PA.H|LIFETIME.ai

Performance-related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMDs) are primarily considered neuromusculoskeletal disorders that can impair the practice, rehearsal, performance, and even the musical career of professional musicians. However, insufficient knowledge about the development and etiology of PRMDs, due to the low quality of studies and non-longitudinal study designs, is the main limitation to creating a framework for tailored, evidence-based physical therapy care for musicians with PRMDs (analogous to sports physical therapy). The development and etiology of PRMDs and the associated determinants are being investigated, taking into account their complex interactions and multidimensionality, in a two-stage research project that follows an approach based on the Learning Health System (LHS).

The first phase involves the cyclical and continuous collection, integration, and aggregation of music-related health data from various existing sources, as well as a systematic literature review with the aim of comprehensively identifying, through exploratory data analysis (e.g., artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms), to comprehensively identify candidate variables that can serve as potential determinants for the development of PRMD in instrumentalists as a representative subgroup of musicians. Based on the results of phase 1, a prospective cohort study will be conducted. This will also support two structural goals that ensure the sustainability of the project approach:

• The establishment of a university center of excellence and a learning health system in the field of musculoskeletal health for the performing arts with a scientific and clinical focus, aiming at data-driven cyclical knowledge transfer from research to practice (scientific focus) and data transfer from practice to research (clinical focus).
• The development of a subdiscipline of physical therapy for performing artists (analogous to sports physical therapy) with the corresponding establishment of a (world's first) professorship for Performing Arts Physical Therapy (PAP) and the establishment of an international Master of Science (MSc) program in PAP at Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences HSOS.

This project is funded by the DFG.