What is Performing Arts Medicine?

Performing-Arts-Medicine-teaching-ballet At Ohio State Sports Medicine, we understand that performing artists are also athletes who strive to convey beauty and emotion through their movements. Our Performing Arts Medicine program is designed with this unique perspective in mind.

Our team consists of sports medicine primary care doctors, orthopedic surgeons, a chiropractor, physical therapists, athletic trainers, sports nutritionists and sports psychologists who are experienced in dealing with the unique needs of the performing artist. We are well-versed in both the medical and performance demands of dancers and other artists.

We focus on addressing physical injuries and preventing them through personalized exercises and education, ensuring that you can continue to perform at your highest level for as long as you want. Whether you are a recreational dancer, a professional, or anywhere in between, you can trust our dedicated team to support your journey.

We are trained in a number of treatment techniques, including manual therapy, dance-specific exercise programs, Pilates-based rehabilitation, dry needling, Chinese cupping and muscle energy techniques.

The people we treat come from a variety of performance genres, including ballet, gymnastics, contemporary and competition dance, and Broadway as well as West African, liturgical and Irish dance.

We are proud to be the primary medical providers for BalletMet Columbus, The Ohio State University’s Department of Dance and its School of Music. Our services include on-site athletic training, physical therapy care, preseason screenings, injury checks, wellness workshops, cross-training classes and educational lectures. Learn more about out Sports Medicine Outreach efforts.

What services do we offer?

Dance wellness screens

Dance wellness screens are exclusively designed to help you understand more about your body and potential areas of improvement to enhance performance and career longevity. The assessments are completed individually, with a summary and exercise packet specific to your results. During a screening, we’ll evaluate:

Balance
Flexibility
Leg, arm, foot and core strength
Range of motion
Movement analysis

You would benefit from a dance wellness screen if you:

Want to learn specifics about your body and dance performance
Want to address weaknesses
Are preparing to increase training or performances
Have experienced a growth spurt
Want to learn proper strengthening and stretching techniques

Dance wellness screen cost: $130

30-minute follow-up session: $60 (or buy 3 follow-up sessions for $160)

A dance wellness screen is not meant for diagnosing and treating injuries. If you are concerned about an injury, you should first make an appointment with your doctor.

Education programs

Performing-Arts-Medicine-ballerina-dancing Educating the dancer is the first step toward maintaining wellness, preventing injuries and providing career longevity. Our team develops individualized workshops and offers education programs for the recreational and preprofessional dancer, including topics such as:

Anatomy and kinesiology
Core stability
Cross-training
Dance wellness screening
Foot and ankle class
Myofascial body release
Nutritional considerations for the performing artist
On-site injury checks
Pointe readiness screening
Wellness and injury prevention for the adolescent dancer

Contact our team to learn more about these education programs and how to get your group scheduled.

Benefits of our program

Our team is committed to helping you reach your peak performance while minimizing your risk of injury. But if injuries do occur, our team can determine why you may have become injured. In many cases, dance injuries are caused by abnormal anatomic alignment, poor training and technical errors – are you forcing turnout? Are your feet rolling in or overpronating? Do you suffer from muscular imbalances?

We also help sort out injuries from discomfort. It's normal to feel an occasional ache or pain while dancing – don't be alarmed every time you feel a twinge. However, when this twinge doesn't resolve and becomes progressively worse, stop before you cause greater injury.

Minor aches and pains typically ease once the muscles warm up. Pain that persists, becomes more intense as you dance and is localized to a particular area is a warning sign to stop. If pain continues after dancing and for the remainder of the day, be cautious and initiate treatment phases. Additionally, watch for swelling at the site of injury – this is a sign of irritation and inflammation.

Our team has the experience to help you prevent these injuries or recover as quickly as possible, as well as exercises to keep you in shape while you heal.

How to make an appointment with Performing Arts Medicine?

To make an appointment with a physical therapist who specializes in performing arts rehabilitation, call 614-293-2001 and asked to be paired with a clinician in the Performing Arts Medicine program. You can also fill out a request for an analysis.

How to partner with Ohio State Sports Medicine

Ohio State Sports Medicine is a trusted partner by performing arts organizations throughout central Ohio. If your organization is looking for a partner to provide specialized care for your athletes, we’re here to help. Our comprehensive Outreach Program offers a variety of services and can be customized to meet your organization’s unique needs.

To get started, email us at sportsmedicine@osumc.edu or fill out our form.

A closer look at Performing Arts Medicine

Request video transcript

Gabriel's story: Returning to dance after herniated disc

Dancers are intensely attuned to their body language and movement, but like any athlete, their injuries can become easy to ignore.

