ORIGINAL PAPER
Enhancing postural health in music students: results of 6-week postural intervention program
1
Faculty of Performing Arts, Academy of Arts in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia
2
Faculty of Sports Science and Health, Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia
Submission date: 2025-06-06
Acceptance date: 2025-10-31
Online publication date: 2026-06-01
Corresponding author
Michal Marko
Faculty of Performing Arts, Academy of Arts in Banská Bystrica, Kollár 22, 974 01 Banská Bystrica, Slovakia
Faculty of Performing Arts, Academy of Arts in Banská Bystrica, Kollár 22, 974 01 Banská Bystrica, Slovakia
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Introduction:
Music students are at elevated risk of postural imbalances and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) due to prolonged, asymmetrical instrument practice. These issues affect both health and performance; however, formal training in postural health remains underrepresented in music curricula. Therefore, this study aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of a 6-week postural intervention program designed for undergraduate music students.
Methods:
A quasi-experimental pre-/post-interventions design was conducted with 16 male undergraduate music students (aged 18–23 years). Participants were assigned to either an experimental group (n = 10, 62.50%), which received a 20-minute postural intervention 3×/week for 6 weeks, or a control group (n = 6, 37.50%), which received no intervention. Posture was assessed using the Klein and Thomas/Mayer tool across 5 anatomical parameters. Statistical analyses included Wilcoxon signed-rank test and the Mann–Whitney U-test (p < 0.01; p < 0.05).
Results:
Significant improvements (p < 0.01) were observed in the experimental group across 4 of 5 anatomical parameters: head/neck, abdomen/pelvis, curvature of the spine, and shoulders/scapulae. Postural scores improved from 11.60 ± 1.72 to 7.30 ± 1.42, indicating a shift from ‘bad’ to ‘good’ posture. No significant changes (p > 0.05) were found in the control group, supporting the effectiveness of the intervention. Effect sizes (r = 0.60–0.70) suggest moderate to large intervention effects.
Conclusions:
A 6-week postural intervention can enhance posture in music students, helping address musculoskeletal risks. Integrating postural health education into music curricula could foster well-being and career longevity, but the findings should be interpreted cautiously because of the limited sample and non-randomised design.
Music students are at elevated risk of postural imbalances and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) due to prolonged, asymmetrical instrument practice. These issues affect both health and performance; however, formal training in postural health remains underrepresented in music curricula. Therefore, this study aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of a 6-week postural intervention program designed for undergraduate music students.
Methods:
A quasi-experimental pre-/post-interventions design was conducted with 16 male undergraduate music students (aged 18–23 years). Participants were assigned to either an experimental group (n = 10, 62.50%), which received a 20-minute postural intervention 3×/week for 6 weeks, or a control group (n = 6, 37.50%), which received no intervention. Posture was assessed using the Klein and Thomas/Mayer tool across 5 anatomical parameters. Statistical analyses included Wilcoxon signed-rank test and the Mann–Whitney U-test (p < 0.01; p < 0.05).
Results:
Significant improvements (p < 0.01) were observed in the experimental group across 4 of 5 anatomical parameters: head/neck, abdomen/pelvis, curvature of the spine, and shoulders/scapulae. Postural scores improved from 11.60 ± 1.72 to 7.30 ± 1.42, indicating a shift from ‘bad’ to ‘good’ posture. No significant changes (p > 0.05) were found in the control group, supporting the effectiveness of the intervention. Effect sizes (r = 0.60–0.70) suggest moderate to large intervention effects.
Conclusions:
A 6-week postural intervention can enhance posture in music students, helping address musculoskeletal risks. Integrating postural health education into music curricula could foster well-being and career longevity, but the findings should be interpreted cautiously because of the limited sample and non-randomised design.
REFERENCES (51)
1.
Yeşil B. Posture and its influence on anatomical structures: comprehensive review. Med Sci Discov. 2024;11(11):330–7; doi: 10.36472/msd.v11i11.1219.
2.
Azor S, Marko M, Adamčák Š, Bartik P. Harmonizing musculoskeletal health: Transformative effects of 8-week intervention program on posture in music students. Phys Educ Stud. 2024;28(2):75–84; doi: 10.15561/20755279.2024.0204.
