The theatrical stage as accident site in professional dance.

OBJECTIVE: Reducing work-related health hazards at the different theatre workplaces is one aspect of preventive options in professional dance. This also applies to hazards on the highly variable theatrical stage areas. However, detailed information on these stages and their risks is not available. The aim of this study was to analyze and evaluate work-related traumatic injuries in the stage area. METHODS: The basis for the evaluation was accident reports, from the German National Statutory Insurance, of work-related traumatic injuries occurring on stage in professional dancers (n=790: 407 males, 383 females) over a 17-year period (1995-2011). RESULTS: Most (79.4%) of the accidents on stage occurred during an ongoing performance (frequency: 10.1/100 performances), with only 19.7% occurring during rehearsals on stage (p<0.001). Due to the sustained injury, 30.2% of the dancers sustained a time-loss injury. Most (57.7%) of the injured dancers were older than 25 years. Of the accidents, 59.3% were initiated by a definably extrinsic cause, with 40.7% caused by intrinsic factors (p<0.001). Injuries were most commonly caused by the "partner" (21.7%) or "floor" (21.0%). The lower extremity was the most commonly affected body region (63.6%) (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Stage performances seem to carry an increased injury risk compared to rehearsals. The "risk" of on-stage work is spread across various factors that seem to be stage-specific. There is a need for further qualitative and quantitative research to be able to classify the stage as workplace more precisely.

Traumatic injuries in revue dancers.

Revue productions are a combination of dancing and singing, musical and spoken sequences, and acrobatics, performed with or without a story line, and characterized by a versatility of dance styles and a high number of performances (over 250 in a 10-month season). The aim of this quantitative single cohort study is to evaluate work-related traumatic injuries in this dance genre. Data were obtained from work accident reports of the German Social Accident Insurance Institution for the public sector in Berlin (UKB) involving 440 revue dancers (183 males and 257 females). Analysis was conducted with Excel 2007 and PASW Statistics 18. One out of three female dancers and one out of two male dancers sustained an acute injury in the course of a theatrical season (0.22 injuries per 1,000 hours). The incidence rate was 0.44 for males and 0.31 for females, with the lower extremity as the most commonly injured body region, followed by the spine. Of all occupational accidents, 75.1% happened on stage, with 69% during performances. The dance partner and dance floor were the most common exogenous factors resulting in a traumatic injury. Of all traumatic injuries, 81.7% occurred in the first 3 hours after starting work. Gender specific differences could be observed. Due to the limited availability of comparable studies of other forms of professional dance, in this study revue dance is largely considered as an independent genre.

Occupational accidents in professional dancers with regard to different professional dance styles.

BACKGROUND: The term "professional dance" comprises various dance styles. There are no studies which investigated work related traumatic injuries with regard to five different dance styles. OBJECTIVE: To define dance-style related differences of traumatic injuries. METHODS: The basis for the evaluation were the occupational injuries of professional dancers of six theaters (n=1339; f: n=658, m: n=681) and one State Ballet School (n=612; f:n=421, m: n=191). RESULTS: Independent of the dance style, the lower extremity (leg and hip) is the most frequently injured anatomical region (p< 0.001). The more dancers move away from the classical dance technique, the more traumatic head/neck injuries increase (p<0.001). Injury patterns and injured structures also show differences subject to dance styles (p< 0.001). In classical dance the most commonly sustained injuries are due to intrinsic factors with the significance of extrinsic factors increasing the more dancers diverge from defined classical dance techniques. CONCLUSION: The results shown in the study clarify the enormous dance-style related differences in traumatic injuries sustained by dancers. These differences support the development of dance-style related injury prevention measures and suggest further investigations with the focus being placed on the influence of organizational structures (e.g. number of performances) as well as on the working environments.

Occupational accidents in professional dance with focus on gender differences.

