Dance is associated with a high risk of injury and fatigue is often a contributing factor. The Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT) has been used to identify alterations in normal movement that may contribute to injury risk; however, there has been limited investigation of the potential effects of fatigue. The aim of this study was to explore the influence of dance-specific fatigue on SEBT performance, with implications for injury and performance in dance. Thirty-five university dancers completed the modified SEBT in anterior, posterolateral, and posteromedial directions prior to and immediately following the Dance Aerobic Fitness Test (DAFT). The SEBT was completed for dominant and non-dominant legs. Heart rate and rate of perceived exertion were quantified as measures of fatigue. Post-DAFT, the mean SEBT percentage maximized reach distances for dominant and nondominant legs were non-significant compared to pre-DAFT scores. Lack of a main effect for exercise was observed in each of the anterior dominant and non-dominant, posterolateral dominant and non-dominant, and posteromedial dominant and non-dominant scores. It is concluded that the limited changes in the ability of dancers to perform the SEBT suggest that they were able to maintain SEBT performance in both dominant and non-dominant legs following exercise. This resistance to fatigue may demonstrate a dance-specific performance adaptation so that potential alterations in movement performance that may increase injury risk were not observed.

Injury incidence in dance is high, in large part due to the frequency of repetitive and complex movements that require the lower limb to absorb and utilize extreme forces. The aim of this study was to quantify the biomechanical demands of the Dance Aerobic Fitness Test (DAFT) via triaxial accelerometry and utilize it to compare loading at the cervical spine and distal aspect of the lower limb. University dancers (N = 26; age: 20.0 ± 1.5 years; height: 1.61 ± 0.08 m; body mass: 58.40 ± 6.20 kg) completed two trials (one familiarization and one experimental) of the DAFT, consisting of five incremental levels of dance performance. Micromechanical electrical systems (MEMS) accelerometry was used to calculate total accumulated PlayerLoad (PLTotal) and it's uniaxial (anteroposterior [PLAP], mediolateral [PLML], and vertical [PLV]) components for each level. MEMS units were positioned at cervical vertebra 7 (C7) and the center of gastrocnemius (LL). There was a significant main effect for each level, with loading increasing in relation to exercise duration. There was also a significant main effect for anatomical placement, with higher PLTotal (C7 = 41.05 ± 7.31 au; LL = 132.58 ± 35.70), PLAP (C7 = 12.96 ± 2.89 au; LL = 47.16 ± 13.18 au), and PLML (C7 = 10.68 ± 2.15; LL = 46.29 ± 12.62 au) at LL when compared to C7, with the converse relationship for PLV (LL = 20.05 ± 3.41 au; C7 = 44.89 ± 11.22 au). Significant interactions were displayed for all PL metrics. It is concluded that triaxial PlayerLoad was sensitive enough to detect increased loading associated with increases in exercise intensity, while lower limb accelerometer placement detected higher loading in all planes. The specificity in anatomical placement has practical implications, with lower limb accelerometry recommended to assess movement strategies in that location.

The identification of changes in quality of movement in a fatigued state suggests that movement screening should also be performed post-exercise to enhance screening for injury risk. The influence of dance-specific fatigue was FMS element-specific. Specifically, the deep squat and inline lunge were most susceptible to fatigue, with implications for injury risk and performance and reflective of the high level of neuromuscular control required.

Dance requires effective functional movement for the prevention of injury, with implications for the biomechanical response to performance. This study investigated the efficacy of the Functional Movement Screening (FMS) in predicting mechanical loading during the Dance Aerobic Fitness Test (DAFT). Twenty-five university dancers (19 females; age: 20.3 ± 0.94 years; height: 162.55 ± 0.05 cm; mass: 58.73 ± 6.3 kg; and 6 males; age: 21.08 ± 2.01 years; height: 175 ± 6.54 cm; mass: 68.16 ± 4.97 kg) were screened using the FMS. Subjects then completed the DAFT with a GPS-mounted triaxial accelerometer located at the cervico-thoracic junction. Accelerometry data were sampled at 100 Hz and used to calculate total accumulated PlayerLoad, Playerload medial-lateral (PL ML ), PlayerLoad anterior-posterior (PL AP ), and PlayerLoad vertical (PL V ) over the duration of the DAFT. Linear regression analysis was used to determine the strength of correlation between FMS and PlayerLoad, PL ML , PL AP , and PL V , and forward stepwise hierarchical modelling was performed to establish which FMS components were the primary predictors of mechanical loading. The Deep Squat (DS) demon-

No abstract