Citation

Yin AX, Sugimoto D, Martin DJ, Stracciolini A. PM R 2015; 8(4): 348-355.

Affiliation

The Micheli Center for Sports Injury Prevention, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Children's Hospital, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Division of Sports Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Children's Hospital, Department of Medicine, Division of Emergency Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.pmrj.2015.08.012

PMID

26318766

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to analyze characteristics of dance injuries evaluated by sports medicine physicians.

DESIGN: A cross-sectional epidemiological study of a 5% random probability sample of patients presenting for sports medicine evaluation between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2009. SETTING: The sports medicine clinic of a tertiary level pediatric medical center PATIENTS: 181 pediatric dancers (171 female and 10 male; 14.8 ± 2.0 years old) with 222 injuries. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Injury diagnoses, location, type, and treatment.

RESULTS: Forty-six injury diagnoses were recorded in this random sample of pediatric dancers, with the most common being tendonitis/tendinopathy, patellofemoral pain syndrome, apophysitis, ankle impingement syndrome, and hip labral tear. Most of the injuries occurred in the lower extremities, with knee and ankle injuries being the most common. Injury classification by type revealed that joints were the body structure most likely to be injured, followed by soft tissues, skeletal elements, and growth plates. The most frequent joint injury was patellofemoral pain syndrome. The most frequent soft tissue injury was tendonitis/tendinopathy. The most common skeletal injury was a pars stress reaction/spondylolysis. The most common physeal injury was apophysitis. Dancers were mainly treated with physical therapy, surgery, or physical therapy in addition to orthotics.

CONCLUSION: Pediatric dancers experienced significant, and occasionally rare, injuries that may have long-term health consequences. While injuries mostly occurred in the lower extremities and mainly involved joints, the most common specific diagnosis was tendonitis/tendinopathy. There is still much to learn about management of dancers, and there is need for further research into injury prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.

Language: en