The Relationship between Neck Pain and Hand Dexterity among Violinists in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia Le Tay Xin1, Vasanthi Rajkumar Krishnan2,*, Clement Jim Brown3 1Physiotherapist, Biorehab Physiotherapy Centre, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia 2Clinical Coordinator cum Lecturer, INTI International University, Nilai, Malaysia 3Lecturer, INTI International University, Nilai, Malaysia *Corresponding Author: Rajkumar Krishnan Vasanthi, Clinical Coordinator cum Lecturer, Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health & Life Sciences, INTI International University, Putra Nilai, 71800, Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia, Phone: 0060129410541, Email: rajkumar.krishnan@newinti.edu.my
Online published on 19 August, 2019. Abstract Background and Objective Violinists are commonly affected by neck pain a condition commonly associated with upper limb dysfunctions and there is limited information regarding the effects of neck pain on hand dexterity in violinists. The objective is to investigate if neck pain significantly affects tapping speed and the relationship between degrees of neck pain on tapping speed in violinists with neck pain. Materials and Method 34 violinists with neck pain (N = 23) and without neck pain (N = 11) were recruited. Tapping speed of the index-middle, middle-ring, and ring-little fingers of both hands were measured with HLTapper V.1.0 application. Analyses were done to identify significant differences in tapping speed between two groups; and to correlate degree of neck pain and tapping speed. Findings Significant difference in tapping speed of right middle-ring (RMR) finger between violinists with and without neck pain (p = 0.018). Strong negative linear correlation between degree of neck pain and tapping speed of RMR finger in violinists with neck pain was found (=-0.845, p = 0.001). Conclusion Tapping speed of the RMR finger may be affected by neck pain in violinists. Top Keywords Neck Pain, Tapping Speed, Fine motor skills, hand dexterity in violinists. Top |