Effect of expertise in ballet dance on static and functional balance (original) (raw)
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Impact of professional dance training on characteristics of postural sway
Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis, 2024
The stability of human upright posture determines the range and dynamics of movements performed. Consequently, the repertoire and quality of the movements performed by a dancer are mainly determined by the efficiency of postural control. This is of particular importance in professional dance training that should focus on shaping optimal movement-posture interaction. To get a deeper insight into this problem, the impact of the training on postural sway characteristics during quiet stance was analyzed in 16 female students in the seventh grade of a ballet school and compared with the size-and age-matched group of secondary school students. Center of pressure trajectories were recorded for 25.6 s while standing quiet with eyes open (EO) and then with eyes closed (EC). The assessment of postural control was based on novel normalized sway parameters including sway vector (SV), sway anteroposterior (AP) and mediolateral (ML) directional indices (DIAP and DIML), and sway ratios (SRAP and SRML). The results document a significant contribution of vision to postural stability control in ballet students, which seems to compensate for training-related changes in joint mobility and altered activity ranges of the legs' muscles. In the control group standing with EC, SV amplitude increased only by 18% whereas in the ballet students tested in the same conditions, the increase exceeded 72%. Under full control of standing posture (EO test), the training-related increase of leg muscle forces allows dancers to maintain balance with lesser effort as documented here by 21% reduced SRAP. Additionally, the dancers while tested with their EC exhibited a 12% increase in the anteroposterior sway with a concomitant reduction of the mediolateral sway. The resulting changes in the postural control asymmetry were documented by both DIAP/DIML and SV azimuth. In conclusion, our novel analysis of postural sway seems a useful tool in monitoring the effects of training as well as the proper course of postural control development in children and adolescents.
Procedia Engineering, 2016
Classical ballet is a performance art where unintentional and uncontrolled movement degrades the aesthetic. Vertical torso movement can induce body tilt. Postural sway was measured in pre-professional ballet dancers when performing simple vertical movements. 47 preprofessional dancers (5 males and 42 females, mean age in years = 19.2, SD= ± 1.3) on a full time undergraduate dance program were asked to stand in first position and perform a demi-plié, a relevé and a sauté. These movements were performed in a continuous cycle undertaken 15 consecutive times. The first 5 cycles were undertaken as practice. The second set of 5 cycles were recorded with the arms held in Bras bas, with the final 5 having the arms held in fifth position (rounded arms placed above the head). Accelerometers were attached to the lumber spine (L4) and thoracic spine (T1-T2). The tilt during the demi-plié prior to the sauté and relevé increased significantly for both arm positions. The male participants preparative angle change was much larger than the female participants (p = 0.07). No significant angle change was observed between the Bras bas and arms in fifth position for the sauté but the change is significant for the relevé (p = 0.007). Exaggerated forward tilt is undesirable both aesthetically and biomechanically. Small accelerometer sensors on the spine can allow self-monitoring practice of these basic classical ballet movements.
Static and dynamic balance in ballet dancers: a literature review
Dance involves integration between movement, postural balance and the multiple aspects involved with postural control. Information regarding the balance of ballet dancers is of great importance, as they are considered models of great postural control. The aim was to review studies about static and dynamic postural balance of ballet dancers, characterizing visual dependency in the postural control of these athletes to maintain balance. A review of literature was performed on PubMed, SciELO, Lilacs, and Science Direct databases considering the period between 1997 and 2013, and using the descriptors balance, postural control, force plates ballet dancers, classical ballet dancers and visual afferences. Eighteen articles were considered able to provide the quantitative and qualitative data to assess the balance among those athletes, and were thus, selected. These papers were classified by Oxford level of evidence. The reviewed literature shows full consensus regarding the effect of remov...
