[Injuries and damage caused by excessive stress in classical ballet]

Typical injuries of highly professional classical ballet dancers were evaluated in 108 members of German opera companies. We demonstrated the predominance of overuse-syndromes to acute injuries related to the excessive training-extends. Disorders of the feet, particularly tendinitis followed by low-back pain, chondromalacia patellae, jumpers knee, shin splints and muscle strains are most frequent. Considerable time often elapsed before diagnosing was made because complaints were ignored by dancers. Our inquiry includes range of motion of the spine and the extremities, serial x-rays and a systematic review of ballet-related injuries, training-programs and techniques.