The ankles of ballet dancers are routinely under heavy loading that may lead to osteoarthritic changes. It would be clinically useful to identify such pathology as early as possible in a dancer's career. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare quantitative measurements in magnetic resonance (MR) images of the talocrural and talonavicular joints in ballet dancers and healthy non-dancers for use in formulating prediction of chronic injury and degenerative joint disease in these locations. Quantitative measurements in MR images of the talocrural and talonavicular joints were compared in 10 female ballet dancers, 10 healthy female non-dancers, and nine male ballet dancers. Fat-suppressed density-weighted proton, T1rho, and T2 mapping images were acquired with a 3.0 T MR scanner. Medial and lateral subchondral bone distance between the tibia and talus (MSBD and LSBD), axial navicular-talus axis angle (ANT angle), sagittal talar neck angle against the posterior talocalcaneal joint (TN angle), and curvature of navicular surface at the talonavicular joint were measured on sagittal images. The medial subchondral bone distance was found to be significantly larger in female dancers than female non-dancers (4.05 mm vs. 2.75 mm, p < 0.05), whereas there were no significant differences in LSBD (2.63 mm vs. 2.63 mm, p = 0.87). Axial navicular talus angles in female dancers were significantly larger than those in female non-dancers (38.9° vs. 24.3°, p < 0.05). There was a tendency for the TN angle to be smaller and navicular curvature (NC) to be larger in female dancers compared to female non-dancers, though the differences were not significant (TN angle: 16.6° vs. 22.3°, p = 0.09, and NC: 0.186 vs. 0.165, p = 0.28). There were no significant differences in T1rho or T2 values of talonavicular joint cartilage. These results show that the bony anatomy of dancers' ankles may adapt to the stresses placed on them by ballet.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.12678/1089-313X.031521f | DOI Listing |
J Dance Med Sci
December 2024
Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Keck School of Medicine of USC, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
As demanding as dancing en pointe is, no universal standard exists to determine when a ballet dancer is ready to advance to this next level. The goal of this study was to provide preliminarily tested and reliable guidelines for a screening tool that can be used to determine (1) if a dancer is ready for pointe, (2) reasons why a dancer may not be ready, and (3) areas for improvement to guide training and preparation. Seventeen dancers aged 9 to 17 years with a minimum 4 years of ballet and who were either possibly ready for pointe or had been in pointe class less than 3 months participated in this study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJMIRx Med
December 2024
Connected Minds: Neural and Machine Systems for a Healthy, Just Society, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Background: Dance has emerged as a complementary treatment that may promote adaptive neural plasticity while improving symptoms of Parkinson disease (PD), such as balance, gait, posture, and walking. Understanding brain changes that arise from participation in dance interventions is important as these neural plastic changes play an important role in protecting and healing the brain. Although dance has been shown to improve PD motor and nonmotor symptoms, the neural mechanisms underlying these changes, specifically depression and mood, remain elusive.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSports Med Open
December 2024
Center for Health in Performing Arts, MSH Medical School Hamburg, Am Kaiserkai 1, 20457, Hamburg, Germany.
Background: Sleep is important for health and performance but has rarely been studied in professional dancers. The aim was to analyse the prevalence of sleep problems in professional dancers and their potential determinants at the beginning of and during the season.
Methods: Professional dancers of six German companies answered a comprehensive baseline questionnaire on physical and mental health, including the Sleep Difficulty Score of the Athletic Sleep Screening questionnaire (ASSQ-SDS) in the beginning of the season and weekly health reports during the season.
Clin J Sport Med
December 2024
Service de Chirurgie Orthopédique, Clinique Trenel, Sainte-Colombe, France.
Objective: To describe the incidence, location, and type of musculoskeletal injuries in ballet dancers at the Opéra de Paris from 2018 to 2023 and to evaluate the effect of COVID-19 on injury incidence.
Design: Descriptive Retrospective Study.
Setting: Primary.
J Sport Rehabil
December 2024
REhabilitation, Athletic assessment, & DYnamic imaging (READY) Laboratory, Institute of Exercise Physiology and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA.
Clinical Scenario: Ballet dancers exhibit a high risk of musculoskeletal injuries with around 75% of all injuries attributed to overuse injuries. The high prevalence of chronic injuries suggests contributions caused by abnormal biomechanics in combination with repetitive stress common to ballet. Traditional sports settings implement movement screening tools including the Movement Competency Screen (MCS) and functional movement screen (FMS) to identify factors predisposing athletes to injury.
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