Characteristics Of Eight Irish Dance Landings: Implications For Overuse Injury And Training

Abstract

The aesthetics in Irish dance have evolved to create greater physical demands on dancer’s bodies. Irish dancers must land from difficult movements without letting their knees bend or heels touch the ground, causing large forces to be absorbed by the body. The majority of injuries incurred by Irish dancers are due to overuse (79.6%). PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine loads on the body in female Irish dancers, including peak force, rise rate of force, and impulse in selected Irish hard shoe and soft shoe dance movements. It was hypothesized that the 8 movements would produce different GRF characteristics. METHODS: Sixteen female Irish dancers were recruited from the three highest competitive levels. Each performed a warm-up, reviewed 8 common Irish dance movements, and then performed each movement three times upon a force plate. Of the 8 movements, 4 were performed in soft shoes and 4 were performed in hard shoes. Ground reaction forces (GRFs) were measured using a three-dimensional force plate recording at 1000 Hz. Peak force, rise rate, and vertical impulse were calculated. GRFs were normalized by each dancer’s body weight. RESULTS: Peak forces, rise rates, and impulses were significantly different across movements (F = 65.4, p < 0.01; F = 65.0, p < 0.01; and F = 67.4, p < 0.01 respectively). The movement with the highest peak force was the stomp. The movement with the highest rise rate was the double-toe. The movement with the highest impulse was the leap. The skip had the lowest values for all GRFs measured. Individual peak forces ranged from 0.67-9.86 times body weight. Individual rise rates ranged from 10-147 body weights per second. Individual impulses ranged from −0.12 to 0.32 body weight seconds. Years of experience was not correlated with peak force, rise rate, or impulse (p > 0.40). CONCLUSIONS: There is a large range in GRF characteristics created by Irish dancers. Dance movements that have high average peak forces may be associated with higher risk of overuse injury. Irish dancers should use appropriate training methods to strengthen the tissues at greatest risk of overuse injury.