3.
Ohlendorf D, Maurer C, Bolender E, Kocis V, Song M, Groneberg DA. Influence of ergonomic layout of musician chair on posture and seat pressure in musicians of different playing levels. PLOS ONE. 2018;13(12):e0208758; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0208758.
4.
Yao X. Biomechanical analysis of musicians’ posture and movement patterns for optimizing perfor-mance and reducing injury risk. Mol Cell Biomech. 2024;21(4):569; doi: 10.62617/mcb569.
5.
Gembris H, Menze J, Heye A, Bullerjahn C. High-performing young musicians’ playing-related pain. Results of large-scale study. Front Psychol. 2020;11:11:564736; doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.564736.
6.
Ramella M, Fronte F, Converti R. Postural disorders in conservatory students: diesis project. Med Probl Perform Art. 2014;29(1):19–22; doi: 10.21091/mppa.2014.1005.
7.
Barczyk-Pawelec K, Sipko T, Demczuk-Włodarczyk E, Boczar A. Anterioposterior spinal curvatures and magnitude of asymmetry in the trunk in musicians playing the violin compared with nonmusicians. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2012;35(4):319–26; doi: 10.1016/j.jmpt.2012.04.013.
8.
Nusseck M, Spahn C. Comparison of postural stability and balance between musicians and non-musi-cians. Front Psychol. 2020;11:1253; doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01253.
9.
Gordin K. Bodywork: tuning the instrument of soul. Music Med. 2018;10(1):18–21; doi: 10.47513/mmd.v10i1.555.
10.
Blanco-Piñeiro P, Díaz-Pereira MP, Vidal AM. Variation in posture quality of musical instruments and its impact during performances. Int J Occup Saf Ergon. 2018;24(2):316–23; doi: 10.1080/10803548.2017.1298277.
11.
Rozé J, Armaki M, Kronland-Martinet R, Ystad S. Cellists’ sound quality is shaped by their primary postural behavior. Sci Rep. 2020;10(1):13882; doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-70705-8.
12.
Rozé J, Armaki M, Kronland-Martinet R, Ystad S. The influence of cellist’s postural movements on their musical expressivity. J Acoust Soc Am. 2017;141(5):3800; doi: 10.1121/1.4988387.
13.
Rousseau C, Taha L, Barton G, Garden P, Baltzopoulos V. Assessing posture while playing in musicians: systematic review. Appl Ergon. 2023;1061:103883; doi: 10.1016/j.apergo.2022.103883.
14.
Akbari-Chehrehbargh Z, Tavafian SS. Effects of e-learning for postural education in music students (el-poems): a randomized controlled trial among Indian adolescents. Med Probl Perform Art. 2024;39(3):137–47; doi: 10.21091/mppa.2024.03015.
15.
López TM, Martínez JF. Strategies to promote health and prevent musculoskeletal injuries in students form the high conservatory of music of Salamanca, Spain. Med Probl Perform Art. 2013;28(2):100–6; doi: 10.21091/mppa.2013.2018.
16.
Purenovic T. Postural status of spinal column of sedentary music high school students in Nis, Serbia. Stud Kinanthropol. 2020;8(2):69–73; doi. 10.32725/sk.2007.021.
17.
Srinath VB. An experimental study to analyze the effects of self stretching and postural reeducation program for classical carnatic violin artistes in reducing playing related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMDs) of cervical flexor muscle group. In: Black NL, Neumann P, Noy I. (eds.) Proceedings of the 21st Congress of International Ergonomics Association (IEA 2021). Volume IV: Healthcare and Healthy Work. Springer; 2021; pp. 802–12; doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-74611-7_109.
18.
De Maio M, Di Rocco F, Papale O, Festino E, Fusco A, Cortis C. Could mini-trampoline training be considered as a new strategy to reduce asymmetries?. Appl Sci. 2023;13(5):3193; doi: 10.3390/app13053193.
19.
Di Rocco F, Papale O, Festino E, De Maio M, Cortis C, Fusco A. Acute effects of mini trampoline training session on leg stiffness and reactive power. Appl Sci. 2023;13(17):9865; doi: 10.3390/app13179865.
