ACL Injury Risk Factor Differences in Directional Jump Landings Between Female College-Aged Ballet Dancers and Athletes

Abstract

Female athletes suffer ACL injuries in non-contact sports at a higher rate than males. However, only 0.05% of professional female ballet dancers suffer an ACL injury compared to 12.2% of high school female soccer players. There is a knowledge gap as to why the injury rates between these groups are dramatically different. This study investigated whether an amateur female ballet dancer displayed lower ACL injury risk factors than a high school and a college female athlete during jump landings. Participants completed forward, right, and left single-leg jump landings at a length of 50% body height. The risk factors assessed were posterior ground reaction force (GRF), knee valgus angle, knee flexion angle, and external knee valgus torque. The results showed that the dancer’s maximum knee valgus angle was higher than the college athlete, while the high school athlete’s maximum posterior GRF was higher than the dancer. The results suggest that dancers may land with less deceleration, which reduces the risk of ACL injury, but may land with their knee angled more inward, which increases risk of injury. Further testing is needed to confirm these results and to determine whether ballet could be beneficial for female athletes to improve jump landing technique.