Self-reported Health Problems of Professional Dancers from Five German Opera Houses or State Theatres: A Prospective Study with Weekly Follow-ups during One Season.

Abstract

Background: Most studies on injuries of professional dancers used a medical-attention and/or time-loss definition and did not analyse all health problems. Further, almost all studies included just one company. The aim was to analyse all self-reported health problems of professional ballet and contemporary dancers during one season and compare sexes and five companies in Germany.

Methods: Dancers of five professional companies completed weekly health questionnaires during the season (September 2022 to June 2023). Numerical rating scales were used for severity of all health problems, musculoskeletal pain, impairment of the ability to dance at full potential, physical and mental workload in the previous seven days. If the severity of all health problems were rated greater than "0", the dancers were asked to report the type and consequences of their most severe health problem.

Results: During 43 weeks, 98 dancers (39.8% male) completed 3123 weekly reports (response rate 74.1%). The season prevalence of any health problem was 100% and of time-loss health problems 74.5%. The average weekly prevalence of any health problem was 62.7%, of musculoskeletal pain 83.4% and of impaired ability to dance at full potential, due to health problem 48.6%. While the season prevalence and type of health problems was similar between sexes, the average weekly prevalence of severe health problems was higher in female than in male dancers (Chi² = 23.2; p < .001), and female dancers saw a qualified health professional more often than male dancers (Chi² = 19.5; p < .001). Companies differed in almost all investigated variables, with more health problems in companies where more dancers rated their workload higher than "ideal".

Conclusion: Health problems are frequent in professional dancers and affect their ability to dance. Future studies should analyse the impact of physical and mental workload on health problems.