Injury Patterns in Elite Preprofessional Ballet Dancers and the Utility of Screening Programs to Identify Risk Characteristics

Abstract

Retrospective descriptive cohort study.To describe the distribution and rate of injuries in elite adolescent ballet dancers, and to examine the utility of screening data to distinguish between injured and noninjured dancers.Adolescent dancers account for most ballet injuries. Limited information exists, however, regarding the distribution of, rate of, and risk factors for, adolescent dance injuries.Two hundred four dancers (age, 9-20 years) were screened over 5 years. Screening data were collected at the beginning and injury data were collected at the end of each training year. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize distribution and rate of injuries. Inference statistics were used to examine differences between injured and noninjured dancers.Fifty-three percent of injuries occurred in the foot/ankle, 21.6% in the hip, 16.1% in the knee, and 9.4% in the back. Thirty-two to fiftyone percent of the dancers were injured each year, and, over the 5 years, there were 1.09 injuries per 1000 athletic exposures, and 0.77 injuries per 1000 hours of dance. Significant differences between injured and noninjured dancers were limited to current disability scores (P = .007), history of low back pain (P = .017), right foot pronation (P = .005), insufficient right-ankle plantar flexion (P = .037), and lower extremity strength (P = .045).Distribution of injuries was similar to that of other studies. Injury rates were lower than most reported rates, except when expressed per 1000 hours of dance. Few differences were found between injured and noninjured dancers. These findings should be considered when designing and implementing screening programs.Prognosis, level 2b.

Motion Analysis Technologies for Biomechanical Gait and Postural Analysis in Ballet

“…Consequently, it is essential to introduce the use of techniques that allow to describe, quantify and evaluate the movement in such a way so as to obtain more detailed quantitative information and open up the field of study to the analysis of the biomechanics of movement in dance, to analyze the body in motion, gait, technical movements, among others [29]. This information may be provided by technological tools of movement analysis that allow to analyze specific aspects of locomotor functions: motion analysis defines the extent and timing of any joint action, the dynamic electromyography identifies the period and the relative intensity of muscle activity, the records of the force platforms highlight the functional requirements during the load.…”

“…These studies have investigated aspects concerning only the static posture analysis (alterations of the curves of the spine, knee hyperextension, foot hyperpronation, etc.) [13][14][15].…”

Dance as a Risk Factor for Injuries and Development of Occupational Diseases

“…Posebnu pažnju treba usmjeriti na mlade plesače koji već u ranoj, dječjoj dobi započinju s intenzivnm učenjem baletne tehnike što ih svrstava u visoko rizičnu skupinu izloženosti ozljedama i pojave profesionalnih bolesti koji mogu značajno utjecati na njihovo buduće zdravlje (10,13,14). Za razvoj dobroga plesača karakterističan je dug razvoj, stalno vježbanje koje može kod pojedinaca prijeći i u pretjerano vježbanje te uzrokovati ozljede i oštećenja mišićnoga i koštanoga sustava, mentalne i emocionalne probleme.…”

“…Najviše ozljeda, 76 % zabilježeno je u donjim ekstremitetima, a primijećene su i razlike u ozljedama po spolu, što upućuje na potrebu prevencije ozljeda i u tim dobnim skupinama (13). I u drugim istraživanjima mlađih dobnih skupina plesača dobi od 9 do 20 godina zabilježeni su slični rezultati i potreba za uvođenjem preventivnih pregleda i stalnih praćenja zdravstvenoga stanja (14). Zbog svega toga baletna umjetnost zahtjeva od plesača posebne fizičke i psihičke sposobnosti, redovite preglede lokomotornoga sustava uz antropometrijska mjerenja radi kontrole tijekom cijeloga školovanja, tijekom profesionalnoga bavljenja plesom pa sve do umirovljenja (1).…”

Relevé: An at-home ballet self-learning interactive system

“…In the early years, standard ballet training is almost entirely teacher-led and gives the student little opportunity for communication and discussion [1]. Training dominates the program of most famous ballet schools, with a little time and attention given to the dance performance requirement of choreographers.…”