Medication Use for Therapeutic and Ergogenic Purposes in Ballet Dancers: Prevalence, Self-Medication, and Perceived...

Classical ballet is a high-performance artistic discipline that entails high physical and mental demands that increase the risk of health conditions linked to dance. Medication is of interest to athletes due to its therapeutic role in the management of pain, injuries and medical conditions and their ergogenic effects in elite sports. However, their use in dance-related pathologies, injuries, or their performance effects is currently unknown.

To compile the medications used by ballet dancers, study their perceived effects on performance and health conditions, and to find out if they are used by self-medicating or under the supervision of a health professional.

125 ballet dancers aged between 18 and 35 years within the Spanish scope completed an online survey about their workload, health issues and medication use, whether self-medicated or under medical supervision, and dancers' perception on the effects of medication on their health and performance. The collected data were analysed to obtain prevalence measurements and their 95% confidence intervals.

84.69% (95% CI: 77.57-91.82) of participants reported the intake of at least one medication. The most prevalent therapeutic medications used are NSAID 67.59% (95% CI: 58.06-76.63) and paracetamol 48.98% (95% CI: 39.08-58.88), while caffeine is the most used for ergogenic purposes 17.35% (95% CI: 9.85-24.84).

It was found that there is a high prevalence of medication use for therapeutic purposes in ballet dance, especially analgesics and anti-inflammatories. On many occasions, dancers begin using medications on their own initiative or based on recommendations from fellow dancers or dance masters rather than medical professionals.