Growth, maturation and overuse injuries in dance and aesthetic sports: a systematic review

Abstract

Overuse injuries have higher prevalence than acute injuries in aesthetic sports/activities. However, evidence of their effects and/or relationship with growth, maturation and training load is either equivocal or not well-established. The objective was to investigate the effects and/or associations of: a) growth and maturation as well as b) training load, on overuse injuries in aesthetic sports/activities and dance. A database search was conducted, using standard methods for article identification, selection and risk of bias appraisal. The eligibility criteria consisted of peer-reviewed journals, using any type of study design that investigated the effects/associations between the aforementioned concepts. Twenty-three studies (10,146 participants) met the criteria. These studies were all of cross-sectional design, focusing on gymnastics, dance, diving. Overall, there was a positive association between growth, maturation, and overuse injuries in 19 studies. Six studies reported a positive association of training load and overuse injuries. This review showed inconsistency in how the included studies accounted for the important confounding associations of growth and maturation with overuse injuries in aesthetic sports or activities and in additional to that, showed high or unclear risk of bias. In conclusion, both the quantity and the quality of the research available on growth, maturation and training load with overuse injuries in aesthetic sports or activities is lacking. The available methodological approaches, combined with the heterogeneity of the investigated populations, lead to equivocal and thus, inconclusive evidence.