Examining Standing Turnout with Two Measurement Methods During Dance Wellness Screening

Area of Science:

• Dance Science
• Biomechanics
• Kinesiology

Background:

• Functional turnout is crucial for dancers.
• Accurate measurement of turnout is essential for injury prevention and performance enhancement.
• Existing measurement tools may yield different results.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare functional turnout measurements using the floor protractor (FP) and the Functional Footprint(®) rotational instrument (RI).
• To investigate turnout differences across professional ballet dancers, collegiate modern dancers, and ballet academy dancers.
• To analyze lower extremity asymmetry in turnout angles between the two measurement methods.

Main Methods:

• Mean standing functional turnout angles were measured using both FP and RI.
• Participants included 23 professional ballet dancers, 26 collegiate modern dancers, and 46 ballet academy dancers.
• Statistical analysis was performed to compare measurements and identify significant differences.

Main Results:

• All dancers showed greater total turnout on the FP compared to the RI (p < 0.001).
• Collegiate dancers exhibited significantly smaller total turnout angles than professional and academy dancers (p < 0.001).
• Lower extremity asymmetry was detected differently between methods; professionals showed greater left turnout on RI but not FP.

Conclusions:

• Both FP and RI are viable for measuring turnout, but FP measurements are approximately 10° greater than RI.
• The RI may be more sensitive in detecting lower extremity turnout asymmetries compared to the FP.
• Differences in turnout measurements highlight the importance of consistent methodology in clinical assessments.