Determinants of Pain Intensity in Physical Education Teachers Focusing on Dance Teachers: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

(1) Background: Dance teachers (DT) are dependent on their functional body. Pain can hardly be avoided during the professional practice of dance. Pain can become so intense that it impairs, or even prevents, the professional practice. The aim of this study was to identify the determinants of pain intensity of the most severely affected body regions of DT in pain during the three-month period prior to the survey. (2) Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted by an online survey. A total of 166 DT participated in the study; 143 of the DT were in pain during the three-month period and were included in the analysis. Using multiple linear regression, the determinants of pain intensity were identified from population parameters, occupational data, pain localisation, and temporal pain course. (3) Results: Regions of the lower extremity and head/trunk regions were most frequently indicated as the body regions with the most severe pain. The multiple regression model generated with the factors “functional impairment,” “biomechanical exposure,” and “pain at rest” explains a statistically significant, moderate proportion of the variance in pain intensity (R2 = 0.22, F (3, 106) = 10.04, p < 0.001). (4) Conclusions: Intensity of pain in DT seems to be related to the physical demands of professional practice.

Injury Rates and Characteristics Associated with Participation in Organized Dance Education: A Systematic Review

“…Most studies (n=23) focused on dance students only 7,9,19,20,[33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43]45,46,[48][49][50]52,54 , three included only dance teachers 47,51,53 and one study included both 44 . Altogether, the study samples included 4,632 dance students (3,902 female, 730 male) and 430 dance teachers (281 female, 49 male).…”

“…Single-genre studies were conducted in ballet (n=3) 40,43,54 , modern (n=1) 39 , contemporary (n=1), tap (n=1) 46 and highland dance (n=1) 52 . Genre was not specified in five studies 36,38,44,47,51,53 .…”

“…Injuries were captured if they were diagnosed by a medical professional (n=12), 7,19,33,[37][38][39][40][41][42][47][48][49] or if participants self-reported pain/injury (n=15) 9,20,[34][35][36][43][44][45][46][50][51][52][53][54] . Exposure was most often reported in units of hours/week (n=17) 7,19,35,[38][39][40][42][43][44][45][46][48][49][50][51][52][53][54] . Exposure was also collected in hours/day (n=3) 9,47,51 , hours/year (n=4) 20,33,…”

“…Fourteen studies did not report an injury rate (3 cohort studies, 1 quasi-experimental, 12 crosssectional) 7,38,39,[42][43][44][45][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54] and data were extracted to calculate incidence rates/1000hrs of dance class exposure (n=10) or point prevalence of injury (n=4). For dance students, estimates ranged from 2.6-33 injuries/1000 dancer-hrs, using a combination of self-reported and medical attention injury definitions 35,39,43,50,52 .…”

“…The included studies were published between 1995 and 2021, though the majority (n = 21) were published after 2010 (Table 1). Eight were conducted in the United States, 9,[34][35][36]39,41,42,46 four in Israel, 7,38,48,49 three in Germany, 44,45,53 two in the United Kingdom, 20,33 and nine other countries were represented by single studies. 19,37,40,43,47,50,52,54 One study utilized an online survey, but it is unclear whether this was global or restricted to a particular geographic area.…”