Journal of Dance Medicine & Science

Corticosteroid solution was injected under fluoroscopy into the iliopsoas sheath in young dancers and other athletes to combat chronic exercise-induced iliopsoas tendinitis which had proven unresponsive to more conservative treatments. Ten outcomes were graded as “excellent,” three others as “good,” two as “fair,” and two were “poor.” These results suggest that the treatment is a viable alternative to the more radical surgical release of the tendon. It is hypothesized, however, that its effectiveness may depend in large part on proper post-operative management, designed to avoid recurrence of the injury by correcting the alignment problems and errors in technique that initially precipitated the tendinitis.

The purpose of this study was to identify possible relationships between the sum of knee flexion and extension peak torques and the severity of lower-body injuries in professional dancers. Twenty male [age 26.6 (± 6.0) years] and 22 female [age 27.1 (± 5.4) years] ballet and contemporary dancers reported one or more low-back, pelvis, leg, knee and foot injuries. The severity of injuries was established by recording the days off dance activities. Subjects were then monitored on a Cybex II or a KIN-CON isokinetic dynamometer. Knee flexion and extension peak torques were obtained bilaterally during three maximal contractions at the velocities of 1.04 and 4.19 rad/sec. No musculoskeletal injuries were reported at the time of data collection. At 1.04 rad/sec, results revealed significant correlation coefficients between relative thigh peak torques — expressed in Nm/kg fat free mass (FFM) — and prevalence of low extremity injuries. These findings suggest that the lower the thigh-power output, the greater the degree of injury. Female dancers demonstrated higher correlation coefficients (r -0.70; p < 0.005) than their male counterparts (r = -0.61; p < 0.01). However, no such correlations were found at the angular velocity of 4.19 rad/sec (p > 0.05), nor when low-back injuries and thigh-power outputs were considered at both velocities (p > 0.05). The main conclusions are: a) low thigh power outputs are likely to be associated with the severity of low extremity injuries, but not with low-back injuries, and b) such relationships are better identified at lower compared to higher isokinetic velocities.

A case of a 17-year-old female ballet student who presented to physical therapy with complaints of pain in her left forefoot is described. She exhibited a stress fracture of the second metatarsal, which was confirmed by a bone scan. The patient's history of an irregular menstral cycle, low weight, the emotional stress and physical demands of her training combined with the results of a biomechanical evaluation provide a classic example of the etiology of this injury in female ballet dancers.