Journal of Dance Medicine & Science, 2021
Balance testing on dancers has used a wide variety of assessment tools. However, as most field balance tests have been developed for either sport or elderly populations, the evidence of associations between tests and their functional relevance to dance is inconclusive. We assessed possible associations between five such field balance tests . A total of 83 female undergraduate dance students (20±1.5 years; 163 ± 6.6 cm; 61 ± 10.8 kg) volunteered for the tests. They executed the Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT), the modified Romberg test, the Airplane test, the BioSway Balance System (Biodex, Shirley, New York, USA), and a dance-specific pirouette test. Spearman's correlation coefficients examined relationships between the measures of the balance tests. Results showed strongest relationships between some SEBT reach directions (p < 0.01) and very weak to moderate relationships between some balance tests, including some SEBT directions, Romberg, Airplane, Biosway, and pirouette...
The Examination of Muscle Balance in Dancers
Universal Journal of Public Health, 2016
The aim was to examine the anthropometric parameters of representatives of different dance styles, the strength and extensibility of trunk muscles, and whether low back pain influences performance during a show or stage appearance. According to our hypothesis, low back pain and deviations in the functional conditions of the spine are common in dancers aged 9-18, and can have a negative effect in their performance on stage. In addition, we assume that weakness can be experienced in the strength of the trunk muscles, their extensibility is not appropriate even in spite of regular training. 92 dancers (average age: 14,15± 2,95 years) participated in the examination: 30 ballet dancers, 32 ballroom dancers, and 30 hip-hop dancers. The anthropometric data was measured with OMRON KaradaScan body composition monitor, the level of the negative effect of low back pain on stage performance was measured by visual analogue scale, and the strength and extensibility was measured with a Kraus-Weber test. On the basis of the anthropologic evaluation, we received a significant difference concerning each examined parameters (body weight: p=0,000, height: p= 0,000, muscle mass: p= 0,001, BMI: p=0,000, body fat percentage: p=0,000), the reason of which was the fact that the different dance styles have different physical requirements for the dancers. In accordance with data measured by the visual analogue scale, no significant difference was received (p=0,104) between the examined groups, although the hip-hop dancers reported the highest percentage (10,54%) of the occurrence of low back pain that negatively affects their stage performance. On the basis of the Kraus-Weber test, in the case of both abdominal muscle exercises the hip-hop group had significantly better performance (K-W A.: p=0,016, K-W B.: p=0,001) than the other two groups. Concerning muscle extensibility, (K-W F.: p= 0,030) the ballet group had significantly better results. In the case of all three examined groups it can be claimed that despite regular training, low back complaints occur at a very young age, which also have negative effects on stage performance.
Multi-segmental postural coordination in professional ballet dancers
Ballet dancers have heightened balance skills, but previous studies that compared dancers to non-dancers have not quantified patterns of multi-joint postural coordination. This study utilized a visual tracking task that required professional ballet dancers and untrained control participants to sway with the fore–aft motion of a target while standing on one leg, at target frequencies of 0.2 and 0.6 Hz. The mean and variability of relative phase between the ankle and hip, and measures from cross-recurrence quantification analysis (i.e., percent cross-recurrence, percent cross-determinism, and cross-maxline), indexed the coordination patterns and their stability. Dancers exhibited less variable ankle–hip coordination and a less deterministic ankle–hip coupling, compared to controls. The results indicate that ballet dancers have increased coordination stability, potentially achieved through enhanced neuromuscular control and/or perceptual sensitivity, and indicate proficiency at optimizing the constraints that enable dancers to perform complex balance tasks.
Evaluation of posture and flexibility in ballet dancers
Anatomy, 2019
Objectives: Ballet dancers require a high level of control on their muscles in order to perform various dance figures. Special ballet moves require adaptive changes in order to maintain posture while performing classical ballet dance. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the differences in body postures and range of motion in certain joints between female classical ballet students and female non-dancer students. Methods: Fifty nine female university students participated in the study; 30 were studying classical ballet at Hacettepe University Ankara State Conservatory and 29 were studying at Baflkent University with no professional dancing history. Students in both groups were compared by conducting a body posture analysis anteriorly, laterally and posteriorly with the symmetrigraf chart. Range of motion of the joints was measured using a goniometer and distances were measured using an anthropometer. Results: Ballet education was a factor in the development of hallux valgus and genu varum deformities (p<0.001). Being a ballet dancer or not was determined to be a factor for the development of genu recurvatum (p=0.004), but not related to the flexion angle on knee (p>0.05). The median values of body flexion and hyperextension showed statistically significant differences between the two groups (p<0.001). Conclusion: Postural defects caused by the adaptive changes that occur during ballet training can be assessed easily by using a symmetrigra. It is also possible to evaluate the degree of the deformities that can develop by time.
