Low Back and Lower Extremity Injuries in Dancers

Fredric A. Kleinbart, Heather McElroy
From: Performing Arts Medicine, 3rd ed.: Chapter 15 © 2010; page: 1285

Abstract: In addition to injuries of the foot and ankle, dancers commonly sustain injuries involving other parts of the body that are integral to the process of dance. Physicians caring for dancers should be familiar with performance-related problems of the spine, hip, groin, knee, and leg. This chapter provides an overview of the occurrence, diagnosis, and practical treatment of such injuries in dancers.
Disorders of the lumbar spine discussed include acute and traumatic injuries, including muscle strains and disk herniations, overuse injuries such as spondylolysis and stress fractures, and degenerative disk disease. Hip and groin injuries include acute injuries (e.g., muscle strains, thigh contusions, hip pointers), other hip pathology such as labral tears, chronic or overuse injuries (such as snapping hip, osteitis pubis, stress fractures, and osteoarthritis), and conditions such as sports hernia, sciatica, and nerve entrapment/neuritis. Knee injuries involve patellofemoral disorders, meniscus injuries, anterior cruciate ligament injuries, and articular cartilage lesions. Leg injuries can include shin splints, stress fractures, compartment syndrome, and nerve and artery entrapment.

Last Updated: 7 / 2010

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