Analysis of Postural Risk and Pain Assessment in Bharatanatyam Dancers

Bharatanatyam dance form is an amalgamation of emotion, rhythm, expression, and sculpturesque poses that demand high levels of physical and psychological power during a performance.

To explore musculoskeletal pain and analyze risk factors in Bharatanatyam dancers. The level of injury risk for the "Natyarambham" posture adopted by dancers was also assessed.

A cross-sectional study was conducted in forty female Bharatanatyam dancers who received a minimum of 5 consecutive years of formal dance training from a recognized dance institute. A self-designed questionnaire comprising of demographic profile, dancing characteristics, presence of musculoskeletal pain, and specific area of pain according to the body region was administered. The injury risk of the "Natyarambham" posture was evaluated using a rapid entire body assessment tool (REBA).

Among 40 female dancers, 75% dancers (n = 30/40, 75% [95% CI 0.61, 0.89] reported pain. The most common site of pain was the low back (n = 22/40, 55% [95% CI 0.39, 0.71]). Using Bonferroni correction for multiple independent comparisons, a significant difference was identified between dancers with and without pain for average performances per year (P = 0.028). As per REBA risk level scoring for Natyarambham posture, 62.5% (n = 25/40, 62.5% [95% CI 0.22, 0.53]) dancers were in the category of high-risk level.

The findings of this study indicated that the point prevalence of pain in Bharatanatyam dancers is high. Natyarambham posture is considered high risk based on postural assessment.