20.
Quoidbach J. How can posture-acoustic systems help the singer in voice quality research? In: Firenze University Press. 2012; pp. 97–99.
21.
Baadjou VAE, Verbunt JAMCF, Eijsden-Basseling MDF, Samama-Polak ALW, de Bie RA, Smeets RJEM c. Prevention study on preventing, reducing disability from musculoskeletal complaints in music school students. J Physiother. 2014;60(4):1–15; doi: 10. 1016/j.jphys.2014.09.001.
22.
Yang P. Integrating intelligent algorithms in music education to analyze and improve posture and motion in instrumental training. Mol Cell Biomech. 2025;22(1):762; doi: 10.62617/mcb762.
23.
Etikan I, Musa SA, Alkassim RS. Comparison of convenience sampling and purposive sampling. Am J Theor Appl Stat. 2015;5(1):1–4; doi: 10.11648/j.ajtas.20160501.11.
24.
Marko M, Adamčák Š, Azor S, Bartík P. 6-week intervention program and posture changes in music students. Eur J Contemp Educ. 2023;12(4):1365–73; doi: 10.13187/ejced.2023.4.1365.
25.
Shibasaki WM, Martins RP. Simple randomization may lead to unequal group sizes. Is that a problem?. Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop. 2018;154(4):600–5; doi: 10.1016/j.ajodo.2018.07.005.
26.
Rodrigues EV, Gomes ARS, Tanhoffer AIP, Leite N.. Effects of exercise on pain of musculoskeletal disorders: systematic review. Acta Ortop Bras. 2014;22(6):334–8; doi: 10.1590/1413-78522014220601004.
27.
Kim DJ, Cho M, Park YH, Yang YA. Effect of an exercise program for posture correction on musculoskeletal pain. J Phys Ther Sci. 2015;27(6):1791–4; doi: 10.1589/jpts.27.1791.
28.
Ondra L, Nátěsta P., Bizovská L. Kuboňová E, Svoboda Z. Effect of in-season neuromuscular and proprioceptive training on postural stability in male youth basketball players. Acta Gymn. 2017;47(3):144–9; doi: 10.5507/ag.2017.019.
29.
Tan SB, Chai Cs, Ng DLC, Zainuddin SI, Capelle DP, Lam CL, Ang CM, Chai WL, Ishak NNN, Ong YX, Ngu YX. Mindful breathing for cancer pain: efficacy of single 20-minute session: Randomized controlled study. BMJ Support Palliat Care. 2024;1(1):1–15; doi: 10.1136/spcare-2023-004762.
30.
Adamčák Š, Marko M, Bartík P, Adamčáková ZK. Short- and long-term effects of musculoskeletal health education: Evidence from the performing arts students. Front Sports Act Living. 2025;7(1):1637680; doi: 10.3389/fspor.2025.1637680.
31.
O’Rourke H, Hooper T, Bartel L, Archibald M, Hoben M, Swindle J, Thibault D, Whynot T. Music connects us: development of music-based group activity intervention to engage people living with dementia and address loneliness. Healthcare. 2021;9(1):570; doi: 10.3390/healthcare9050570.
32.
Reschke-Hernández AE, Tranel D. Strategies to enhance treatment fidelity and music-based interven-tion reporting in dementia research. Transl Behav Med. 2024;14(6):353–8; doi: 10.1093/tbm/iba e003.
33.
Bendíková E, Marko M, Rozim R, Tomková Š. Effect of changes by physical program on muscular and skeletal system of secondary school students. J Phys Educ Sport. 2020;20(4):1681–7; doi: 10.7752/jpes.2020.04228.
34.
Bendíková E, Marko M, Rozim R, Martinsky L. Effect of 4-week physical program on musculoskeletal system changes in adolescent sport class students with focus on ice hockey. Phys Act Rev. 2019;7:63–70; doi: 10.16926/par.2019.07.08.
35.
