Abstract
Professional ballet is a highly challenging art, but studies have rarely examined factors associated with injury status in ballet professionals. This study aimed to prospectively examine gender-specific correlates of injury occurrence and time-off from injury in professional ballet dancers over a one-year period. The participants were 99 professional ballet dancers (41 males and 58 females). Variables included: (i) predictors: sociodemographic data (age, educational status), ballet-related factors (i.e., experience in ballet, ballet status), cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking, and consumption of illicit drugs; and (ii) outcomes: injury occurrence and time-off from injury. Participants were questioned on predictors at the beginning of the season, while data on outcomes were collected continuously once per month over the study period. Dancers reported total of 196 injuries (1.9 injuries (95% CI: 1.6–2.3) per dancer in average), corresponding to 1.4 injuries per 1000 dance-hours (95% CI: 1.1–1.7). In females, cigarette smoking was a predictor of injury occurrence in females (OR: 4.33, 95% CI: 1.05–17.85). Alcohol drinking was a risk factor for absence from dance in females (OR: 1.29, 95% CI: 1.01–4.21) and males (OR: 1.21, 95% CI: 1.05–3.41). Less experienced dancers were more absent from dance as a result of injury than their more experienced peers (Mann-Whitney Z: 2.02, p < 0.04). Ballet dancers and their managers should be aware of the findings of this study to make informed decisions on their behavior (dancers) or to initiate specific programs aimed at the prevention of substance use and misuse in this profession (managers).
Highlights
Professional ballet dance is a highly demanding performance art [1,2,3]
Our results confirm the necessity of further evaluation of the associations between substance use and misuse (SUM) and overall health status, including injury status in ballet dance
We evidenced highly specific associations between cigarette smoking and alcohol drinking with injury occurrence and time-off from injury in ballet dancers, which should be investigated in more detail
Summary
Professional ballet dance is a highly demanding performance art [1,2,3]. Given the high physiological and psychological stress, injuries are common in ballet. Traumatic injuries (e.g., injuries that occur as a result of acute stress) are less common and are mostly associated with loss of balance during the practice or performance (e.g., ankle strain, hamstring strain, patella dislocation). Professional ballet dancers train up to 40 h per week in addition to performances, and the high number of training hours and repetition results in gradual wear and tear that progressively worsens over time [8]. Ballet dancers exploit their locomotor system, which leads to breaking the limits of the adaptive mechanisms and results in motor system dysfunctions and injury
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