Fit to Dance Survey: elements of lifestyle and injury incidence in Chinese dancers

Abstract

The Fit to Dance survey has been conducted a number of times using primarily Western participants and has provided foundation data for other studies. The purpose of the current study was to replicate the Fit to Dance 2 survey focusing on features of health and injuries in pre-professional and professional Chinese dancers of different genres. Results revealed that respondents (n=1040) were from Chinese Folk dance (44.4%), Chinese Classical Dance (25.6%), ballet (10.2%) and contemporary dance (9.8%). Compared to the Fit to Dance 2 survey, alcohol consumption (29% vs 82%; p<0.01) and smoking (13% vs 21%; p<0.05) were significantly less in Chinese dancers, but a higher percentage reported using weight reducing eating plans (57% vs 23%; p<0.01) or having psychological issues with food (27% vs 24%; p<0.05). Reported injuries in a 12-month period prior to data collection were significantly lower in the current survey (49% vs 80%; p<0.01). The type of injury (muscle and joint/ligament) and perceived cause of injury (fatigue, overwork and reoccurrence of an old injury) were the same in both the current and previous survey. Mean injury rate for the studied 12-month period ranged from 4.9 injuries per dancer (contemporary) to 3.4 injuries per dancer (Chinese Folk dance) which is comparable to previously reported data on western dance populations. This survey has provided the first comprehensive data on the health and injury incidence of Chinese dancers.