Rusnák R, Kolárová M, Aštaryová I, Kutiš P. Screening and early identification of spinal deformities and posture in 311 children: results from 16 districst in Slovakia. Rehabil Res Pract. 2019;2019(1):4758386; doi: 10.1155/2019/4758386.
36.
Adamčák Š, Marko M, Izáková A, Bartik P. Curriculum preferences of physical education teachers in primary schools: differences in length of pedagogical practice. Health Sport Rehabil. 2023;9(3):40–9; doi: 10.58962/HSR.2023.9.3.40-49.
37.
Sedgwick P. Non-parametric statistical tests for two related groups: numerical data. BMJ. 2012;344:e2537; doi: 10.1136/bmj.e2537.
38.
Nahm FS. Nonparametric statistical tests for continuous data: basic concept and practical use. Korean J Anesthesiol. 2016;69(1):8–14; doi: 10.4097/kjae.2016.69.1.8.
39.
Schober P, Boer C, Schwarte A. Correlation coefficients: appropriate use and interpretation. Anesth Analg. 2018;126(5):1763–8; doi: 10.1213/ANE.0000000000002864.
40.
Weisburd D, Britt C, Wilson D, Wooditch A. Measuring association for scaled data. In: Basic Statistics in Criminology and Criminal Justice. Cham: Springer; 2020; pp. 479–530; doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-47967-1_14.
41.
Dong Y. Descriptive statistics and its application. Highl Sci Eng Technol. 2023;47:16–23; doi: 10.54097/hset.v47i.8159.
42.
McAllister LS. Yoga in the Music Studio. 1st ed. New York: Oxford Academic; 2020; doi: 10.1093/oso/9780190915001.001.0001.
43.
Davies J. Alexander technique improves pain and performance factors in tertiary music students. J Bodyw Mov Ther. 2020;24(1):1–7; doi: 10.1016/J.JBMT.2019.04.006.
44.
Ackermann BJ, O’Dwyer N, Halaki M. The difference between standing and sitting in 3 different seat inclinations on abdominal muscle activity and chest and abdominal expansion in woodwin and brass musicians. Front Psychol. 2014;5:913; doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00913.
45.
Uysal Ö, Akoğlu AS, Kara D, Sezik AC, Çalık M, Düzgün İ. Theraband applications for improved wall slide exercise. J Athl Train. 2021;57(8):795–803; doi: 10.4085/1062-6050-0305.21.
46.
Stern J, Khalsa S, Hofmann S. Yoga intervention for music performance anxiety in conservatory students. Med Probl Perform Art. 2012;27(3):123–8; doi: 10.21091/MPPA.2012.3023.
47.
Ohlendorf D, Wanke EM, Filmann N, Groneberg DA, Gerber A. Fit to play: posture and seating position analysis with professional musicians – study protocol. J Occup Med Toxicol. 2017;12:5; doi: 10.1186/s12995-017 -0151-z.
48.
Ranelli S, Straker L, Smith A. Playing-related musculoskeletal problems in children learning instrumental music: association between problem location and gender, age, and music exposure factors. Med Probl Perform Art. 2011;26(3):123–39; doi: 10.21091/mppa.2011.3021.
49.
Akbari-Chehrehbargh Z, Tavafian SS. Impact of el-poems study: the e-learning for postural education in music students: a randomized controlled trial protocols. Trials. 2022;23:386; doi: 10.1186/s13063-022-06335-4.
50.
Fu Y, Loo F. Systematic review of playing-related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMDs) among tertiary-level professional music students: exploring gender, psychological, and physiological determinants. Environ Soc Psychol. 2025;10(1):3377; doi: 10.59429/esp.v10i1.3377.
51.
Harriss DJ, MacSween A, Atkinson G. Ethical standards in sport and exercise science research: 2020 update. Int J Sports Med. 2019;40(13):813–17; doi: 10.1055/a-1015-3123.
| eISSN: | 2544-4395 |
We process personal data collected when visiting the website. The function of obtaining information about users and their behavior is carried out by voluntarily entered information in forms and saving cookies in end devices. Data, including cookies, are used to provide services, improve the user experience and to analyze the traffic in accordance with the Privacy policy. Data are also collected and processed by Google Analytics tool (more).
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