BACKGROUND: Classical dance comprises gender specific movement tasks. There is a lack of studies which investigate work related traumatic injuries in terms of gender specific differences in detail. OBJECTIVE: To define gender related differences of occupational accidents. METHODS: Basis for the evaluation were occupational injuries of professional dancers from three (n = 785; f: n = 358, m: n = 427) state theatres. RESULTS: The incidence rate (0.36 per year) was higher in males (m: 0.45, f: 0.29). There were gender specific differences as to the localizations of injuries, particularly the spine region (m: 17.3%, f: 9.8%, p = 0.05) and ankle joint (m: 23.7%, f: 35.5%, p = 0.003). Compared to male dancers, females sustained more injuries resulting from extrinsic factors. Significant differences could specifically be observed with dance floors (m: 8.8%, f: 15.1%, p = 0.02). There were also significant gender differences observed with movement vocabulary. CONCLUSION: The clearly defined gender specific movement activities in classical dance are reflected in occupational accidents sustained. Organisational structures as well as work environment represent a burden likewise to male and female dancers. The presented differences support the development of gender specific injury prevention measures.

Dance partner or dance floor?: exogenous factors resulting in accidents in professional dancers.

OBJECTIVE: Injury prevention in professional dancers is very important due to the high risk for acute injuries posing a threat to dancers' careers. Causative factors of acute injuries in professional dance can be divided into exogenous and endogenous factors. Although both are known in professional dance, there is still a lack of data to have a differentiated view. The aim of this study is to analyze exogenous factors resulting in work accidents of professional dancers. METHODS: The data for the evaluation were obtained from work accident reports (n = 1,438, female 722, male 716) from six Berlin Theatres. Evaluation and descriptive statistics were conducted by SPSS 18 and Excel 2007. RESULTS: About half (48.5%, n = 698) of all work accidents are caused by exogenous factors. The "dance partner" is the most common exogenous factor (39.9%), followed by the dance floor (28.24%) and props (13.6%). The lower extremity is the most frequent structure injured in either sex (male 47.3%, female 61.3%), followed by the upper extremity in females (14.6%) and spine in male dancers (19.8%). The stage is the most common injury location in both genders (males 63.9%, females 56.8%). Acute injuries caused by exogenous factors were particularly sustained during performances (males 58.8%, females 50.5%) and during rehearsals (males 33%, females 39.9%). CONCLUSION: This study shows the key significance of exogenous factors in acute injuries in professional dance. Preserving the dancers' health and preventing injuries takes top priority, and therefore, interventions in the artistic work cannot be ruled out when preventive measures are implemented.

Dance floors as injury risk: analysis and evaluation of acute injuries caused by dance floors in professional dance with regard to preventative aspects.

UNLABELLED: A dance floor is often the only support of movements in dance. A dance floor surface that shows deficiencies, can result in acute injuries and chronic problems. Although the significance of an adequate dance floor is well known, there is still a lack of differentiated analyses of dance floor-related acute injuries. OBJECTIVE: This study presents data on acute injuries exclusively caused by the dance floor. METHODS: The data were obtained from standardized work accident reports from consultants (F 1000), documentary accident records from all Berlin theatres, a state ballet school (n=2,281), and case records from the Berlin State Accident Insurance (UKB) covering a period of 17 years. All analyses and descriptive statistics were conducted with Excel 2007 and SPSS 18. RESULTS: Dance floor surfaces were the causative factor in 12.8% of all accidents (n=291, female 183, male 108). Almost two thirds (62.6%) of all accidents in professional dancers happened on stage, and almost half (49.5%) occurred during performances. As for causative factors, 53.1% of the professional dancers (P) and 42.5% of the dance students (S) claimed that the floor had been "too slippery," with "getting stuck" or (tripping) as the second most common problem (P 18.4%, S 11.3%). Of the injured dancers, 41.8% were older than 30 years and can therefore be categorized as experienced. CONCLUSION: Dance floors play a significant role in the occurrence of acute injuries, even in experienced dancers. Performances on stage seem to be a particular risk. However, injury prevention measures should include all work locations (P) as well as non-dance-specific locations (S).