Determinants of incident and persistent finger joint pain during a five-year followup among female dentists and teachers

Because issues involved with playing an instrument may be complicated by the aging process, age may be an important variable to investigate in health studies. The current study examined the perceived health challenges of a group of adult instrumental musicians and possible accommodations for these challenges. Participants included 83 adult white musicians, aged 47 to 91 yrs, 52 females and 31 males, who were attending a national summer senior band camp. Fifty-two played woodwind and 31 brass or percussion instruments. The participants were given a questionnaire asking about (1) the degree of trouble with vision, hearing, finger/hand, arm/neck, back/leg, and other physical ailments while playing their instrument; (2) whether any pain experienced was greater when playing music than in everyday life; and (3) accommodations they may have found for any physical troubles they experienced. Visual problems when reading music were noted as the participants' greatest challenge, followed by finger/joint pain, hearing speech, and hand pain. Visual problems when reading music were a top concern across all instrument subgroups, followed by finger/joint pain for woodwind players, hearing speech for brass players, and both hand and finger/ joint pain for percussionists. Accommodations for vision problems most commonly included placing the lens line higher on bifocal lenses so that both the conductor and music could be seen. Accommodations for ailments centered around two general issues: things a musician could buy (e.g., ear plugs, instrument rests, cushions) or things they could do to avoid pain (e.g., education, stretching).

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Associations between fluorescence optical imaging and magnetic resonance imaging and symptoms in hand osteoarthritis

Rheumatology ◽

10.1093/rheumatology/keab085 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Øystein Maugesten ◽

Sarah Ohrndorf ◽

Barbara Slatkowsky-Christensen ◽

Tore K Kvien ◽

Till Uhlig ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pain Intensity ◽

Optical Imaging ◽

Physical Function ◽

Joint Pain ◽

Finger Joint ◽

Dominant Hand ◽

Fluorescence Optical Imaging ◽

Finger Joints ◽

Hand Pain ◽

Sum Scores

Abstract Objectives To investigate whether Fluorescence Optical Imaging (FOI) enhancement and MRI-defined synovitis are associated with pain and physical function in hand OA patients. Methods Bilateral FOI scans and MRI of the dominant hand were available for 221 patients. Finger joints were examined for tenderness on palpation. Pain in individual finger joints during the last 24 h and last 6 weeks and hand pain intensity by the Australian/Canadian hand index and Numeric Rating Scale were self-reported. On joint level, we applied logistic regression with generalized estimating equations to examine whether FOI enhancement and MRI-defined synovitis were associated with pain in the same joint. On subject level, we applied linear regression to assess whether FOI and MRI sum scores were associated with pain intensity and physical function. Results Metacarpophalangeal and thumb base joints were excluded from analyses due to little/no FOI enhancement. Finger joints with FOI enhancement on the composite image had higher odds (95% CI) of pain during the last 6 weeks [grade 1: 1.4 (1.2–1.6); grade 2–3: 2.1 (1.7–2.6)]. Similar results were found for joint pain during the last 24 h and joint tenderness in fingers. Numerically stronger associations were found between MRI-defined synovitis and finger joint pain/tenderness. FOI and MRI sum scores demonstrated no/weak associations with hand pain and physical function. Conclusion FOI enhancement and MRI-defined synovitis were associated with pain in the same finger joint. None of the imaging modalities demonstrated consistent associations with pain, stiffness and physical function on subject level.

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