title: Injuries in female dancers aged 8 to 16 years.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Most studies of injured dancers have been carried out on professional adult dancers; data on young, nonprofessional injured dancers are sparse.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To identify the types of injuries sustained by recreational dancers and to examine their association with age, joint range of motion, body structure, age at menarche, presence of anatomic anomalies, and physical burden (i.e., practice hours en pointe).
  
  
  METHODS
  Descriptive epidemiology study.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Israel Performing Arts Medicine Center, Tel Aviv.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 569 injured female dancers, aged 8 to 16 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  Dependent variables were 61 types of current injuries that were later classified into 4 major categories: knee injuries, foot and ankle tendinopathy, back injuries, and other injuries. Independent variables were age, joint range of motion, body size and shape, age at menarche, anatomic anomalies, and dance discipline (e.g., hours of practice per week en pointe).
  
  
  RESULTS
  At least 1 previous injury had been sustained by 42.4% of the dancers. The most common injuries involved the knee (40.4%), followed by other injuries (23.4%). The relative frequency of back injuries and tendinopathy decreased with age, whereas knee injuries increased. Types of injuries were significantly associated with ankle plantar flexion, hip external rotation, hip abduction, and knee flexion. Multinomial regression analysis revealed only 3 predictive variables (with other as baseline), all for back injury: scoliosis, age, and hip external rotation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Joint range of motion and scoliosis may signal the potential for future injury. Young dancers (less than 10 years of age) should not be exposed to overload (especially of the back) or extensive stretching exercises.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Israel. knopp@wincol.ac.il
authors.forename: Nili
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Steinberg
authors.forename: Itzhak
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Siev-Ner
authors.forename: Smadar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Peleg
authors.forename: Gali
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dar
authors.forename: Youssef
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Masharawi
authors.forename: Aviva
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zeev
authors.forename: Israel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hershkovitz
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D015992:Body Mass Index; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D003615:Dancing / Q000293:injuries*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D016015:Logistic Models; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors