Nick Allen

• PhD
• Clinical Director at Birmingham Royal Ballet Company

Introduction: The use of neuromuscular interventions in sports induce meaningful motor performance in strength, sprint and power. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the “11+ Dance” exercise program versus normal training (control) on possible adaptations in power, lower-body strength, and inter-limb asymmetry in adolescen...

Relative energy deficiency in sport (REDs) is a potentially severe, challenging, broad-spectrum syndrome with potential negative health and performance outcomes. The numerous research publications and International Olympic Committee consensus statements relating to REDs testify to the challenges faced in early identification or screening, diagnosis...

Introduction The importance and potential benefits of muscular strength in the adolescent’s development for health and fitness has been demonstrated in the literature. Maximal muscular strength and its assessment, however, is not a primary assessment criterium in the selection of young talented dancers. Methods The present study evaluated the with...

Background The foot and ankle are often reported as the most common sites of injury in professional ballet dancers; however, epidemiological research focusing on foot and ankle injuries in isolation and investigating specific diagnoses is limited. Purpose To investigate the incidence rate, severity, burden, and mechanisms of foot and ankle injurie...

Introduction: Pre-professional ballet training involves long training hours from an early age that could influence young dancers’ physical performance and injury incidence. This cross-sectional analysis investigated the relationship of year group and sex, with countermovement jump, and injury incidence (primary outcome) in adolescent ballet dancers...

Introduction: It is well documented that there is high prevalence of injuries in pre-professional and professional ballet dancers. Current evidence from high in quality and quantity research on injury prevention in sport, indicates that interventions can reduce injury risks by 30 to 50%. Injury prevention research in dance, is limited. The aim of t...

Epidemiological studies over the past decade indicate high injury prevalence in preprofessional ballet (76%) and professional contemporary and ballet dancers (60–69%). Injuries can have detrimental effects both for the dancers and the dance company. Most injuries are in the lower limb and re- ported as the gradual onset of overuse. Professional dan...

Overuse injuries are the most prevalent injuries in aesthetic sports, due to the repetitive nature of the training. Evidence of their relationship with growth, maturation, and training load is equivo- cal. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of these factors on overuse injuries in dance and aesthetic sports. A database search...

Does dance activity participation (including level of performance and previous injuries) increase risk of osteoarthritis?

Using electrocardiography and echocardiography, we screened elite men and women ballet dancers for abnormal cardiovascular conditions using an observation design with blinded clinical analysis of cardiac function tests. Fifty-eight (females n=33) elite professional ballet dancers (age: 26.0±5.7 years, body mass index: 19.9±2.2 kg/m2) with no past o...

An athlete's cardiorespiratory profile, maximal aerobic capacity, and anaerobic threshold is affected by training regimen and competition demands. The present study aimed to ascertain whether there are company rank differences in maximal aerobic capacity and anaerobic threshold in elite classical ballet dancers. Seventy-four volunteers (M 34, F 40)...

The aims of the current study were to: (a) investigate the reported prevalence of nutritional, medicinal, and performance enhancing substance use in dance, including any gender or professional status differences, and (b) examine the amount of importance dancers place on potential sources of information regarding supplementation. Methods involved ad...

Background: Within sport, mitigation of risk of injury through the use of comprehensive specialist sports medicine provision is commonplace. Dance participation, through its athletic nature can also introduce risk of injury, but unlike sport, is not always recognised that specialist medicinal provision will assist in the mitigation of that risk. Ob...

The mechanical properties of dance floors have the potential to influence dancers' performance and injury risk. Little information is available that describes dancers' preferences for dance floor mechanical properties. Investigation of dancers' perceptions of varied dance floors can serve to enlighten governing bodies, floor manufacturers, and the...

Objectives: The mechanical properties of the floors used by dancers have often been suggested to be associated with injury, yet limited etiological evidence is available to support this hypothesis. The dance floors at three theatres regularly used by a touring professional ballet company were mechanically quantified with the aim of comparing floor...

Objectives: Athletes who train indoors during the winter months exhibit low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations due to a lack of sunlight exposure. This has been linked to impaired exercise performance. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of oral vitamin D₃ supplementation on selected physical fitness and injury para...

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine whether an intervention with individualized conditioning program based on injury history and functional movement screening would be effective in reducing ballet injury incidence. Design: Prospective 3-year epidemiological study. Setting: Professional ballet company and its in-house medical faci...

Objective: Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D is produced by the exposure of the skin to sunlight. Therefore athletes who train indoors, such as dancers, are vulnerable to vitamin D deficiency. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D status in UK professional dancers during periods of reduced and increased sunlight exposure (...

Objective: Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D is produced by the exposure of the skin to sunlight. Thereforeathletes who train indoors, such as dancers, are vulnerable to vitamin D deficiency. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D status in UK professional dancers during periods of reduced and increased sunlight exposure (i....

Prospective, descriptive single-cohort study. To assess the incidence and severity of injuries to a professional ballet company over 1 year. Data for an elite-level ballet company of 52 professional dancers were collected by an in-house medical team using a time-loss injury definition. A total of 355 injuries were recorded, with an overall injury i...

This study examined the cardiorespiratory and anthropometric indices of professional classical ballet dancers in relation to company seniority, gender, and supplemental training. Forty-nine participants from an international touring company carried out a peak Vo(2) test and vertical jump test. Anthropometric measurements and supplemental training a...

Jumping plays an integral part of ballet performance and this study examines some of the ballet dancer’s characteristics that influence jump height. Forty-nine dancers (M = 21; F = 28) completed a series of tests that included two footed vertical jump height, single leg vertical jump height and anthropometric measurements. Supplemental training his...