IADMS New York 2002   [back to the Category]

A Two-Year Study: Acupuncture and the Treatment of Dance Injuries   [read the french version]

Author :   Bill Russell, MA, MFA, DC, DACBSP

A Two-Year Study: Acupuncture and the
Treatment of Dance Injuries


Bill Russell, MA, MFA, DC, DACBSP
Webster University, Performing Arts Rehabilitation
St. Louis, Missouri, USA


This Paper looks at the use of Acupuncture in a university based Dance Medicine clinic over a two-year period. In a number of studies acupuncture has been indicated as the treatment of choice by many Dancers for musculoskeletal injuries. Clinically acupuncture has been used for the resolution of localized pain, localized inflammation and swelling that accompany acute musculoskeletal trauma and overuse or misuse injuries which are frequently seen problems by clinicians in the Dance Medicine field.

The clinic is on sit in a university dance department furnishing the dancers with diagnoses and treatment for acute and chronic dance related injuries. Treatment includes physical therapy and functional retraining. This presentation will look at acupuncture and how it fits into overall comprehensive treatment plan for the Dancer. It will compare duration of treatment, frequency of treatment number if injuries of the clinic patients. In conclusion this paper will help the Dance Medicine practitioner become familiar with the use of acupuncture in the treatment of musculoskeletal Injuries and its place as a valuable component in the overall treatment plan and resolution of the Dancers injuries.