Most of Australia's classical musicians are suffering from performance-related physical pain, anxiety and depression, according to a study released on Wednesday by the University of Sydney.

The university research surveyed 377 professional musicians from eight state and opera orchestras and found 84 percent of them have experienced pain severe enough to impair their performance.

Half of the respondents said they suffered moderate to severe performance-related anxiety while a third had symptoms of depression.

The findings, published in the online journal Psychology of Music, are based on the first study to look at the relationship between performance-related pain, anxiety, and depression in professional musicians.

The research was undertaken by Professor Dianna Kenny of the School of Psychology in the Sydney University's Faculty of Science and Dr Bronwen Ackermann, School of Medical Science.

Kenny said the study showed musicians reporting more severe pain also suffered higher music performance anxiety.

"Seventy-five percent of the musicians showed the expected relationship between pain and depression," she said.

"Those reporting no depression were also more likely to report little to no pain. Those reporting some depression reported higher levels of pain."

Kenny said the study also showed 25 percent of respondents who did not have depression reported the highest pain severity.

The results suggest those musicians may convert their psychological distress into muscle tension which leads to physical pain, she said.