PROPRIOCEPTION IN CLASSICAL BALLET DANCERS - A PROSPECTIVE-STUDY OF THE INFLUENCE OF AN ANKLE SPRAIN ON PROPRIOCEPTION IN THE ANKLE JOINT

We studied prospectively the influence of ankle sprains on propriocept ion as measured by recording the postural sway of classical ballet dan cers. Excellent balance and coordination are important for classical b allet dancers, and postural stability requires adequate proprioception from the ankle joint. Fifty-three professional dancers from the Royal Swedish Ballet, Stockholm, and 23 nonathletes, the control group, par ticipated in the investigation. Postural sway was recorded and analyze d with a stabilimeter using a specially designed, portable, computer-a ssisted force plate. Six dancers sustained ankle sprains during follow up. The recordings were obtained of these dancers before and after the injuries. The stabilometry results differed among the male and female dancers and the control group as follows: 1) the male dancers demonst rated a smaller total area of sway, and 2) both the male and female da ncers had a smaller mean sway on the left foot than on the right (no m ean difference in sway was found between the left and right foot in th e control group). In comparison with the condition before injury and w ith the uninjured foot, the postural stability of the dancer was impai red for several weeks after the ankle sprain. Postural stability gradu ally improved during rehabilitation and improvement still occured seve ral weeks after professional dancing had resumed.