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Learn more about sports medicine with monthly topics for athletes, parents, and coaches.
This month, we examine the unique challenges of dancers—from injury prevention in the studio, to performance, nutrition, and everything in between.
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string(5758) "About Gymnastics Injuries
Millions of youth participate in gymnastics every year in the United States, at a variety of levels of skill
and competition. As a sport, gymnastics builds strength, balance, and flexibility, but it also has an injury rate similar to sports such as hockey and soccer.
Upper Body Injuries in Gymnastics
Gymnastics places exceptional stress on joints, especially to the upper body.
Events like the vault, rings, and bars, tumbling, and other advanced skills can leave shoulders, wrists,
and elbows vulnerable to injury. Injuries might include:
- Ligament sprains/tears of the shoulder, elbow or wrist
- Growth plate injuries in skeletally immature athletes
- Joint dislocations of the shoulder, elbow or wrist fractures
- Tendon strains
Common Lower Body Injuries in Gymnastics
Hard landings, over rotating, and the repetitive stress of jumping and landing can lead to lower body
injuries for gymnasts.
Injuries to the tendons or ligaments in knee, like the patella tendon or the
anterior cruciate ligament
(ACL), can require surgery, rehabilitation, and significant time away from their sport.
Gymnasts also experience ankle and foot sprains, which can range from very minor to severe.
Repeated injuries of this kind can be serious and should be addressed with a physician.
Back Injuries Common Among Gymnasts
As gymnasts bend their backs, muscles, tendons, and bones are stressed. Common back injuries in
gymnasts include:
Despite the risk of these injuries, long-term lower back pain for gymnasts is not common.
Safety in Gymnastics: Injury Prevention
Every year, many young people perform gymnastics without injury. Here are a few tips to help young
gymnasts:
- Get expert coaching. Your coach should be well-versed in gymnastic safety practices and provide appropriate instructions for progressing skills and proper supervision.
- Listen to your body. Your body sends pain signals to indicate something is wrong. Rather than try to push through, give your body time to rest and recuperate.
- Warm up, cool down, and stretch properly.
- Ensure that all equipment is properly functioning, maintained and used as intended.
- People trained in first aid should be available at all gymnastics events and practices.
"Many Olympic and elite athletes routinely participated in gymnastics as children and attribute this to
their success, even if they are athletes in other sports," said
S. Josh Szabo, MD, sports medicine
orthopaedic surgeon who sees patients at the
UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.
"Gymnastics develops strength, body awareness, balance, and flexibility that enhance athletic
performance for any sport. In countries such as China and Russia, children regularly participate in
gymnastics as core physical fitness for this reason," he said.
If you experience a gymnastics injury, seeking care from a sports medicine professional can help you
prevent more serious injuries and get back into the gym safely. To learn more about UPMC Sports Medicine, or to schedule an appointment, visit
UPMCSportsMedicine.com or call
1-855-93-SPORT
(77678).
"
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string(152) "Gymnastics has an injury rate that rivals contact sports. Learn about upper and lower-body injuries as well as gymnastics back injuries with this guide."
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string(274) "Millions of youth participate in gymnastics every year in the United States, at a variety of levels of skill
and competition. As a sport, gymnastics builds strength, balance, and flexibility, but it also has an injury rate similar to sports such as hockey and soccer."
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Millions of youth participate in gymnastics every year in the United States, at a variety of levels of skill and competition. As a sport, gymnastics builds strength, balance, and flexibility, but it also has an injury rate similar to sports such as hockey and soccer.Read More
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string(1864) "Ballet dancers are known for their long lines, muscular bodies, and incredible flexibility — factors that allow them to leap, twist, and turn for hours at a time.
Like all athletes, dancers also risk injuries during practices and performances, which may result from overuse or poor mechanics.
When a dancer is injured the goal is twofold: Come back to performing as soon as possible, as well as maintain fitness and balanced nutrition with a decreased activity level.
Nutrition and Recovery for Dancers
Here are seven healthy foods injured dancers can include in their diet to help enhance recovery and preserve fitness as they heal.
Greek Yogurt
Greek yogurt is high in leucine, a branch chain amino acid that assists in protein synthesis. Greek yogurt is also packed with calcium and vitamin D to assist in bone healing, building, and rebuilding.
Tuna or Salmon
These fish contain healthy fats and omega 3s that assist in decreasing inflammation and serve as an excellent source of lean protein.
Tart Cherry Juice
Tart cherry juice is high in anthocyanins to help reduce inflammation. It also contains melatonin, which assists in a restful sleep.
Red Peppers
This vitamin C-rich veggie supports tissue repair.
Almonds
Fortified with magnesium, almonds may improve circulation, a factor that can provide further nutrients to injured areas of the body.
Sunflower Seeds
This snack is copper-rich and helps regenerate elastin-connective tissue.
Whey Protein Powder
Need some extra protein? Look for a supplement that is low in calories but high in leucine and whey isolate."
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string(186) "Ballet dancers are known for their long lines, muscular bodies, and incredible flexibility — factors that allow them to jump, leap, twist, and turn for hours at a time.
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Ballet dancers are known for their long lines, muscular bodies, and incredible flexibility — factors that allow them to jump, leap, twist, and turn for hours at a time.Read More
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string(3191) "Dance differentiates itself as a performing art by combining great artistic ability with difficult physical requirements that are comparable to sports.
There are specific techniques and standard movements, as well as expressive and creative qualities and requirements in dance. The need to excel both physically and artistically creates the challenging context in which dancers work.
For many dancers, dance is their passion, artistic outlet, and vocation. Because of the highly artistic and physically demanding requirements involved in dance, dancers are a unique type of athlete. They are accurately referred to as “performing athletes.”
In the field of dance, there are multiple genres, including ballet, modern, and jazz. Dancers often begin training at a young age and progress through training in dance schools until the end of adolescence. If young dancers are especially talented, they may pursue a career in dance by auditioning for a professional company or collegiate program.
Injuries are a problem for the dancer beginning at a young age, with 43.1 percent of dancers between the ages of 10 to 18 becoming injured.
Collegiate dancers have self-reported injury rates ranging from 67 percent to 77 percent each semester. Annual injury frequencies in professional ballet and modern dancers have been reported to range from 67 percent to 95 percent.
The most commonly injured body parts are similar in studies of many types of dancers and skill levels. They include:
- Feet
- Ankles
- Lower leg
- Lower back
- Hip thigh
- The spine and upper extremities
The injury types and severity of injuries are similar among professional dancers, with the most common being overuse injuries that do not require fully stopping dance classes, rehearsals, and performances. Traumatic injuries are less common; however, they are very costly.
High rates of musculoskeletal injuries and their associated monetary, physical, and psychological costs of injury have led to the emergence of dance medicine and science as a discipline of sports medicine, with the goal of helping keep dancers healthy.
Therefore, the treatment of dancers requires a familiarity with their needs and an extensive knowledge of the culture and demands of their sport to properly diagnose injuries and return athletes quickly and safely to activity.
UPMC is proud to sponsor Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s West Side Story Suite.
Buy tickets today.
This article was written by Valerie Williams, PT, DPT, OCS, Kathleen Nachazel, ATC, and Erica Coffey, PT, MS, SCS."
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The goal of dance medicine is to keep dancers of all ages and skill sets injury free. Learn more about this emerging area of sports medicine.Watch Now