In this video, BalletMet dancer Gabriel shares his story of how The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center's Sports Medicine team helped him recover from a herniated disc in his back and return to his passion of dancing.

Request video transcript

A day in the life of a ballerina

Former BalletMet company member and Columbus native Samantha Lewis shows us what life is like as a ballet dancer, both on stage and off.

Patient success stories

Request video transcript

Abbey's Story

Abbey is an Irish dancer who has performed at the Irish Dance World Championships. While preparing for competition, she sprained her ankle and sought help with our Performing Arts Medicine team. Through the help of our experts, Abbey was able to recover in under three months and successfully compete in the World Championships.

Request video transcript

Tara's Story

Tara has trained in many different forms of dance but has a special interest in tap dance. When she started experiencing back pain she went to Ohio State for physical therapy with the Performing Arts Medicine team. With the help of her physical therapist, Tara was able to be pain-free and get back into competitions.

Why choose Ohio State for Performing Arts Medicine?

Expertise: We provide workshops, injury checks and on-site medical coverage for the central Ohio dance community.

Industry relationships: Our team members are active with the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science, the American Physical Therapy Association and the Ohio Physical Therapy Association, the Greater Columbus Arts Council, the National Athletic Trainers Association, OhioDance and The Ohio State University Medicine & The Arts as well as the Performing Arts Athletic Trainers’ Society and the Dance/USA Task Force.

Research: As part of our extensive research study, “The use of screenings and injury tracking to promote wellness in dancers,” our Performing Arts Medicine research team is utilizing a wealth of information collected over a span of years from professional, collegiate, preprofessional and novice dancers across various genres to provide innovative care.

How our research is helping dancers

In partnership with Ohio State's Sports Health & Performance Institute, our team has conducted research to promote wellness in dancers. Through screenings and injury tracking, our research team has access to a diverse range of professional, collegiate, preprofessional and novice dancers across various genres, providing unique contributions to the field of performing arts medicine.

Making pointe count: Development of a dance wellness curriculum for high school credit

The typical preprofessional student dances up to 31.5 hours weekly. The intensity and difficulty increase during periods of rapid growth, and there's a common belief that wellness education can help in injury prevention and career longevity. In collaboration with BalletMet Dancer’s Core Academic Program, our team developed a six-week curriculum that allowed students to receive high school credit for their dance education. In addition to the educational opportunity, it also provided insights for exploration of a career within performing arts outside of being a performer.

Multi-faceted turnout: Influence of training level, measurement method and sex

Screening has become a recommended practice in dance medicine, and injury surveillance can help identify causes of injury and guide preventative measures. Aspects of turnout and its measurement techniques have been examined and a relationship between turnout and nontraumatic injuries in dancers has been established. There's limited literature comparing turnout across level of dance training or by sex. Our research examined prospective cohort data from dance wellness screens.

Our research sought to compare turnout using two measurement methods (rotation discs and floor protractor) to determine whether turnout differed by level of dance training or by sex. Greater turnout angles were identified on the floor regardless of training level, when the friction of the floor may have aided positioning. Future analyses will aim to understand the relationships between injury risk and turnout asymmetries, across training level and dance genre.

Plié flexibility in dancers: differences between positions, measurement methods and limbs

In order for dancers to perform plié, flexion of the foot (dorsiflexion) is necessary. Our research compared three different measurement methods: non-weightbearing dorsiflexion, parallel plié, and turned-out plié to determine the measure method that captured the most functional ability as well as if the angle changed with age. In this study of 126 ballet academy students, we also found that dancers do not lose dorsiflexion over time as previously found in another study. We also learned that the parallel plié position allows dancers to achieve greater closed chain ankle dorsiflexion than turned out plié and may be a more accurate reflection of their functional flexibility. Therefore, it may be helpful in a screening or in the clinic to measure a dancer’s dorsiflexion angle in parallel plié so that you have a more accurate expectation of what their plié depth should return to during rehabilitation.

Iliotibial band tightness in ballet and modern dancers

Ballet dancers train primarily in hip external rotation and abduction, while modern dancers use a variety of movement styles. Armed with the knowledge that illiotibial band (ITB) tightness is a predisposing factor for patellofemoral pain syndrome in ballet dancers, our research sought to examine and compare the prevalence ITB tightness in both populations. The analysis found 75% of modern dancers with ITB tightness had tightness bilaterally, and 59% of ballet dancers with ITB tightness had tightness bilaterally. The proportion of dancers with ITB tightness in at least one limb is significantly greater in modern dancers compared to ballet dancers. Results suggest that both genres of dancers may benefit from supplemental interventions to promote ITB flexibility, though modern dancers may benefit to a greater extent.