Musculoskeletal and Cardiopulmonary Characteristics of the Professional Ballet Dancer

Abstract

In brief: Sixteen professional ballet dancers from the Ohio Ballet in Akron were x-rayed, tested on a Cybex dynamometer, and tested for maximal aerobic power on a treadmill to determine musculoskeletal and cardiopulmonary capabilities. The x-rays indicated that the dancers had metatarsal abnormalities characteristic of such artists. The Cybex data were considered normal for the knee. The dancers had higher than normal cardiopulmonary capacity, although it was still in the range of nonendurance athletes.