|
Fiddler's neck, sometimes referred to as a "violin hickey," is an occupational disease that affects violin and viola players. It is a cutaneous condition usually characterized by redness, thickening, and inflammation on the left side of the neck below the angle of the jaw where the instrument is held.〔 Acne-like lesions and cysts may form at the site due to foreign body reactions, and infections may also occur due to poor hygiene.〔 The primary causes of fiddler's neck are constant friction and local pressure. It is well known among professional orchestra musicians but is "not well recognized by dermatologists",〔 and a red mark on the left side of the neck under the jaw "functions as an identifying sign" of a violinist or violist "in public without seeing the instrument"''.'' Although the presence of fiddler's neck is sometimes used as an indicator of a violinist's skill, or 'battle scars' from constant practice, many violinists never develop fiddler's neck, due to differences in skin sensitivity, playing habits, and the materials used in the construction of the instrument. An accomplished professional player could practice hard their whole life and never develop fiddler's neck. == Causes and occurrence == The proximal causes of fiddler’s neck are friction and pressure, but both repetitive shearing stress and occlusion with consequent trapping of sweat give rise to progressive damage.〔 This damage along with poor hygiene predisposes the area to local infection, and such infection can progress to scarring and other long-term effects.〔 Hot weather is reported to exacerbate fiddler’s neck, as are tiredness, playing emotional music, and playing in smaller groups where individual stress is higher.〔 Type I hypersensitivity reactions may also be involved, particularly to rosewood and ebony in the chinrest and tailpiece, as well as to varnish of the instrument body when chinrests are not used and to rosin deposits on the instrument and on chin cloths.〔 Nickel or other metal allergies are common causes if the chin rest has a metal clip that comes into constant contact with the skin. Rosin exposure in particular may lead to abietic acid dermatitis.〔 Fiddler’s neck does not usually form unless the musician is practicing or playing for more than a few hours each day, and only seems to develop after a few years of serious playing.〔 Thus, when not infected or otherwise problematic, fiddler’s neck may be known as a benign practice mark and may be worn proudly as an indication of long hours of practice.〔 Blum & Ritter (1990) found that 62% of 523 professional violinists and violists in West Germany experienced fiddler’s neck, with the percentage among violists being higher (67%) than among violinists (59%).〔 Viola players are believed to be more predisposed to developing fiddler’s neck than violinists because the viola is larger and heavier, but this has not been empirically confirmed.〔 The development of fiddler’s neck does not depend on preexisting skin problems, and Blum & Ritter find that only 23% of men and 14% of women in their study reported cutaneous disorders in other parts of the face (mainly acne and eczema) that were independent of playing the violin or viola.〔 Fiddler’s neck may exacerbate existing acne, but acne may also be limited solely to the lesion and not appear elsewhere.〔 Nonetheless, musicians with underlying dermatologic diseases like acne and eczema are more endangered by fiddler’s neck than others.〔 Males may develop folliculitis or boils due to involvement of beard hair.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Fiddler's neck」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|