Musculoskeletal injuries in theatrical dancers: site, frequency, and severity

Injury in Ballet: A Review of Relevant Topics for the Physical Therapist

“…His findings contrast with Rovere et al (39) and Reid (36) in that Washington (49) indicated ligamentous injuries as the most common knee injury (44%) and patellofemoral problems as significantly less frequent (20%). These differences may be due to the self reports used in Washington's study (49), being a less accurate method of obtaining objective information. T h e questionnaires required the dancers to have an accurate memory of their injury and a clear interpretation of the diagnosis.…”

“…The majority of publications on ballet injuries, however, pertain to specific topics on ballet injury and are not review articles. Comparatively few articles have attempted to provide a review of ballet injury epidemiology and mechanisms of injury (5,34,35,47,49), and even fewer have been written by physical therapists (5,35). Only two of these articles (35.47) have been published since the mid-1 980s.…”

“…It is likely that neither occurred in the majority of Washington's sample. In addition, Washington's study (49) has been criticized concerning the dancers' misinterpretation of their injuries (27).…”

“…Some contributing mechanisms of knee injury include repetitive jumping (sautes), deep knee bends (plies), substandard footwear, poorly resilient dance surfaces, muscle imbalances, long hours of practice, and an incorrect turnout (35,36,48,49).…”

“…Lower leg problems constitute 5-8% of ballet injuries (34-36, 40), with the most common problem being shin splint syndromes An incorrect turnout has also been cited as contributing to shin splint syndromes (49). A lack of hip external rotation during the turnout can lead to an increased compensatory external rotation of the knee, ankle, and foot.…”