A study on the most common complaint associated with specific ballet movements and positions among female ballet dancers of Ballet Philippines

Date of Completion

2004

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Physical Therapy

Keywords

Dancing, Posture, Women

Abstract

Ballet is a complex highly refined technique of dancing characterized by dignity, simplicity, and elegance, which requires great physical strength and control. The ballerinas' passion to perfect art puts high stresses physically, mentally and emotionally. The dancer like the athlete has high levels physical demand related to movement and impact. The movements may be enticingly good to look at but can be very strenuous to the body, as the body is unaccustomed to being pulled and stretched to extremes. Pushing the body to its limit and undergoing it to something that it is not used to may lead to the usual complaint of pain, difficulty and awkwardness in executing some ballet positions and movements. Dancers should be counseled to listen to their bodies, and not push through pain. Dancers ought to respect pain and acknowledge resting and taking the necessary precautions, as to not worsen their predicament. The study aims to determine the most common ballet movement and position that yields the most complaint among female ballet dancers at Ballet Philippines. A self-administered questionnaire was used which was adapted but modified form the study entitled; "A Self-Reported Musculoskeletal Injuries Among Professional Ballet Dancers in Taiwan" by Ya-Ti Lin. It contains the frequency of complaints associated with ballet movements and positions. A total of 19 respondents participated in the study. The majority of the subjects belong to the 15-17 age group, which indicate that most of the respondents are at the Middle Dance Stage of Ballet. The mean for the years of training in 12 conforming that majority of the female ballet dancers start training at early age. The most common complaint among dancers doing Turn-out, En-pointe, Demi-plie, Releve, Arasbeque; are pain on knees, unstable ankle, more feet when weight is transferred on it, pain felt on the anterior aspect of thigh upon extension of knee while pressing the upper pole of patella, pain and tingling sensation along the forefoot and digits, and low back. pain respectively. In conclusion the movement and position that yields the most complaint among female ballet dancers of Ballet Philippines is En pointe.

First Advisor

Oliver Madrid

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