Objective Up to 86% of musicians experience playing-related musculoskeletal problems (PRMPs). Joint hypermobility (JH), which affects up to 34% of the population, may be a risk factor for such injuries, however, research on this topic is limited. The aims in this scoping review are to: (1) map information in existing literature on the relationship between JH and PRMPs in instrumental musicians, (2) identify subpopulations at risk of JH-related injuries, and (3) map supportive strategies used to accommodate hypermobile instrumentalists.

Design The review was conducted following JBI methodology and adapted for a master’s thesis. Searches were performed in MEDLINE, Music Index, SPORTDiscus, and gray literature databases, using keywords related to “instrumental musicians” and “hypermobility,” resulting in 1570 sources.

Results Of 165 relevant sources, 79 included original data on hypermobility, with only 30 primarily focused on JH. Most sources were published among populations primarily of European descent and adults ages 18-40 in professional or post-secondary classical settings. Research gaps identified include studies addressing hormonal influences on joint laxity, non-European populations, children, amateur musicians, and neurodivergent individuals. Sources containing original JH information consisted of 45% empirical studies (mostly prevalence) and 55% anecdotal reports. In 72% of all sources, authors concluded JH negatively impacts musicians.

Conclusions Inconsistent results among empirical studies and incongruences between results and anecdotal evidence are indicative of methodological weaknesses. Limitations in measurement tools were noted, affecting study design and data interpretation. Future researchers should conduct qualitative research to capture experiences of hypermobile musicians to inform study design. They should expand quantitative methods, particularly longitudinal and randomized controlled trials, and incorporate sensitive, joint-specific assessments. Training for healthcare professionals, musicians, and music teachers should include JH and health impacts on musicians to ensure accurate research design and interpretation.

Registratio The scoping review protocol (https://osf.io/c5rzn) was previously registered and published on the Open Science Framework (OSF) along with all official documents, search query strings, and raw data (https://osf.io/6jynk/).

STRENTHS AND LIMITATIONS OF THIS STUDY

This is the first review focused on instrumental musicians with joint hypermobility.

A thorough and detailed search strategy was developed with the assistance of expert research librarians and the review was conducted in accordance with the JBI scoping review manual and PRISMA-Scr guidelines, except where noted.

The review was conducted as a master’s thesis requirement for Radford University. Due to time and resource constraints, only one reviewer was involved in data extraction and analysis with oversight of a research committee.

As is standard with scoping reviews, sources were not evaluated for quality, therefore, conclusions cannot be generalized.

MK serves an unpaid role as the president of the Blacksburg Community Strings, a nonprofit community orchestra. Revenue was earned by MK as a self-employed private music instructor. No affiliation with companies or organizations whose products or services could be affected by the manuscript was present. MK received an $800 reward for writing an essay on use of library resources in research, submitted with the original thesis paper. Award given after completion of the research.

https://osf.io/c5rzn

Funding for this review in the form of access to research resources was provided by Radford University in support of a masters thesis written by the author. A subscription to the Covidence systematic review tool was purchased by the author.

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The data collected for this study are available in the Open Science Framework (OSF) at https://osf.io/6jynk/. The dataset is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.