Resources
Educational Resources
ASPAH is proud to offer educational resources which are aimed at helping performers manage and maintain their own health. This section of our website includes guides to assist performing artists with common health challenges, interviews with healthcare practitioners who support performing artists, the “Help Your Show Go On” booklet for tertiary music students, videos of presentations from our past conferences, and recordings from our webinar series.
PERFORMING ARTS HEALTHCARE GUIDES
ASPAH presents expert advice on healthcare issues facing professionals, pre-professionals and students in the performing arts. These are examples of ASPAH’s many resources designed to support the physical and mental wellbeing of the performing arts community.
Individual Guides and Posters are downloadable by clicking the linked titles below.
In 2019, ASPAH published a Collection of Healthcare Guides which can also be downloaded at the button below.
Acute Injury Care – Full Guide
Acute Injury Care – Poster
Keywords: diagnosis; recovery; health professional; pain
Australia’s Healthcare System
Keywords: health insurance; allied health; mental health; sexual health
Cross Training – Strength and Neuromuscular Control for Performers
Keywords: strength; endurance; conditioning; exercise physiologist
Fatigue and Recovery for Performing Artists
Keywords: training injuries; self-management; hydration; stress
Feeling Safe in the Performing Arts
Keywords: sexual harassment; bullying; racial hatred; assault; suicide prevention
Fit as a Fiddle and Ready to Play
Keywords: aerobic; depression; osteoporosis; high blood pressure; heart disease
Health for Performing Artists
Keywords: self-harm; substance abuse; addiction; LGBTI health; suicide
Health Insurance Options
Keywords: contractor; self-employed; international students; Fair Work Ombudsman
Overuse and Chronic Injury Care – Full Guide
Overuse and Chronic Injury Care – Poster
Keywords: repetitive strain injury; stress fracture; risk factors; relative rest
Psychological Wellbeing for Performing Artists
Keywords: crisis support; wellness; stress; burnout; depression
Return to dance training post Covid-19 Infection
Sleep for High Performance – Poster
Keywords: metabolism; sleep apnoea; anxiety; Cognitive Behaviour Therapy Insomnia (CBTi)
Staying Healthy “On the Road”
Keywords: traveller’s diarhhoea ; stretching; self-massage; health documentation
Understanding Pain
Keywords: brain plasticity; nociceptor; tissue damage; perception of danger
What Health Professionals Do
Performing Arts Healthcare Practitioner Interviews
Why and how do they care for performing artists?
This is an evolving series of interviews with healthcare providers in various disciplines (General Practitioners, Physiotherapists, Psychologists, and so on), each serving one or more artistic disciplines – music, dance, drama.
- What sparked your first interest in performing arts medicine?
- How did you get more involved in helping performing artists with their health?
- What types of ailments have you treated? What’s more challenging to treat?
- What are the significant health issues for artists that you often face?
- When do you often see artists – and would you like to see them sooner?
- What are some of the ‘traps’ that you see performers falling into in regard to their health and wellbeing?
- What might be some tips you’d recommend to artists to look after themselves?
Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
Episode 5
Episode 6
Watch this space for more interview to come!
Help Your Show Go On
‘Help Your Show Go On’ is a project designed to bring key aspects of health literacy and performance-specific healthcare to tertiary performing arts students in Australia. Issue 1 of ‘Help Your Show Go On’ is a booklet tailored for musicians which covers health topics such as rest and recovery, sustainable practice, general fitness, and performance-specific healthcare.
It is our goal that by presenting accessible, concise and engaging information to performing arts students, we will contribute to increased health literacy amongst young performing artists, and cultural change which decreases stigma in seeking healthcare as a performing artist. We understand that whilst history sometime glorifies “suffering for our art” – a healthy artist produces great work and can enjoy life to its fullest. We know that many health issues in the performing arts – physical and mental – are preventable, and we’re here to help prevent them.
If you’re interested in getting involved with ‘Help Your Show Go On’ at your institution, please contact us at admin@aspah.org.au