IADMS Miami 2000   [back to the Category]

Great Toe Injury and Dance   [read the french version]

Author :   Judith R. Peterson, M.D. et al.

Authors: Judith R. Peterson, M.D., Sean Gallagher, L.P.T., and Gregory Taylor, L.P.T., Consultants to Pennsylvania Ballet Company; Thomas Jefferson University HospitalPhiladelphia, PA, USA

The great toe is subject to impressively large forces in ballet and both men and women are at risk of injury to the hallux and first ray.

Although there is much anecdotal commentary regarding great toe injuries in ballet, few clinical series exists in the medical literature to our knowledge that document the prevalence of these injuries in professional dancers or their impact on patient functionality or comfort. The natural history of hallux rigidus and hallux valgus in the professional dancer is not well defined.

Members of a professional dance company filled out questionnaires and had physical examinations done of the foot. This study will serve to better define the prevalence of great toe dysfunction. It is hoped that this information will better establish the natural history of these disorders and improve the management of great toe disorders in the ballet dancer.

This is the abstract of a paper presented at the Tenth Annual Meeting of the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science, held 27-29 October 2000 in Miami, Florida, USA. All rights are reserved by the individual author(s).