Economic Uncertainty and Performing Arts Medicine

2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 173-174
Author(s):  
Ralph A Manchester

Performing artists are used to dealing with uncertainty-—how will the next performance go, what will the new conductor expect, will my current combination of jobs and gigs be enough to pay the bills? Likewise, health care professionals have to deal with uncertainty on a regular basis—-is the patient’s chest pain due to myocardial ischemia or something else, will the treatment I prescribed for the pianist with arm pain be effective? But all of us on every continent are dealing with a great deal of economic uncertainty these days. ... How will these economic trends affect performing artists and the health care professionals who provide care for them?

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 146-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bronwen J Ackermann

In recent years, across all health care disciplines, the higher quality and volume of specific literature on health issues pertaining to performing artists are allowing ever more specialised and targeted evidence-informed interventions to be delivered. Whether performing artists recognise the new-found knowledge as well as the growth in training and domain-specific expertise of certain dedicated health professionals is unclear. Developing and maintaining good communication and the establishment of trust between performing artists, educators, and health professionals is crucial to facilitate better management of injuries in performing artists.


2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 108-113
Author(s):  
ABM Rietveld ◽  
John D Macfarlane

On Saturday, February 5th, 2011, the Dutch Performing Arts Medicine Association (Nederlandse Vereniging voor Dans- en MuziekGeneeskunde, NVDMG) organized a Symposium for and by allied health care professionals, held in the Medisch Centrum Haaglanden (MCH, Medical Centre of The Hague). Allied health care professionals, such as physiotherapists, manual therapists, Mensendieck therapists, speech therapists, and foot therapists, form a vital and indispensable link in the chain of healthcare and cure for dancers, musicians, and singers. The intention of the symposium was to highlight the practical and experience-related approach of allied health care providers, both in the presentations and in the artistic intermezzi. Apart from the exchange of knowledge and experience, there was ample opportunity for informal contact, facilitating and stimulating the formation of an interdependent network of allied health care providers specialized and/or interested in dance, music, and singing in The Netherlands.


2006 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 45-46
Author(s):  
Ralph A Manchester

As the diverse populations of the planet interact on a more frequent and intense basis, it becomes increasingly important for every individual and organization to examine its own approach to this vital issue. The field of performing arts medicine should pay particular attention to diversity for a number of reasons, some of which will help to advance our specialty and improve the lives of performing artists, while others may help save the world.


2010 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 139-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralph A Manchester

As the body of knowledge that comprises the field of performing arts medicine has grown, it has simultaneously become more important and more difficult for everyone who is concerned about the health of performing artists to stay current with the state of the art. In this regard, performing arts medicine is no different from any other field, but we have a huge challenge as we try to meet the educational needs of the broad variety of professionals who treat, teach, manage and do research on musicians, dancers, and other performing artists. A panel discussion on this subject was part of the 2010 Aspen Symposium on the Healthcare of Performing Artists. ... I will try to summarize where our efforts to educate performing arts medicine professionals stand today and what our options are for the future.


2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralph A Manchester

The field of performing arts medicine has grown significantly over the last few decades. While we still have a long way to go before we can confidently state that we know how to prevent and treat the maladies that interfere with artistic performance, we are making progress on several fronts. In preparation for giving one of the keynote addresses at the 2015 University of South Florida--Performing Arts Medicine Association Conference titled Caring for Artists and Arts that Heal, I reviewed the types of articles that have been published in Medical Problems of Performing Artists over the last 10 years. I also did a comparison of those articles to articles published in the Journal of Dance Medicine and Science and in the American Journal of Sports Medicine. In this editorial, I will present my findings.


2010 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 93-94
Author(s):  
Ralph A Manchester

The announcement last month that Medical Problems of Performing Artists will now be indexed in Medline/PubMed is truly an important development for the field of performing arts medicine. While many of us wish that this had happened sooner, we should all be proud of our combined efforts that made it possible. In addition to the publisher Mike Bokulich, who has labored tirelessly to reach this goal, I also want to publicly thank (again) Alice Brandfonbrener, the founding editor of MPPA. Without her 20 year labor of love, we would not have been in a position to be included in Medline now.


2013 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 63-64
Author(s):  
Ralph A Manchester

The Letter to the Editor from Matthew Arthur in this issue of Medical Problems of Performing Artists asks an important question for performing arts medicine professionals: why haven’t we used the scientific method to determine optimal piano technique? More broadly framed, why is technique in most of the performing arts based much more on tradition and expert opinion than on the results of carefully designed scientific studies?


2007 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 87-88
Author(s):  
Ralph A Manchester

As the field of performing arts medicine continues to advance, it is essential that we maintain the trust that has been built over the last quarter century with the dancers, musicians, and other performing artists we serve. Trust is a precious commodity that is built over time, largely between individual health care professionals and the patients for whom they care. However, other things we do (or don't do) can have a major influence on the trust and confidence that others place in us. One of these is research and the way we conduct research, especially when it involves human subjects. The public's confidence in medical researchers has been shaken in the last few years as the result of a few well-publicized “bad outcomes” in clinical studies being done at leading academic medical centers in the U.S. and elsewhere. While we are unlikely to do gene-transfer or new drug development studies in an effort to address the health problems of musicians and dancers, we should still hold ourselves to the same ethical standards that apply to the rest of the healthcare world.


2008 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 82-84
Author(s):  
John Hadok

In 2006, as part of a national regional-arts conference, I attempted to bring together health care workers with an interest in caring for performing artists. The plan was to gather in symposium, to share ideas and expertise, and inaugurate a network of practitioners across Australia. It was a good idea—at least I thought so at the time, and the generous experts who agreed to participate for free also seemed to think so. However, the exigencies of mounting a symposium in a regional city, in a field hitherto never organised in this country, with no finance, and only one assistant (albeit very capable!—Marilyn Bliss—to whom I am forever grateful) proved too much. After much lost money and sleep, and with a feeling of crushing defeat, I cancelled the project. As sometimes happens, the momentum has continued. From that quixotic project has grown a new organization, the Australian Society for Performing Arts Healthcare (ASPAH).


2014 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 123-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard J Lederman

Alice Brandfonbrener died peacefully at home on May 31, 2014, after a protracted illness. For all of us involved in performing arts medicine, she was the inspiration and guiding spirit. She will be missed. [Alice Brandfonbrener was one of the founding members of the field of performing arts medicine, perhaps the most critical founding member. In addition to organizing the first “Conference on the Medical Problems of Musicians” in Aspen, Colorado, in 1983 (which led to the formation of the Performing Arts Medicine Association), she was the founding editor of this journal, Medical Problems of Performing Artists--where she served as Editor for 20 years.]


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