Internal Training Load Measures in Elite Adolescent Ballet Dancers

Area of Science:

• Sports Science
• Dance Science
• Injury Prevention

Background:

• Training load is a known risk factor for musculoskeletal injury in athletes.
• Limited research exists on training load effects in dance, particularly for adolescent dancers.
• Understanding internal training load (ITL) is crucial for injury risk assessment in this population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the internal training load (ITL) of adolescent ballet dancers.
• To compare objective (heart rate-based) and subjective (session Rating of Perceived Exertion - sRPE) measures of ITL.
• To assess the association and agreement between different ITL measurement methods.

Main Methods:

• Fifteen elite adolescent female ballet dancers participated.
• Internal training load data collected over 9 days using heart rate (HR) and sRPE.
• HR data quantified using Edwards' training impulse (ETRIMP) and Banister's training impulse (BTRIMP).
• sRPE estimated using the modified Borg scale and class duration.

Main Results:

• Descriptive statistics for ETRIMP, BTRIMP, and sRPE were reported in arbitrary units (AU).
• A significant moderate positive correlation (rρ = 0.8000, p = 0.0031) found between ETRIMP and BTRIMP in pointe classes.
• Bland-Altman analysis showed varying agreement between ETRIMP and BTRIMP in ballet and pointe classes.

Conclusions:

• Some measures of internal training load (ITL) are comparable in elite adolescent ballet dancers.
• Further research is needed to utilize ITL measures for dance-related injury risk evaluation.
• ITL data can inform effective injury prevention strategies for this high-risk group.