Via Research Recognition Day 2024 VCOM-Carolinas

Educational Reports

Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Injuries in a High School Marching Band and Colorguard: A Descriptive Study Tyler Stoneman, OMS-II; Evan Robinette, SPT; Alexis Stoner, PhD, MPH; Jeffrey Cashman, DO, MS .

Background

Results

Return-to-Field Time

Student Stratification Total Total Injured Prevalence of Injury per 100

. Introduction - Thousands of students, teenagers, and young adults participate in marching band every year - The physical demands placed on the performers have evolved towards a higher intensity over several decades - Background research identified a significant gap in knowledge and research surrounding musculoskeletal injury in marching band students - Of the few studies reporting musculoskeletal injuries in marching arts, they do not address high school marching bands directly Objective This study sought to assess the prevalence and categorize the attributes of musculoskeletal injuries among a high school marching band through the duration of a single competition season. Exempt approval granted by Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine Institutional Review Board. Participants Students were registered members of the marching band from a high school and its adjacent middle school. There was no exclusion criteria. Procedures Data was previously collected by the marching band instructional staff from August 2022 through October 2022 to track the progress of injuries in their students. Data Collection: - Student injury was witnessed by the staff or voluntarily reported by the student - Staff recorded subjective and observational information regarding the injury and incident - Staff followed up with each student injury weekly, recording the same types of data for each injury - Data collection concluded when the student returned to performance activities - All students were de-identified prior to the investigators receiving the data Analysis Data was categorized by general student demographics and descriptions of musculoskeletal injuries. Retrospective descriptive analysis was performed and prevalence of injuries among the sample were calculated. Methods

Length of Time

Number Reported

Proportion of Injuries (%)

No time off

8 2 2 2 1

53 13 13 13

Marching Band Member Category Bass Clarinet

Within 1 week Within 2 weeks Within 8 weeks Did Not Return

4 5

0 1 2 0 2 3 0 1 3 1 1 1

0.00 1.12 2.25 0.00 2.25 3.37 0.00 1.12 3.37 1.12 1.12 1.12

Clarinet

Colorguard Drum Major

18

7 Table 3 : Description of the week-length time taken for students to return to participation on the band field with either no restriction to activity or limited restrictions on activity. No time off was defined as returning to activity by the following rehearsal day as each injury occurred at different chronological times within the scheduled rehearsal week.

1 9 6 9 8 7 9 3

Drumline

Flute

Front Ensemble

Mellophone Saxophone Trombone

10

Discussion

Trumpet

Tuba

. Total

89 40 49

15

16.85

Conclusion Our descriptive study serves as a gateway to future investigations that can aid in filling the knowledge and literature gap in the high school marching band population. Although our results are not clinically significant, this study identifies a need to focus on the types of injuries sustained and ways to prevent injury in this population. Appropriate future research could further develop current understanding of this population’s injury prevalence by investigating the relationship between types of injuries experienced by performers or developing effective detection, reporting, and monitoring methods for musculoskeletal injuries in marching band. - Small sample size due to school and band population - Lack of “clearance criteria” for student return to activity - Categorization of injury type was based on injury and mechanism description rather than clinical diagnosis through physical exam and/or imaging studies Noteworthy Findings - Injury to lower extremities were most common, matching other studies - Higher rate of injury from traumatic mechanism compared to overuse mechanism - Rates of injury by instrument played were not consistent across studies - Most injuries resulted in minimal activity deficits or loss of rehearsal time Limitations

Males

8 7

8.99 7.87

Females

Table1: Injuries reported distributed by instrument sections.

Injury Mechanism and Characterization Number of Injuries Reported

Prevalence per 100 Band Members

Injury Characteristic Classification Joint Stability (Total)

5 1 2 2 8 1 2 3 1 1 2 1 1

5.62 1.12 2.25 2.25 8.99 1.12 2.25 3.37 1.12 1.12 2.25 1.12 1.12

Lower Back Sciatica

Knee Instability Ankle Instability Muscular (Total)

Erector Spinae Strain

Hamstring Strain

Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome

Calf Strain

Posterior Tibialis Syndrome

Traumatic (Total)

Medial Meniscus Tear Foot Extensor Tendonitis

New Injury Acuity Acute Injury

9 6

10.11

Chronic Injury

6.74

Reference

Mechanism of Injury Traumatic

9 6

10.11

Overuse

6.74

Table 2: Description of injury acuity categories identified through weekly monitoring during the band season. Acute injuries resolved before the end of the season while chronic injuries affected the student at least until the end of the competitive band season.

Please scan the QR code to access all cited references

94

2024 Research Recognition Day