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Samantha Amway, PT, OCS
We are proud to be the primary medical providers for BalletMet Columbus, Ohio State's Department of Dance and School of Music. Our services include on-site athletic training, physical therapy care, pre-season screenings, injury checks, wellness workshops and cross training classes.
The typical pre-professional student dances up to 31.5 hours weekly. The intensity and difficulty increases 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.
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 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.
In order for dancers to perform plié, flexion of the foot (dorsiflexion) is necessary. Our research compared three different measurement methods: non-weight-bearing dorsiflexion, parallel plié, 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 overtime 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.
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.
Industry Partnerships: We have partnerships with the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science, the American Physical Therapy Association, the Greater Columbus Arts Council, the National Athletic Trainers Association, OhioDance, the Ohio Physical Therapy Association and OSU Medicine and the Arts.
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, pre-professional and novice dancers across various genres to provide innovative patient care.
Involvement in the Performing Arts Community: Our staff is developing research initiatives with the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center’s Labs in Life at COSI and the MAPS program within The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center’s Sports Medicine program to further progress in the science of performing arts medicine.
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.
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 get back to where she wanted to be pain free and back into competitions.
Katie's Story
Katie is an Irish dancer who went in for a dance wellness screen at Ohio State Sports Medicine after her sister broke her foot. With the dance wellness screen, Katie was able to learn her weaknesses and work one-on-one with our physical therapist to build strength and prevent injury.