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Lower extremity flexibility patterns in classical ballet dancers and their correlation to lateral hip and knee injuries

Glen Sather Sports Medicine Clinic, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

R.S. Burnham, MD

Glen Sather Sports Medicine Clinic, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

L.A. Saboe, MCPA

Glen Sather Sports Medicine Clinic, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

S.F. Kushner, MSc

Glen Sather Sports Medicine Clinic, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Knee and hip problems account for up to 40% of injuries in classical ballet. Despite apparent flexibility, many dancers appeared to have tight iliotibial bands that contributed to lower limb problems. Thirty senior female ballet dancers were contrasted with thirty age-matched active volunteers for hip and knee range of motion, and the information derived was correlated with their ortho paedic medical histories. Dancers spent a reasonable period of time warming up, but it was usually with an unbalanced routine that emphasized hip abduction and external rotation to the exclusion of adduction work. This was reflected in the significantly lower range of passive hip adduction and internal rotation compared to the controls. Furthermore, the older and more ex perienced the dancer, the more this trend was exag gerated. This unbalanced flexibility may play a role in the production of lateral knee pain (30% of the dancers) and anterior hip pain (33% of the dancers). It is sug gested that more attention should be given to a bal anced stretching regimen as part of the dancers' war mup in an effort to reduce the frequency of some of the chronic hip and knee complaints.

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