Zapateado Technique as an Injury Risk in Mexican Folkloric and Spanish Dance: An Analysis of Execution, Ground Reaction Force, and Muscle Strength

Abstract

Zapateado is a repetitive percussive footwork in dance. This percussive movement, and the differences in technique, may be risk factors for injury. A survey on zapateado dance students found a rate of 1.5 injuries/1,000 exposures. Knee injuries are more frequent than in Spanish dancers than folkloric dancers. The aim of this research was to study the relationship between technique and ground reaction force between zapateado on Spanish and Mexican folkloric dancers. Ten female dance students (age 22.4 ± 4 yrs), six Spanish dancers and four Mexican folkloric dancers, were considered. Each student performed zapateado with a flat foot, wearing high-heeled shoes during 5 seconds on a force platform. Videotapes were taken on a lateral plane, and knee and hip angles in each movement phase were measured with Dartfish software. Additionally, knee and ankle flexor and extensor strength was measured with a dynamometer. Ground reaction forces were lower for Spanish dancers than Mexican folkloric dancers. Spanish dancers had less knee flexion when the foot contacted to the ground than did Mexican folkloric dancers. On Spanish dancers, the working leg had more motion in relation to hip and knee angles than was seen in folkloric dancers. The ankle extensors were stronger on folkloric dancers, and there were no differences for the other muscle groups. Knee flexion at foot contact and muscle strength imbalance could be risk factors for injuries. It is suggested that the technique in Spanish dance in Mexico be reviewed, although more studies are required to define more risk factors.

Analysis of Core Stability Exercise Effect on the Physical and Psychological Function of Elderly Women Vulnerable to Falls during Obstacle Negotiation

“…Obstacle gait variables were filmed with a camcorder and saved on a computer. CV and MVHC were measured with the use of Dartfish software (Dartfish, Fribourg, Switzerland) 23 ) , and the results were output in a data table. To analyze depression, the CES-D (Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale) was used.…”

Biomechanical Description of Zapateado Technique in Flamenco

“…The knee joint, due to the spatial segment orientation of the femur and tibia, is in the best position of all the lower limb joints to help attenuate the vertical GRF [ 26 ]. Therefore, Echegoyen et al [ 6 ] emphasized the problem in Spain where teachers instruct the students to perform zapateado without knee flexion or with minimum flexion of the knee. When the knee is extended, it produces less absorption through its musculotendinous system, increasing the force transmitted to the passive structures of the knee and joints above positioned [ 6 , 27 ].…”

“…Therefore, Echegoyen et al [ 6 ] emphasized the problem in Spain where teachers instruct the students to perform zapateado without knee flexion or with minimum flexion of the knee. When the knee is extended, it produces less absorption through its musculotendinous system, increasing the force transmitted to the passive structures of the knee and joints above positioned [ 6 , 27 ]. Additionally, the dynamic loading in flamenco footwork has an unusual pattern due to the traditional high-heeled shoes worn by the dancer [ 8 ].…”

“…Among the most fundamental movements in flamenco is footwork (zapateado) performed in traditional high-heeled shoes. Zapateado is a repetitive percussive footwork with metatarsus, flat foot and heel [ 6 ]. Therefore, one can say that flamenco dancers act on a floor like a drummer [ 7 ], and flamenco itself is called a percussive dance.…”

Las algias como factor predisponente de lesión en estudiantes de baile flamenco

“…El uso de tacón alto en esta práctica puede llegar a ser el desencadenante de la mayoría de las alteraciones de aparato locomotor que se presentan en el baile flamenco (Castillo-López et al, 2016) Se ha demostrado que este tipo de calzado no absorbe mayoritariamente los impactos ocasionados por la percusión del zapato contra el suelo (Echegoyen, Aoyama, & Rodríguez, 2013;Vargas, 2009;Voloshin et al, 1989). Las señales que aparecen de dolor del pie advierten de potenciales lesiones, ya que el bailaor de manera inconsciente compensa reestructurando su colocación.…”