Relationships Between Common Preseason Screening Measures and Dance-Related Injuries in Preprofessional Ballet...

Area of Science:

• Sports Medicine
• Dance Science
• Biomechanics

Background:

• Preprofessional ballet dancers face a high risk of dance-related injuries.
• Identifying risk factors is crucial for injury prevention strategies in this population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate modifiable and nonmodifiable factors associated with dance-related injuries in preprofessional ballet dancers.
• To analyze the relationship between baseline physical and psychological factors and injury incidence over five academic years.

Main Methods:

• A prospective cohort study involving 452 preprofessional ballet dancers over five academic years.
• Data collection included baseline screening and weekly online injury questionnaires, assessing dance exposure and potential risk factors.
• Zero-inflated Poisson regression models were employed to analyze associations between risk factors and self-reported dance-related injuries.

Main Results:

• Increased years of training were associated with a protective effect on injury risk, particularly when adjusted for psychological coping skills (Athletic Coping Skills Inventory score).
• Left unipedal dynamic balance time showed a significant association with dance-related injury, independent of training years and coping skills.
• No significant associations were found between injury risk and measures of ankle/hip range of motion, active straight leg raise, or Y Balance Test outcomes.

Conclusions:

• Limb-specific lumbopelvic control and dynamic balance tasks are significantly associated with dance-related injury in preprofessional ballet dancers.
• These findings highlight the importance of assessing and training these specific physical attributes for injury prevention in dancers.
• Psychological coping skills and years of dance training are important covariates in understanding injury risk in this cohort.