The Study
(Low) Energy Availability and Its Association with Injury Occurrence in Competitive Dance: Cross-Sectional Analysis in Female Dancers
This study looked at a group of dancers and found that those with less energy from food tended to get more muscle injuries, and those who trained more got more bone injuries. But it didn't prove that eating less caused the injuries—maybe the injuries made them eat less, or maybe they trained too hard and got both tired and injured at the same time.
Analysis score
Maximum 44 for a cross-sectional study.
Where the score came from
This study looked at why female dancers often get injured and found that not eating enough for how much they dance, being older, or dancing too many hours per week makes injuries more likely.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 544 / 100
Quality score
Snapshots of a population at a single point in time, or descriptions of small groups. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine cause and effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — dancers who don't eat enough to match their intense training, or who train too much without rest, are much more likely to get hurt, especially in muscles or bones.
- 2Dancers with lower energy availability had a 16% higher chance of soft-tissue injuries per point drop; older dancers had a 75% higher chance; each extra hour of training per week raised bone injury risk by 21%; more muscle and bone mass lowered bone injury risk by 27%.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Medicina
Year
2022
Authors
Dasa Prus, D. Mijatović, V. Hadžić, Daria Ostojic, Šime Veršić, N. Zenić, Tatjana Jezdimirović, P. Drid, P. Zaletel
Related Content
Claims (6)
Athletes who do not consume enough energy to meet their training demands have a higher rate of injury compared to those who do.
Among female competitive contemporary dancers, older dancers have a 75% higher rate of soft-tissue injuries compared to younger dancers.
Female competitive contemporary dancers who train more hours per week have a higher rate of bone injuries. For every extra hour of training, the chance of a bone injury increases by 21%.
Female competitive contemporary dancers with lower energy availability relative to their fat-free mass have a higher rate of soft-tissue injuries, with each unit decrease in energy availability score increasing injury risk by 16%.
In female competitive contemporary dancers, higher body fat percentage and BMI are linked to a higher rate of soft-tissue injuries when not accounting for age and energy intake, but this link disappears when those factors are considered.
Female competitive contemporary dancers with higher fat-free mass have a lower rate of bone injuries compared to those with lower fat-free mass.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.