrometer was used to determine the analysis of 16 United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) priority PAHs. A total of 205 children were randomly selected to assess the DNA damage in buccal cells, employing the comet assay. Total PAHs measured in exposed and comparative schools varied, respectively, from 61.60 to 64.64 ng m-3 and from 5.93 to 35.06 ng m-3. The PAH emission in exposed schools was contributed mainly by traffic and industrial emissions, dependent on the source apportionment. The 95th percentiles of the incremental lifetime cancer risk estimated using Monte Carlo simulation revealed that the inhalation risk for the exposed children and comparative populations was 2.22 × 10-6 and 2.95 × 10-7, respectively. The degree of DNA injury was substantially more severe among the exposed children relative to the comparative community. This study reveals that higher exposure to PAHs increases the risk of genotoxic effects and cancer among children.