The efficacy of strength and conditioning training on dance injury, physical fitness and dance performance in Chinese pre-professional dancers
Abstract
Objective: To examine the effects of a strength and conditioning training intervention on dance injury, physical fitness and dance performance in Chinese pre-professional dancers. Design: A prospective non-randomized controlled trial. Methods: A total of 89 full-time pre-professional dancers participated. Sixty-seven dancers volunteered for a 12-week strength and conditioning training intervention (2-session/week, 4060-min/session), and 22 dancers acted as controls. All members of the intervention group carried out seven physical fitness tests pre- and post-intervention and a dance performance test using a ratified 10-item performance proficiency tool. Information on injury was self-reported by the dancers using a weekly remote dance injury monitoring tool. An inclusive definition of injury was used to record all injuries, even if they didn’t cause a cessation of training. Multivariate analysis of variance was employed to assess differences in physical fitness and dance performance pre and post-intervention. Injury data were initially analyzed for differences between the intervention and control groups; the intervention groups’ injury data were further analyzed by comparing to their own data collected during the previous year at the same period. Results: The intervention group demonstrated significant increases in physical fitness (p<0.001), but their dance performance data remained statistically unchanged (p>0.05). The intervention group also demonstrated lower weekly injury prevalence (28% vs 15%, p<0.001) and injury incidence (8.09 vs 5.16 injuries per 1000hrs, p<0.05) during the intervention period compared to their own injury just a year earlier. Conclusion: Strength and conditioning training improved physical fitness levels and decreases the risk of injury in pre-professional dancers, without detrimentally affecting dance performance.Citation
Dang, Y., Niemz, M., Koutedakis, Y., Chen, R. and Wyon, M. (in press) The efficacy of strength and conditioning training on dance injury, physical fitness and dance performance in Chinese pre-professional dancers. European Journal of Sport Science.Publisher
Taylor & FrancisJournal
European Journal of Sport ScienceAdditional Links
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15367290Type
Journal articleLanguage
enDescription
This is an author's accepted manuscript of an article due to be published by Taylor & Francis in European Journal of Sport Science. The accepted manuscript may differ from the final published version.ISSN
1746-1391Sponsors
The lead author was supported by the China Scholarship Council with a bursary.Collections
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/