Abstract
Musculoskeletal injuries are common among professional ballet performers. Although dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) is widely used to assess bone mineral density (BMD) and body composition in athletes, no ballet-specific DEXA injury risk thresholds exist. PURPOSE: 1) To compare anthropometric measures obtained through DEXA scans conducted during annual physical evaluations of professional ballet performers who sustained musculoskeletal injuries with those who did not in the year following their scan; 2) To identify potential population-specific injury risk thresholds relevant to professional ballet performers. We hypothesized that those who experienced injuries (INJ) during a year-long performance season tend to exhibit reduced lean mass, %body fat, and BMD compared to those who did not (NonINJ). METHODS: All procedures for this investigation were approved by the institutional review board. A total of 199 DEXA scans (M=102, 25.33± 5.64yrs, 177.90±5.32cm, 72.07±5.92kg|F=97, 24.46±5.72yrs, 165.03±4.28cm, 51.97±5.30kg) performed on professional ballet dancers from a single dance company taken during yearly physicals between 2017-2022 were retrospectively analyzed. The electronic hospital record was also reviewed for each performer. For those sustaining injuries in the year following their DEXA scan, level of injury, anatomic location, and diagnosis were recorded. Level of injury was defined as: 0=none; 1=musculoskeletal complaints with no alteration to participation; 2= injuries resulting in modification or reduced participation; 3=injuries requiring full removal from participation. Within the males and females respectively, an independent samples T-test was used to compare DEXA measures between those who sustained no injuries (Level 0) compared to any reported injury (Level 1-3) and between those who sustained either no, or only minor injuries (Level 0-1) compared to those sustaining higher level injuries (Level 2-3). Significance was set at P
Recommended Citation
Li, Abigail Y.; Xu, Guomin; Birncrich, Alysa; Nasrallah, Carina; McCulloch, Patrick; and Lambert, Bradley
(2025)
"Anthropometric Measures Associated with Orthopedic Injuries in Professional Ballet Performers: New DEXA Screening Criteria?,"
International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings: Vol. 2:
Iss.
17, Article 123.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijesab/vol2/iss17/123
