2021, Vol. 8, Issue 3, Part E

Aim: To review the epidemiology of musculoskeletal injuries in Indian classical dancers.

Objective: Objective of the study was to explore what the research suggests on the concept of prevalence of musculoskeletal injuries in Indian classical dancers.

Eligibility criteria: Relevant studies from the period of 2010 to 2021 via PubMed, Cochrane and Google scholar. Studies were reviewed as eligible for inclusion in the systematic review if they met the subsequent criteria; full text articles which were published in last 10 years, systematic reviews, cross sectional studies, observational studies, randomized control trials, population included both the genders with age group 18-40 years. In total 50 articles were selected in which 23 were eligible as per inclusion criteria for the systematic review. Most of the injuries occurred in lower limb. Most prevalent site for injury was back (42.5%) followed by knee (28.30%) and ankle (18.64%) in Bharatanatyam dancers whereas in Kathak dancers it was 47% back injuries 16% knee injuries and 20% ankle injuries. Among all the injuries occurring in dancers 60; 80% injuries are of low back pain, 17% - 30% injuries are of spine, upper back injuries are 38%. Complaints related to hips was 54%, complaints for the thighs and knees were 48% whereas complaints for ankle and feet were 45%.

Conclusion: After analyzing the studies it was evident that Lower extremity is the most commonly involved segment in all the dance forms. Incidence of injuries is greater in back followed by knee and ankle in all the Indian classical dance forms. However, there was a difficulty in identifying the etiology of this injuries as for as the modality Bharatanatyam was the most prevalent.