Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the effect of pre-season dance training on back pain, joint mobility, and muscle flexibility, and on speed and agility in elite cross-country skiers.
Methods: 26 skiers participated (mean (SD) age, 19 (3.9) years). An intervention group (n = 16) had 12 weeks of dance training; a control group (n = 10) did not dance; otherwise both groups followed a similar pre-season physical training programme. Joint mobility and muscle flexibility of the spine, hip, and ankle were measured. Two sports related functional tests (slalom and hurdle) were also done. All measurements/tests were carried out before and after the dancing period.
Results: Four (of six) subjects from the intervention group who initially complained of ski related back pain did not report back pain after the dance training; the three subjects with back pain from the control group were unchanged. At study onset the intervention group had a slightly impaired range of motion in the spine compared with the control group. After dance training, there was a better relation between kyphosis of the thoracic spine and lordosis of the lumbar spine, and a 7.1° increase in hip flexion with the knee extended (p = 0.02). In the control group hip extension decreased by 0.08 m on average (p = 0.01). No positive effects of dance training on sports related functional tests were observed.
Conclusions: Preseason dance training improved the range of hip motion and joint mobility and the flexibility of the spine. These improvements might explain the reduction in ski related back pain in the intervention group.
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (180.5 KB).
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Alricsson M., Harms-Ringdahl K., Eriksson K., Werner S. The effect of dance training on joint mobility, muscle flexibility, speed and agility in young cross-country skiers--a prospective controlled intervention study. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2003 Aug;13(4):237–243. doi: 10.1034/j.1600-0838.2003.00309.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Alricsson M., Harms-Ringdahl K., Werner S. Reliability of sports related functional tests with emphasis on speed and agility in young athletes. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2001 Aug;11(4):229–232. doi: 10.1034/j.1600-0838.2001.110406.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Ekstrand J., Wiktorsson M., Oberg B., Gillquist J. Lower extremity goniometric measurements: a study to determine their reliability. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 1982 Apr;63(4):171–175. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Eriksson K., Németh G., Eriksson E. Low back pain in elite cross-country skiers. A retrospective epidemiological study. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 1996 Feb;6(1):31–35. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0838.1996.tb00067.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Khan K. M., Bennell K., Ng S., Matthews B., Roberts P., Nattrass C., Way S., Brown J. Can 16-18-year-old elite ballet dancers improve their hip and ankle range of motion over a 12-month period? Clin J Sport Med. 2000 Apr;10(2):98–103. doi: 10.1097/00042752-200004000-00003. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Lundon K. M., Li A. M., Bibershtein S. Interrater and intrarater reliability in the measurement of kyphosis in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 1998 Sep 15;23(18):1978–1985. doi: 10.1097/00007632-199809150-00013. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Mahlamäki S., Soimakallio S., Michelsson J. E. Radiological findings in the lumbar spine of 39 young cross-country skiers with low back pain. Int J Sports Med. 1988 Jun;9(3):196–197. doi: 10.1055/s-2007-1025004. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Mellin G. Measurement of thoracolumbar posture and mobility with a Myrin inclinometer. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 1986 Sep;11(7):759–762. doi: 10.1097/00007632-198609000-00019. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Ohlén G., Spangfort E., Tingvall C. Measurement of spinal sagittal configuration and mobility with Debrunner's kyphometer. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 1989 Jun;14(6):580–583. doi: 10.1097/00007632-198906000-00006. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Ohlén G., Wredmark T., Spangfort E. Spinal sagittal configuration and mobility related to low-back pain in the female gymnast. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 1989 Aug;14(8):847–850. doi: 10.1097/00007632-198908000-00013. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Rusko H. K. Development of aerobic power in relation to age and training in cross-country skiers. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1992 Sep;24(9):1040–1047. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Wojtys E. M., Ashton-Miller J. A., Huston L. J., Moga P. J. The association between athletic training time and the sagittal curvature of the immature spine. Am J Sports Med. 2000 Jul-Aug;28(4):490–498. doi: 10.1177/03635465000280040801. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]