The Perspectives and Practices of Sport Scientists and Sports-Medicine Practitioners in Ballet.

Abstract

Purpose: To explore the current perspectives and practices of Sports scientists and Sports medicine practitioners (SSSMP) in ballet. Methods: An online questionnaire survey evaluated influences in training planning, current training practices, and monitoring. The survey was developed via Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) Online Survey. A web link to the survey and an banner with a QR code was generated and shared across several social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc). Results: 26 participants were involved in sports science and sports medicine role in the ballet environment; sports scientists were mostly responsible (2.8 ± 0.8) for training planning, decision to monitor training load (46%), along with analysing and interpreting load data (4.0 ±1.1). Additionally, the collective consensus on the time of the season (4.3 ±1.0), dancers’ performance (4.2 ±1.0), injury prevention (4.2± 0.7) and rehabilitation (4.0 ±0.9) were perceived as very influential for planning training, 96% of the respondents emphasising that injury prevention played an integral role in training ballet dancers. However, opinions diverged on the methods of monitoring; in addition, approximately 53% of the respondents disagreed with the current equipment used for effective load monitoring in ballet. Conclusion: The findings highlight the current perceptions and practices on training load monitoring and help navigate sports scientists and sports medicine practitioners' influences to a certain extent in terms of their role in an interdisciplinary approach and athletic management structure in ballet. Further research is needed to assess the impact of training loading monitoring in ballet.