Project Director

Howard-Baptiste, Shewanee

Department Examiner

Oglesby, Burch; Hathaway, Liz

Department

Dept. of Health and Human Performance

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

Dancers suffer from extremely high injury rates compared to the general population (Noh, Morris, & Anderson, 2003). Most of the injuries are overuse injuries (60-75%), as opposed to traumatic injuries (Thomas & Tarr, 2009). One of the most common overuse injuries is compensated, or forced, turnout (Negus, Hopper, & Briffa, 2005). Continual misplacement of turnout wears and tears on the body, leading to pain and injury. However, dancers feel the risk is worth it to stay relevant in a physically demanding career that has little-to-no off-season to heal (McEwen & Young, 2011). Dance companies typically have the mindset of pushing through the pain, because the show must go on, and there is always another dancer in the wing waiting to take someone’s role (Krasnow, Kerr, & Mainwaring, 1994). The pressure to compensate their turnout, and to ignore any pain or injury often leads to a more serious injury. Dancers also feel that they are unable to take time off, therefore those who do often experience psychological distress. They feel like they are weak, they will lose their spot in the company, lose income, and ultimately lose their identity (McEwen & Young, 2011). Therefore, the psychosocial pressures lead to physical ailments, which in turn add to the psychological distress (Williams & Anderson, 1998). This study combines research on compensated turnout injuries and the psychology of the dancer to determine why dancers have these high injury rates. By understanding the reason behind the injuries, dancers and healthcare professionals can work together to lower the rates of injury and improve self-esteem.

Acknowledgments

Dr. Shewanee Howard-Baptiste Dr. Burch Oglesby Dr. Liz Hathaway

IRB Number

17-115

Degree

B. S.; An honors thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Bachelor of Science.

Date

5-2018

Subject

Dancing injuries; Dancers -- Health and hygiene; Sports medicine

Keyword

Dance; Injury; Dance injury, Injury psychology; Turnout

Discipline

Medicine and Health Sciences

Document Type

Theses

Extent

71 leaves

DCMI Type

Text

Language

English

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/

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