Beyond prevention: Addressing the needs of tertiary music students with a playing-related injury

Abstract

The discourse within Australian tertiary music institutions on playing-related injury is slowly developing. The high incidence of injury in students is gradually being acknowledged, and awareness of prevention strategies is increasing. In late 2005, a Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University presentation introduced staff, students, and the public to a project collaboratively undertaken by the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and ESMUC (Escola Superior de M곩ca de Catalunya), Barcelona, aiming to dissolve taboos on playing-related injury among both music students and professionals. A publication on the project is due for release in mid 2007. In one aspect, however, the current discourse is critically inadequate. In focusing on injury prevention and physiological management, it overlooks the psychological, emotional, social, and financial repercussions of injury. What impact can an injury have on a tertiary music student? What are the needs of students who suffer injuries? What systems are already in place within tertiary music institutions for those students, and what can be done to address the deficiencies? From the perspective of my own experience, this paper makes suggestions for strategies that address the needs of tertiary music students with a playing-related injury.