Injury Occurrence in Modern and Hip-Hop Dancers: A Systematic Literature Review

INTRODUCTION: Dance-related injuries have become a field of great interest to researchers, with the most commonly reported injuries being those sustained by ballet dancers. However, there is a lack of research into injuries sustained by those who perform modern and hip-hop dance. METHODS: A systematic literature review using the MEDLINE research database was performed and a search carried out for full-text studies that investigate injuries in modern and hip-hop dance. RESULTS: While a total of 74 hits were obtained from various searches, only nine studies were included in the systematic literature review. Six of them examined modern dancers, two examined break dancers and one examined hip-hop dancers. The results show that hip-hop dancers (and especially break dancers) sustain more injuries in comparison to modern dancers. The most common injuries are in the lower extremities, with studies revealing that overuse injuries occur in up to 71% of cases. CONCLUSIONS: The injury incidence rate in hip-hop dance seems to be higher compared to modern dance, chiefly because of the more demanding biomechanics involved and the dance techniques employed. Prevention management can have a positive effect on the number of injuries.