Literature Review Biomechanical Research in Dance: A Literature Review
English language) involving the use of electromyography (EMG), forceplates, motion analysis using photography, cinematography or videography, and/or physics analysis were included. A total of 89 papers, theses/ dissertations, and abstracts were identified and reviewed, grouped by the movement concept or specialized movements being studied: alignment (n = 8), plié (8), relevé (8), passé (3), degagé (3), développé , rond de jambe (3), grand battement (4), arm movements (1), forward stepping (3), turns (6), elevation work (28), falls (1), and dance-specific motor strategies (6). Several recurring themes emerged from these studies: that elite dancers demonstrate different and superior motor strategies than novices or nondancers; that dancers perform differently when using a barre as opposed to without a barre, both in terms of muscle activation patterns and weight shift strategies; that while skilled dancers tend to be more consistent across multiple trials of a task, considerable variability is seen among participants, even when matched for background, years of training, body type, and other variables; and that dance teachers recommend methods of achieving movement skills that are inconsistent with optimal biomechanical function, as well as inconsistent with strategies employed by elite dancers. Measurement tools and the efficacy of study methodologies are also discussed. Med Probl Perform Art 2011; 26(1):3-23. B iomechanics is "the scientific discipline that studies the mechanical principles of human movement and provides information on muscular function and its characteristics." 1(p73) Dance inquiry involving the principles and tech-niques of biomechanics dates back to the early 1960s with the work of Kneeland. 2 However, it was the pioneering researchers of the 1970s who first introduced the measurement tools and research methodology that were the forerunners of the current equipment and approaches used today.
Kinematic analysis of the gait in professional ballet dancers
Acta Gymnica, 2014
Background: A ballet dance routine places extreme functional demands on the musculoskeletal system and affects the motor behaviour of the dancers. An extreme ballet position places high stress on many segments of the dancer's body and can significantly influence the mobility of the lower limb joints. Objective: The aim of this study was to observe the differences in the gait pattern between ballet dancers and non-dancers. Methods: Thirteen professional ballet dancers (5 males, 8 females; age 24.1 ± 3.8 years; height 170.2 ± 8.5 cm; weight 58.3 ± 11.2 kg) participated in this research. We compared these subjects with twelve controls (3 males, 9 females; mean age 24.3 ± 2.75 years; height 173.3 ± 6.01 cm; weight 72.2 ± 12.73 kg). None of the participants had any history of serious musculoskeletal pathology or injury or surgery in the lower limbs. Control group had no ballet experience. Each participant performed five trials of the gait at self-selected walking speed. Kinematic data was obtained using the Vicon MX optoelectronic system. The observed data was processed in the Vicon Nexus and Vicon Polygon programmes and statistically evaluated in Statistica. Non-parametric test (Mann-Whitney U test, p < .05) was applied for comparing the dancers and the controls. Results: Significant differences (p < .05) were found in all lower limb joints. In the dancers, greater hip extension (-15.30 ± 3.31° vs. -12.95 ± 6.04°; p = .008) and hip abduction (-9.18 ± 5.89° vs. -6.08 ± 2.52°; p < .001) peaks together with increased pelvic tilt (3.33 ± 1.26° vs. 3.01 ± 1.46°; p = .020), pelvic obliquity (12.46 ± 3.05° vs. 10.34 ± 3.49°; p < .001) and pelvic rotation (14.29 ± 3.77° vs. 13.26 ± 4.91°; p = .029) were observed. Additionally, the dancers demonstrated greater knee flexion (65.67 ± 4.65° vs. 62.45 ± 5.24°; p = .002) and knee extension (3.80 ± 4.02° vs. -1.54 ± 5.65°; p < .001) peaks during the swing phase when compared to the controls. Decreased maximal ankle plantar flexion was observed during the loading response (-8.84 ± 3.74° vs.