Project seeks to improve dancers' health

doi:10.1136/bmj.a721

Published 8 July 2008, doi:10.1136/bmj.a721
Cite this as: BMJ 2008;337:a721

News

Project seeks to improve dancers’ health

Jacqui Wise

¹ London

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

A new research project aims to discover why dancers have sucha high rate of injuries and to examine ways to keep them fitand healthy.

Matthew Wyon, reader in performance science at the Universityof Wolverhampton, said, "Dancers have a huge injury occurrence:80% of dancers incur at least one injury a year that affectstheir ability to perform." In comparison, he said, footballersor rugby players have an injury rate of 20%. "And dance isn’teven a contact sport. We need to look properly at why this is."

The dancers’ health pilot scheme has been devised by DanceUK in partnership with the Olympic Medical Institute, the Universityof Wolverhampton, and the Laban, a contemporary dance trainingcentre in London. The Jerwood Charitable Foundation has committedthe first £80 000 ( ${euro}$ 100 000; $160 000) to the £500000 scheme.