DEGENERATIVE JOINT DISEASE IN FEMALE BALLET DANCERS

The relationship between long-term ballet dancing and eventual arthros is of the hip, ankle, subtalar, and first metatarsophalangeal joint wa s examined in 19 former professional female dancers, aged 50 to 70 yea rs. The dancers were compared with pair-matched controls, All 38 women underwent medical history taking, clinical examination, and roentgeno graphy of the joints studied. The roentgenographs were independently j udged by two investigators and grouped according to a modified classif ication of Hermodsson. We found a statistically significant increase i n roentgenologic arthrosis of the ankle, subtalar, and first metatarso phalangeal joints in the ballet group compared with the control group. There was no significant difference regarding degenerative changes of the hip joint. However, subjects in the dance group who had evidence of degenerative changes on roentgenographs had no clinical complaints. There was a statistically significant increase in hallux valgus defor mity in the ballet group (P < 0.05). The dancers also showed a statist ically significant increase in flexion, external rotation, and abducti on of the hip joint, dorsal flexion of the first metatarsophalangeal j oint, and inversion and eversion of subtalar joint. But the control gr oup had statistically significant increased plantar flexion of the fir st metatarsophalangeal joint. The most important cause of the statisti cally significant increase of arthrosis of the ankle and first metatar sophalangeal joints must be explained by repetitive microtrauma.