Abstract des Autors

Ballet movements and positions place an undue amount of stress on the knee joint of dancers and often cause structural compromises. The present survey had two purposes: first, to identify the incidence and type of knee injuries commonly found in professional ballet dancers; and second, to examine the relation between knee injury and preventive exercises. We hypothesized that not enough biomechanical-specific training is used to prepare ballet dancers for the strenuous movements necessary for ballet, but that preventive exercises can reduce the incidence of knee injury. Results indicated that 21 of the 22 dancers surveyed had some type of knee injury during the course of their ballet training and career. Before the first knee injury, only 8 of the 21 dancers practiced preventive exercises. However, after the first knee injury, 20 of the 21 dancers made preventive exercises a regular practice. Of these 20, 9 found them extremely helpful and 9 others found them somewhat helpful in preventing subsequent injury. Verf.-Referat