As announced last month, from March through to August we will be sharing select presentations from our 2020 iConference; free and open access here on the IADMS blog and on our eLearning page. Each month will focus on one of our iConference themes: Dance for Health (March), Dance Medicine (April), Dance Research (May), Interactive/Movement (June), Dance Education (July), and Dance Science (August). 

Presentations will only be available for the specified month, so be sure to share them with your colleagues and friends while you can! All presentations from the 2020 iConference remain available for IADMS members via the IADMS app until September 15 2021. 

This month we have two presentations from the ‘Dance Medicine’ theme. We also asked the presenters some questions regarding their experiences of being involved in our 2020 iConference.

Prevention and treatment of eating disorders and body image concerns in dancers

Fumi Somehara MSc, APD 

website: https://dddcfr.com.au/ email: fumi@dddcfr.com.au instagram: @ddd_centre_for_recovery  facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dancersdontdiet

Shane Jeffrey BSc, APD

website: https://www.riveroakhealth.com.au/ email: shane@riveroakhealth.com.au instagram: @riveroakhealth facebook: https://www.facebook.com/riveroakhealth

Video no longer available on this platform. IADMS members still have access to all iConference presentations until September 15 2021 via the IADMS app.

1. What was your motivation for being part of the IADMS iConference2020?

We wanted participants and viewers to know about Eating Disorders and Body Image Concerns and speak about it because they are often categorised as taboo topics in the industry.

2. Could you outline the main topic/theme/exploration of your iConference presentation and why this is important for the dance sector/health professionals?   

Topics: Eating Disorders and Body Image Concerns. These are serious issues amongst dancers that have been dismissed for too long, often in the name of “art” and “tradition”. When 1 in 8 dancers (or 1 in 6 ballet dancers) struggle with Eating Disorders, it is everyone’s responsibility to gain the right knowledge and tools for prevention, early detection and intervention, and appropriate support for recovery.

3. What are the key ‘take-home’ messages from your presentation that the dance sector/dance health professionals should be aware of?

Unfortunately the dance sector, especially the ballet industry, is very behind when it comes to body diversity and inclusion. The health industry also stigmatises certain body types.  We hope that through our presentation, the viewers are able to learn about this to do better, and dismantle the dangerous “dance body ideal” and reduce the risk factors that relate to the development of Eating Disorders and body dissatisfaction.

4. Could you tell us what you enjoyed the most about iConference2020 as either a presenter or attendee?

That the conference was more accessible by being online.

Injury incidence among aerial dance performers in Ireland: a prospective cohort study 

Stephen O Rourke BA, BSc

Video no longer available on this platform. IADMS members still have access to all iConference presentations until September 15 2021 via the IADMS app.

1. What was your motivation for being part of the IADMS iConference2020?

I am passionate about the health and fitness of performers and wanted to contribute to this community. I also wanted to have a chance to meet and learn from my colleagues with a similar interest in this area. 

2. Could you outline the main topic/theme/exploration of your iConference presentation and why this is important for the dance sector/health professionals?   

The main topic examines the incidence of injury in aerial performers in Ireland, profiling the number, type and location of injuries over a six month period. It also explores physical fitness in this group and compares that to their sporting counterparts. The first step in tackling injuries and trying to prevent them is to examine and profile the types of injuries that are occurring in our performers. Once we have a good understanding of the type of injuries they experience and what parts of the body are affected, we can then begin to delve into why and how with more focus. 

3. What are the key ‘take-home’ messages from your presentation that the dance sector/dance health professionals should be aware of?

The key 'take home' message from the presentation is that Injury incidence among aerial dancers in Ireland was found to be 2.9/1000 hours of training/ performance. Although we cannot exclude the risk and occurrence of serious injury, we found aerial dance to be a relatively low risk activity. Most injuries affected the lumbar spine followed by the shoulder and hand/finger. This could help focus more directed injury prevention programs targeting these anatomical injury sites and follow up research. We also found that dancers/ aerial dancers appear to lack elements of fitness when compared to other athletes. Further longer prospective studies are needed to establish injury risk factors in this cohort. 

4. Could you tell us what you enjoyed the most about iConference2020 as either a presenter or attendee?

I enjoyed having the opportunity to present my research and connect with others who have a similar interest in the health and wellbeing of dancers and performers. It was a great opportunity to hear about all the wonderful research and initiatives happening around the world in this field, make connections and learn from one another.