Divarco Rebecca, Sternkopf Fabian, Karst Matthias, Altenmüller Eckart, Ramasawmy Perianen, Antal Andrea, Lee André
Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Georg-August University, Göttingen, Germany.
Institute for Music Physiology and Musicians' Medicine.
Eur J Pain. 2025 Mar;29(3):e4738. doi: 10.1002/ejp.4738. Epub 2024 Oct 11.
Extensive audio-motor training and psychological stress can cause professional musicians acute overstrain-injury and chronic pain, resulting in damaged careers and diminished quality of life. It has also been previously shown that musicians might perceive pain differently than non-musicians. Therefore, the aim of our study was to quantify differences between musicians and non-musicians regarding their subjective responses to painful contact heat stimuli and assess how emotional traits might influence these responses.
Upon completing the StateTrait-Anxiety-Depression Inventory, 15 healthy musicians and 15 healthy non-musicians from German universities received 15 noxious contact heat stimuli at the dorsal side of each hand and foot. After each stimulation, participants were asked to provide a pain rating from 0 to 10.
Musicians not only reported significantly higher pain ratings after the first stimulation but also showed a significantly higher degree of habituation compared to non-musicians. Additionally, musicians showed a significantly less pronounced difference regarding the pain rating of the hands compared to the feet than non-musicians. Trait anxiety and trait depression scores had no effect on the pain rating or the habituation.
The more pronounced habituation of musicians might hint at a neuroplastic nociceptive alteration in musicians. The lack of significance between the psychological traits and their effect on the pain ratings is surprising but could be a result of both participant groups having stressful careers.
The findings of this report justify musicians' repetitive sensorimotor training as an important model for plasticity and contribute to a better understanding of pain perception in musicians.
广泛的听觉 - 运动训练和心理压力会导致职业音乐家出现急性过度劳损损伤和慢性疼痛，从而损害其职业生涯并降低生活质量。此前也有研究表明，音乐家对疼痛的感知可能与非音乐家不同。因此，我们研究的目的是量化音乐家和非音乐家在对疼痛性接触热刺激的主观反应方面的差异，并评估情绪特质如何影响这些反应。
在完成状态 - 特质焦虑 - 抑郁量表后，来自德国大学的15名健康音乐家和15名健康非音乐家在每只手和脚的背部接受15次有害接触热刺激。每次刺激后，要求参与者给出从0到10的疼痛评分。
与非音乐家相比，音乐家不仅在首次刺激后报告的疼痛评分显著更高，而且表现出更高程度的习惯化。此外，与非音乐家相比，音乐家双手和双脚的疼痛评分差异明显更小。特质焦虑和特质抑郁得分对疼痛评分或习惯化没有影响。
音乐家更明显的习惯化可能暗示其存在神经可塑性伤害感受改变。心理特质与其对疼痛评分的影响之间缺乏显著性令人惊讶，但可能是由于两个参与者群体都有压力较大的职业。
本报告的研究结果证明了音乐家的重复性感觉运动训练是可塑性的重要模型，并有助于更好地理解音乐家的疼痛感知。
