Citation

Garrick JG, Requa RK. Am. J. Sports Med. 1993; 21(4): 586-590.

Affiliation

Center for Sports Medicine, Saint Francis Memorial Hospital, San Francisco, CA 94109.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1993, American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

8368421

Abstract

The financial outcome and epidemiology of ballet dancers' injuries were studied by examining workers' compensation insurance records covering 3 seasons (3 years) of activity for a large professional ballet company. One hundred four dancers sustained 309 injuries that resulted in insurance payouts for medical costs of $398,396. The average cost per injury was $1289. Although only 4.2% of the injuries resulted in medical costs exceeding $5000, these represented 60.0% of the total medical costs. Nine injuries resulted in medical costs in excess of $10,000 each. Overall, there were 2.97 injuries per injured dancer. Twenty-four dancers (23.0% of the injured) sustained 5 or more injuries each and thus were responsible for 51.9% (161) of all injuries. The foot (74 injuries, 23.9%), lumbar spine (71, 23.0%), and ankle (41, 13.3%) were the most frequently injured anatomic regions. The experience of this ballet company is similar to that of a college athletic department or a professional sports team. All could employ similar strategies to reduce injuries and associated costs.

Language: en