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The epidemiology of aerobic dance injuries

Center for Sports Medicine, Saint Francis Memorial Hospital, San Francisco, California

Donna M. Gillien, MS

Center for Sports Medicine, Saint Francis Memorial Hospital, San Francisco, California

Patrice Whiteside, MA

Center for Sports Medicine, Saint Francis Memorial Hospital, San Francisco, California

Aerobic dance is currently the largest organized fitness activity primarily for women in the United States. In an attempt to identify and characterize the health problems associated with it, 351 students and 60 instructors from six facilities were followed for 16 weeks with weekly telephone calls. Of the 327 medical complaints reported during 29,924 hours of documented activity, only 84 (0.28 per hundred hours) resulted in any disa bility and only 2.1% required medical care. The shin/ leg, foot and ankle accounted for nearly two-thirds of the injuries. Instructors were twice as likely to be injured as students. Both a history of prior orthopaedic prob lems and a lack of involvement in other fitness activities resulted in higher injury rates. Injury rates were influ enced by the design and conduct of the aerobic pro gram but not by brand of shoe or type of flooring. Aerobic dance appears to offer students the potential for fitness enhancement with a minimal risk of injury.

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