title: Athletes Doing Arabesques: Important Considerations in the Care of Young Dancers.
abstract: Dance is as much a sport as an art form. Sports medicine clinicians seeing dancers in their practice will need to be familiar with the unique characteristics of dance in order to provide proper care. Dance encompasses different forms, which vary in equipment and terminology. The epidemiology of dance injuries has historically focused on ballet, but there is increasing research on other dance forms. Lower extremity and back injuries predominate. Injury prevention, both primary and secondary, is at the heart of dance medicine. Primary prevention includes preseason conditioning, identifying risk factors for injury, and recognizing the female athlete triad. Secondary prevention includes a comprehensive approach to injury rehabilitation, an appreciation for the unique demands of dance, and an understanding of the particulars of the injury being treated. Dancers may have difficulty accessing medical care or following prescribed advice; the proactive clinician will anticipate these situations.
authors.affiliation: 1Sports Medicine Center, Children's Hospital Colorado, Aurora, CO; 2Boston Children's Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA; 3Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA; 4Boston Ballet, Boston, MA; and 5Nationwide Children's Hospital Sports Medicine, Columbus, OH.
authors.forename: Julie C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: Bridget J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Quinn
authors.forename: Corinne W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Stratton
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Southwick
authors.forename: James P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: MacDonald
mesh_terms: D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003615:Dancing / Q000293:injuries* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D064797:Physical Conditioning, Human / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors