BALLET INJURIES - AN ANALYSIS OF EPIDEMIOLOGY AND FINANCIAL OUTCOME

The financial outcome and epidemiology of ballet dancers' injuries wer e studied by examining workers' compensation insurance records coverin g 3 seasons (3 years) of activity for a large professional ballet comp any. One hundred four dancers sustained 309 injuries that resulted in insurance payouts for medical costs of $398,396. The average cost per injury was $1289. Although only 4.2% of the injuries resulted in medic al costs exceeding $5000, these represented 60.0% of the total medical costs. Nine injuries resulted in medical costs in excess of $10,000 e ach. Overall, there were 2.97 injuries per injured dancer. Twenty-four dancers (23.0% of the injured) sustained 5 or more injuries each and thus were responsible for 51.9% (161) of all injuries. The foot (74 in juries, 23.9%), lumbar spine (71, 23.0%), and ankle (41, 13.3%) were t he most frequently injured anatomic regions. The experience of this ba llet company is similar to that of a college athletic department or a professional sports team. All could employ similar strategies to reduc e injuries and associated costs.