title: Balance comparisons between female dancers and active nondancers.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Female dancers have lower anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury rates compared with physically active women. Enhanced balance can decrease musculoskeletal injury risk. Dancers are proposed to have superior balance compared with physically active nondancers, and this may reduce their risk for ACL injury. However, whether female dancers actually have better balance than active nondancers is unclear.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-three women (15 dancers, 18 nondancers) performed the Balance Error Scoring System (BESS; error scores), the Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT; percent leg length), and the Modified Bass Test of Dynamic Balance (BASS; maximum score = 100).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Dancers had fewer errors on the BESS than did nondancers (p < .001, 12.0 +/- 6.9 vs. 25.3 +/- 9.1). Dancers also had greater SEBT reach distances in the medial (right, p = .03, 90.4 +/- 4.2% vs. 86.5 +/- 5.5%; left, p = .04, 90.7 +/- 4.5% vs. 86.7 +/- 5.9%) and posteromedial directions (right, p = .01, 92.6 +/- 5.6% vs. 87.0 +/- 6.4%; left, p = .01, 93.9 +/- 6.3% vs. 87.9 +/- 6.3%), but not in the anteromedial direction (right, p = .23, 84.5 +/- 4.4% vs. 86.2 +/- 3.5%; left, p = .51, 86.4 +/- 3.5% vs. 85.5 +/- 4.0%). BASS scores were similar between groups (p = .58, 90.6 +/- 5.5 vs. 91.7 +/- 56).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The novel findings of the study are that dancers had greater balance than did nondancers in some but not all tests. Although dancing may improve balance as compared with not dancing, it is not better than physical activity in improving balance. Thus, balance comparisons between dancers and nondancers may not fully explain why female dancers exhibit low ACL injury rates compared with physically active women. Other factors (e.g., anticipated/unanticipated movement demands) should be examined to understand the ACL injury disparity between dancers and physically active women.
authors.affiliation: Sports Medicine Assessment Research and Testing Laboratory, George Mason University, MS 4E5, Bull Run Hall, Manassas, VA 20110, USA. jambegao@gmu.edu
authors.forename: Jatin P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Ambegaonkar
authors.forename: Shane V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Caswell
authors.forename: Jason B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Winchester
authors.forename: Yohei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shimokochi
authors.forename: Nelson
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Cortes
authors.forename: Amanda M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Caswell
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000070598:Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D003615:Dancing / Q000293:injuries*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007718:Knee Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology*; D060051:Occupational Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000502:physiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D055815:Young Adult