The health risks of professional dance (and particularly with the more strenuous forms of ballet and contemporary dance) are those generally found in sports injuries. Ballet is a formalized form of Dance with its origins in the French court further developed in France and Russia as a Concert dance Contemporary dance is the name given to a group of 20th century Concert dance forms Sports injuries are injuries that are caused by participation in a sporting event. Dancers risk injury within the course of their career, many retiring from active performance in their mid to late 30s. Since dance is a performance art with emphasis on aesthetics, dancers are also at a higher risk of body image problems and eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia. This article is about Performance art For other uses see Performance (disambiguation Aesthetics or esthetics ( also spelled æsthetics) is commonly known as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values sometimes called Body image is a term which may refer to the Perceptions of a human's own Physical appearance, or the internal sense of having a body which is interpreted by the brain An eating disorder is a compulsion to eat or avoid eating that negatively affects both one's physical and mental health Anorexia Nervosa is a psychiatric Diagnosis that describes an Eating disorder characterized by low Body weight and Body image distortion Bulimia nervosa is an Eating disorder characterized by recurrent Binge eating, followed by compensatory behaviors referred to as "purging"

Contents 1 Injuries 2 Stress 3 External links 4 References

Injuries

See also: Repetitive strain injury

“	. A repetitive strain injury (RSI also called cumulative trauma disorder ( CTD) occupational overuse syndrome, or work related upper limb disorder . . compared to the 61 common sports, only professional [American] football is more physically demanding than ballet. [1]	”

Many dance movements, and particularly ballet techniques, such as the turnout of the hips and rising on the toes (en pointe), test the limits of the range of movement of the human body. Ballet technique refers to the method by which ballet steps are performed or taught. In Ballet, turnout (also turn-out) is a rotation of the leg which comes from the hips causing the Knee and Foot to turn outward away from the Dancing on pointe, or en pointe (pronounced /ɑ̃ pwɛ̃t/ often anglicised as /ɑn pwɛ̃t/ or /ɑn pɔɪnt/ is the act of standing on the tips of the Toes Dance movements can place stress on the body when not performed correctly; even if perfect form is used, over-repetition can degrade quality of performance and the body itself. Eighty percent of professional dancers will be injured in some way during their careers; 50 percent of dancers from large ballet companies and 40 percent from small companies will miss performances due to injury^[2]. The practice of "plieing" (bending one's knees deeply) after landing each jump may seem innocuous, but failing to do so may result in shin splints or knee injuries. A significant part of Ballet terminology is in the French language. Shin splints is a general term used to refer to a painful condition in the shins. Overwork and poor occupational health and safety conditions, a (non-sprung) hard floor, a cold studio or theater, or dancing without sufficient warm up also increase risk of injury. Occupational safety and health is a cross-disciplinary area concerned with protecting the Safety, Health and welfare of people engaged in A sprung floor is a Floor that absorbs shocks giving it a softer feel A warmup is usually performed before participating in (technical Sports or exercising

To minimize injury, dance training emphasizes strength building and -forming appropriate habits. Habits are habituated routines of behavior that are repeated regularly tend to occur Subconsciously and tend to occur without directly thinking consciously Also damage may result from having a student perform movements for which they are not prepared, care must be taken that the student is not "pushed" inappropriately. A dancer put en pointe at an age where their bones have not completely ossified may develop permanent damage; even past the point of ossification, ankle injuries can result if a dancer goes en pointe without sufficient strength. Dancing on pointe, or en pointe (pronounced /ɑ̃ pwɛ̃t/ often anglicised as /ɑn pwɛ̃t/ or /ɑn pɔɪnt/ is the act of standing on the tips of the Toes Ossification is the process of Bone formation in which connective tissues such as Cartilage are turned to bone or bone-like tissue

Stress

Professional dancers may experience chronic workplace stress with an uncertain work situation. Chronic stress is stress that lasts a long time or occurs frequently Workplace stress is the harmful physical and emotional response that occurs when there is a poor match between job demands and the capabilities resources or needs of the worker The average income for a ballet dancer is around US$600^[3], and competition for jobs is very high. The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been In addition to the stress that may be caused by this, dancers also may experience the psychological distress from technically and physically "perfectionism". Perfectionism, in Psychology, is a belief that perfection can and should be attained

As with other activities (such as horse jockeying) where weight is a factor, dancers are at a higher risk for developing eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia ^[4]. In Sport, a jockey is one who rides Horses in Horse racing or steeplechase racing primarily as a profession Many young dancers, believing that the ideal dancer must be thin, may begin controlling their diets, sometimes obsessively ^[5]. Such dancers may be unaware of or may choose to ignore the fact that an emaciated dancer will not have the strength required for ballet and is at a higher risk for injuries and long-term health problems. Emaciation (ɨˌmeɪʃiːˈeɪʃən or ɨˌmeɪsiːˈeɪʃən occurs when a organism loses substantial amounts of much needed fat and often muscle tissue making that organism look

In a survey of 300 professional dancers, 40% were tobacco smokers in contrast with the Center for Disease Control average of 24% of American women and 29% of American men aged 18-34^[6]. Tobacco Smoking is the inhalation of smoke from burned dried or cured leaves of the Tobacco plant most often in the form of a Cigarette. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (or CDC) is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services based in unincorporated

External links

• Overview of Ballet Injuries
• Ouch! Five common dance injuries & how to treat them

References

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