Biomechanical Effects of Flamenco Footwork

Footwork is one of the basic features of flamenco dancing and is performed in traditional high-heeled shoes. The purpose of this study was to analyse the mechanical profile of flamenco dancing in terms of vertical ground reaction force, and knee joint kinematics of the supporting limb in footwork technique in order to understand causes which predispose injuries derived from the practice of flamenco dancing. The participant in our study was a professional female flamenco dancer (34 years, 58 kg, 1.65 m) who performed the ZAP 3 test, a sequence of single strikes of the feet performed continuously for 15 s. 3D lower extremity kinematic data were collected using a five-camera motion analysis system (Vicon; Oxford Metrics Ltd., Oxford, UK). Ground reaction forces were recorded using a Kistler force plate. Our analysis was based on 30 cycles of each lower limb consisting of 177 footwork steps. The vertical component of the ground reaction force did not reveal any significant differences between the left and the right limb. The most dynamic strike was provided by the heel (twice the participant's body weight). The mean angular displacement of the supporting limb's knee was ~27°. Results reveal that these impacts could make the knee joint more prone to injuries.