Comparing Harmful Behaviors Among Dancers According to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Utilizing the RISQ.

Introduction: There is a dearth of information about whether lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning (LGBTQ+) dancers, who often experience increased psychosocial risk factors, are at increased risk of engaging in harmful behaviors compared to their heterosexual cisgender counterparts. This study explores harmful behaviors dancers engage in according to their self-reported sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI), utilizing the validated Risky, Impulsive, and Self-Destructive Behavior Questionnaire (RISQ).

Methods: Three hundred sixty-four dancers from 7 elite dance entities in New York were contacted by e-mail to participate in the study.

Motion of the multi-segmented spine in elite dancers during passé and arabesque.

Background: The spinal biomechanics of dance tasks have received little study and no studies have used a multi-segmented spinal model. Knowledge of how the segments of the spine move may be useful to the dance clinician and dance educator.

Research Question: What is the direction and amount of motion of the primary segments of the spine in elite dancers during an arabesque and a passé?

Methods: This observational study examined 59 elite dancers performing an arabesque and a passé using a three-dimensional motion analysis system with the trunk divided into a series of five segments: pelvis, lower lumbar, upper lumbar, lower thoracic and upper thoracic spine.

Concussions in Dancers and Other Performing Artists.

Dancers and other performing artists are subject to head impacts that result in concussion-like symptoms. In spite of this, performing arts do not have access to the continual, focused emphasis on the diagnosis, management, and prevention of concussions that is commonplace in sports. Performing arts present a unique environment in which concussions occur and must be managed.

Multi-segment spine range of motion in dancers with and without recent low back pain.

Background: Altered spine kinematics are a common in people with LBP. This may be especially true for populations such as dancers, who are required to perform repetitive movements of the spine, although this remains unclear.

Research Question: Do dancers with recent LBP display altered spine kinematics compared to their asymptomatic counterparts?

Methods: A cross-sectional study of multi-segment spine kinematics was performed.

A Retrospective Assessment of Return to Function in Dance After Physical Therapy for Common Dance Injuries.

An injury that causes a dancer to take time away from training or performance can be career ending, and thus it is important for dancers to have accurate expectations when considering treatment options. Thus far, few studies have reported functional outcomes after injury in dancers, which may be different than for the general athletic population. Therefore, our study sought to determine functional outcomes in dancers after operative and non-operative treatment for common dance injuries.

Descriptive Values for Dancers on Baseline Concussion Tools.

Context:   Capturing baseline data before a concussion can be a valuable tool in individualized care. However, not all athletes, including dancers, have access to baseline testing. When baseline examinations were not performed, clinicians consult normative values.

Os Trigonum Excision in Dancers via an Open Posteromedial Approach.

Background: An os trigonum is a potential source of posterior ankle pain in dancers, often associated with flexor hallucis longus (FHL) pathology. Options for operative excision include open excision, subtalar arthroscopy, and posterior endoscopy. The purpose of this paper was to present a series of dancers who underwent excision of a symptomatic os trigonum via an open posteromedial approach.

Concussion Knowledge and Behaviors in a Sample of the Dance Community.

Despite recent improvements in their concussion knowledge, athletes still demonstrate risky concussion behaviors (e.g., playing while concussed or not reporting a concussion).

Comparison of landing biomechanics between male and female dancers and athletes, part 2: Influence of fatigue and implications for anterior cruciate ligament injury.

Background: Fatigue is strongly linked to an increased risk of injuries, including anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) ruptures. Part 1 of this study identified differences in the biomechanics of landing from a jump between dancers and team athletes, particularly female athletes, which may explain the epidemiological differences in ACL injuries between dancers and team athletes and the lack of a sex disparity within dancers. However, it is not known if these biomechanical variables change differently between team athletes and dancers in the face of fatigue.

What is known about the effect of fatigue on injury occurrence among dancers?

Fatigue is often thought of as any transient exercise-induced reduction of work capacity. In fact, it is a complex phenomenon caused by overlapping and interacting peripheral and central mechanisms. There is a known relationship between fatigue, diminished performance, and injury.

Early knee changes in dancers identified by ultra-high-field 7 T MRI.

We aimed to determine whether a unique, ultra-high-field 7 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner could detect occult cartilage and meniscal injuries in asymptomatic female dancers. This study had Institutional Review Board approval. We recruited eight pre-professional female dancers and nine non-athletic, female controls.

Assessing and Reporting Dancer Capacities, Risk Factors, and Injuries: Recommendations from the IADMS Standard Measures Consensus Initiative.

This technical report of the Standard Measures Consensus Initiative of the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science (IADMS) describes the results of the committee’s multi-year effort to synthesize information regarding the tests and measures used in dance-related research, protocols for reporting injuries, and appropriate use of available technologies to aid in standardizing such matters. Specific recommendations are presented, with accompanying rationales, to facilitate consensus among members of the dance medicine and science community. An Executive Summary of this Technical Report, which contains implementation strategies and appendices, should soon be available on the IADMS website.

Case studies in cervicothoracic spine function evaluation and treatment of two dancers with mechanical neck pain.

It has been reported that manual therapy directed at the thoracic spine followed by exercise may improve outcomes in patients with mechanical neck pain. At this point, there is little available data on dancers with neck pain, and it is unclear whether this type of treatment is appropriate for restoring the rigorous level of activity required of the dancer. The purpose of this study was to review the evaluation, clinical decision-making process, and treatment of two dancers-one with acute and the other with chronic neck pain-who fell into the classification of patients who might benefit from an intervention to the thoracic spine.

Overview of thigh injuries in dance.

Thigh injuries include musculotendinous strains of the quadriceps, hamstrings, adductors, iliotibial band (ITB), and bony injuries to the shaft of the femur. There is scant information in the literature regarding thigh injuries in dance, which appear to range from 5% to 16% of total injury incidence. Hamstring strains and ITB syndrome are the most commonly reported thigh injuries.

Functional criteria for assessing pointe-readiness.

The most popular criterion cited in the dance literature for advancement to pointe work is attainment of the chronological age of 12 years. However, dancers at this age vary greatly in terms of musculoskeletal maturity and motor skill development. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether objective, functional tests could be used in conjunction with dance teacher expertise to determine pointe-readiness.

When can I start pointe work? Guidelines for initiating pointe training.

The initiation of pointe training for dance students should be determined after careful evaluation of a number of factors. These include: the dance student's stage of physical development; the quality of her (or his) trunk, abdominal and pelvic control ("core" stability); the alignment of her legs (hip-knee-ankle-foot); the strength and flexibility of her feet and ankles; and the duration and frequency of her dance training. For students who meet the requirements related to all of these factors, began ballet training at age eight or later, and who are taking ballet class at least twice per week, pointe work should be initiated in the fourth year of training.

Incidence of anterior cruciate ligament injuries among elite ballet and modern dancers: a 5-year prospective study.

Background: Ballet and modern dance are jump-intensive activities, but little is known about the incidence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries among dancers.

Hypothesis: Rigorous jump and balance training has been shown in some prospective studies to significantly reduce ACL injury rates among athletes. Dancers advance to the professional level only after having achieved virtuosic jump and balance technique.

A profile of the demographics and training characteristics of professional modern dancers.

Modern dancers are a unique group of artists, performing a diverse repertoire in dance companies of various sizes. In this study, 184 professional modern dancers in the United States (males N=49, females N=135), including members of large and small companies as well as freelance dancers, were surveyed regarding their demographics and training characteristics. The mean age of the dancers was 30.