Pain and injury in adolescent dancers: systematic review

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Dance is not a sport but, for having competitions, requires requires a good physical conditioning, which may induce pain, which, in turn, may lead to injuries. During adolescence, this condition is more severe because the body is still developing. Considering the importance of studying such health-threatening condition of adolescent dancers, this study presents a systematic review of national and international literature on pain and injuries in this population, identifying type and site of pain, its evaluation, causes and therapies. CONTENTS: By applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 15 scientific articles published between 2005 and 2015 in national and international journals, BIREME and Academic Search Premier Databases were read in full. Studies have shown classic ballet as the most common modality. Most common painful body parts were feet and knees. Major reason for pain was movement repetition and overtraining. Several dance-induced injuries were mentioned, among them patellofemoral syndrome, patellar hypermobility and patellar subluxation, in addition to possible related factors. As pain relief therapy, indications were massage, stretching and physiotherapy; just one study has mentioned psychological intervention. CONCLUSION: Major reason for adolescent dancers' injuries is overtraining, and most affected sites are feet and knees. Pain relief therapies are more physical than psychological.