Citation

Allen N, Nevill A, Brooks J, Koutedakis Y, Wyon M. J. Orthop. Sports Phys. Ther. 2012; 42(9): 781-790.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Orthopaedic Section and Sports Physical Therapy Section of the American Physical Therapy Association)

DOI

10.2519/jospt.2012.3893

PMID

22814244

Abstract

STUDY DESIGN: Prospective descriptive single-cohort study. OBJECTIVE: To assess the incidence and severity of injuries to a professional ballet company over 1 year. METHODS: Data for an elite level ballet company comprised of 52 professional dancers were collected by an in-house medical team using a time-loss injury definition. RESULTS: A total of 355 injuries were recorded with an overall injury incidence of 4.4 injuries/1000 hours (female: 4.1; male 4.8, P>.05) with a mean of 6.8 injuries per dancer (female: 6.3; male: 7.3, P>.05). Mean injury severity was 7 days (female: 4; male: 9, P<.05). Most injuries were classified as overuse (64%) (female: 68%; male: 60%, P>.05); mean severity of injury was 3 days for females and 9 days for males (P<.05). The percentage of traumatic injuries were 32% for females and 40% for males (P<.05); the corresponding severity was 6 and 10 days respectively (P<.05). CONCLUSIONS: The relatively high number of injuries reported and the resulting loss of dance time support the need to introduce interventions to reduce the risk of injury in professional dancers. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther, Epub 19 July 2012. doi:10.2519/jospt.2012.3893.

Language: en