Fit to dance survey: a comparison with dancesport injuries

Abstract

The Fit to Dance survey has been conducted twice previously, in 1993 and 2002, without dancesport participants. The purpose of this present online survey was to supplement a comparison of dancesport against the earlier results. The current study had a greater percentage of male respondents than previous studies (43% vs 24% and 26%). The dancesport participants were older (28% at 40+ yrs vs 3% and 1%) and more likely to have normal (69% vs 57%) to overweight BMI (18% vs 2%). Dancesport participants spent more time in various non-dancing conditioning activities than previous surveys (5.2 ± 3.9 hrs SD vs 1.9 ± 2.5 and 2.2 ± 2.7). Muscles and joints were the most common type of injury in all the surveys. The knee was the top injury site in this survey, with lower back in previous surveys. The main perceived cause of injury was repetitive movements, whereas fatigue and overwork were cited in the previous surveys. Physiotherapists were the most common type of medical professionals from whom the dancers sought treatment for their injuries in all surveys. The first survey included recommendations that the present survey results agree with, including: dancers should be physically fit, dancers should warm up and cool down, dancers should never have to work in unsuitable environments, and dancers should receive immediate high-quality treatment for injuries.