What We Can Learn From Ballet and Modern Dancers

It comes as no surprise that there is a lower incidence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries among ballet and modern dancers relative to athletes participating in sports such as basketball, football, and soccer. In a recent study by Liederbach et al. (AJSM 2008), the incidence of ACL injuries was studied prospectively over a 5-year period. During this time, 12 out of 298 dancers studied, sustained an ACL injury, which translates into 0.009 per 1000 exposures. The most common mechanism of injury was landing from a jump onto one leg. Furthermore, the incidence was not statistically different between gender or dance groups though female modern dancers had a 3-5x greater relative risk than female ballet dancers and male dancers. No differences existed between ACL injured and noninjured dancers regarding race, use of oral contraceptives or selected musculoskeletal measures. Lastly, fatigue was implicated as a possible cause for the majority of the ACL injuries as they occurred late in the day or season. The authors attributed the lower incidence of ACL injury in this group of athletes to the emphasis on “perfect lower extremity alignment, jump, and balance skills.” Extrapolating these findings, it seems that physical therapists and strength and conditioning specialists should be placing an even greater emphasis on neuromuscular control and technique in athletic populations known to be at an increased risk of ACL injury. Stay tuned to learn more about the landing biomechanics in male and female dancers as brought to you by Karl Orishimo and colleagues…

Liederbach M, Dilgen FE, Rose DJ. Incidence of anterior cruciate ligament injuries among elite ballet and modern dancers: a 5-year prospective study. Am J Sports Med. 2008 Sep;36(9):1779-88