SAFE DANCE REPORT IV FINDINGS
SAFE DANCE REPORT IV BY AMY VASSALLO 2017
“Professional dance can be a vibrant and fulfilling career. However, the very high physical demands this role places dancers at significant risk for musculoskeletal injury. Effective injury prevention, appropriate management of sustained injuries, and considered return to dance is essential for longevity in a dance career”
Due to the nature of dance and the high physical demands placed on pre-professional and professional dancers it is important that we understand the best practices to maintain and promote safe dance. In order to better understand the occurrence of injury in Australian dancers, Ausdance National established the Safe Dance research projects in 1988. Since 1988 there have been 4 reports published with the most recent being in 2017 - all of which have collected survey data from professional full-time dancers within Australia.
We have summarised the report below highlighting some of the research from the report that demonstrates our belief of why dancers need to care for and look after their feet.
Injury Incidence
The most commonly reported injury site was the ankle (26%) followed by the knee, hip, lower leg, foot and toe with the most common injuries reported being sprains, strains and chronic inflammation.
It was also found that ¾ of these injuries occurred during performance times of the year, even if the dancers were not performing at the time of injury. This is important for us to note as practitioners and dance teachers as during this peak performance time the activity load is much higher as participation in other exercises and rehearsals do not usually decrease.
Cooldown practices
It was also found that further education of dancers needs to be conducted with regards to cool down practices especially after a performance and on a more regular basis.
How to cool down safely?
A ‘cool down’ is a short session performed after an activity where circulation and breathing rates increase such as a dance class or performance. The purpose of an effective cool-down is to slowly return function to normal to help reduce injury rates and muscle soreness.
The best way to cool down is to continue with slow gentle movements and focus on your breathing for 5-10 minutes following your high-intensity activity rather than stopping the activity suddenly. This can include slowly walking around a room, gentle dynamic stretching such as yoga or gently holding a stretch for 15-20 seconds. By doing this your body will be more efficiently able to distribute and eliminate the by-products of exercise including lactic acid and stop it from building up in your muscles.
Timely access to healthcare
It is important to receive a correct diagnosis as soon as possible following a suspected injury in order to successfully and effectively manage the injury, getting the dancer back to their full potential as soon as possible.
From the report, it was found that only 58% of dancers accessed medical advice in the 2 days following their injury and that the average time was 8 days. This time difference between the injury occurring and a dancer seeking treatment may prolong the recovery period as it may exacerbate the injury and make it worse.
Whilst it has improved since the initial survey was undertaken in 1988 there was still a reasonable level of concern with regards to dancers reporting injury and the subsequent consequences that this may have on their careers including not being able to complete a job or be booked for a new one, reducing their ability to keep learning and future performance anxiety.
Because of this, it is important that we continue to educate the dance community with regards to seeking timely injury diagnosis and management and work together to reduce the stigma related to suffering an injury as a dancer.
To access the full Safe Dance Report IV, please click here: https://bit.ly/2ANW6qe