Shaw Bronner

• PhD, PT, OCS
• Research Director at ADAM Center

Hip hop dance has many styles including breakdance (breaking), house, popping and locking, funk, streetdance, krumping, Memphis jookin', and voguing. These movements combine the complexity of dance choreography with the challenges of gymnastics and acrobatic movements. Despite high injury rates in hip hop dance, particularly in breakdance, to date...

The brain may be tuned to evaluate aesthetic perception through perceptual chunking when we observe the grace of the dancer. We modelled biomechanical metrics to explain biological determinants of aesthetic perception in dance. Eighteen expert (EXP) and intermediate (INT) dancers performed développé arabesque in three conditions: (1) slow tempo, (2...

Analysis of skill at multiple points on the learning continuum provides insight into how complex limb and postural organization is modified with extended practice. Dancers at three skill levels were compared performing a domain-specific movement (développé arabesque) to identify motor control parameters underlying skill acquisition of a sequential...

Dancers frequently sustain hip injuries, including labral tears, coxa saltans, stress fractures, tendinosis, and joint disease. High velocity kicks (grand battement), with extreme abduction and external rotation (ER), may stress the hip, sacroiliac joint, and surrounding soft tissue. However, three-dimensional kinematic dance descriptions are limit...

Hip hop dance has rapidly become a popular international art form. There is limited information on injury patterns in this population. The purpose of this study was to determine injury incidence and patterns among three groups of hip hop dancers. Three hundred and twelve intermediate, advanced, and expert hip hop dancers were recruited at battles,...

Increasingly, best practice in dance healthcare includes preseason screening. But do preseason screenings give us useful information? Can they provide assessment of injury risk? Can we use a common screen for all athletes or need ones specific to dancers? What is the purpose of screening and what tests are appropriate for adolescent dancers? In thi...

Russia invaded the Ukraine on February 24, 2022. The atrocities perpetuated by invading Russian soldiers seized the world's attention in images captured by photojournalists on the ground in Bucha, Ukraine, in April 2022. We cannot look away. We must remember. Justice must prevail. … At the 2022 Grammy awards ceremony on April 3rd, President Zelensk...

We investigated work-related-musculoskeletal-injuries (WMSI) over 15-years in professional modern dancers to determine injury rate and pattern differences due to sex and professional-experience. Injuries were coded to allow analyses by tissue-type, body-region, severity, setting, mechanism, action-causation, and repertory-style. Injury prevalence (...

Objective: To translate, culturally adapt, and validate the psychometric characteristics of the Italian version of the Dance Functional Outcome Survey (DFOS-IT) in adult dancers. Design: Clinical measurement study. Methods: The DFOS-IT was forward translated, reconciled, backward translated, and reviewed by an expert committee to establish opt...

Handheld dynamometry (HHD) using external fixation has demonstrated high inter- and intra-rater reliability. Handheld dynamometry offers an objective way to quantify strength; however, setting up external stabilization devices for HHD can be time consuming. This study examined the reliability of HHD for lower extremity strength in dancers using bod...

As efforts to improve surveillance and decrease injury rates in pre-professional dancer’s progress, it is important to identify injury patterns and contexts. The aim of this study was to examine sex, training-based injury characteristics, and external causal mechanisms of injury among pre-professional modern dancers. Using a prospective cohort stud...

The Dance Functional Outcome Survey (DFOS) is a dance-specific questionnaire developed for use with ballet and modern dancers at all training levels. To date, no study has assessed the psychometric properties of the DFOS in pediatric dancers. The purposes of this study were to determine: 1. the reliability of the DFOS when used with healthy and inj...

Background: Hand-held dynamometry is considered an efficient, effective, and portable means of objectively measuring lower extremity strength; however, it has yet to be studied specific to dance-relevant muscle performance. Also, dynamometry is often criticized for variability in results based on tester strength and sex. Use of an external stabili...

Memorialized in former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s children’s book entitled It Takes a Village, “it takes a village to raise a child” is an African proverb that means an entire community of people must interact with children for those children to experience and grow in a safe and healthy environment. The need of the artist to create is und...

A growing number of research papers regarding Spanish-speaking dancers justifies the need for an adapted Spanish version of the Dance Functional Outcome Survey (DFOS). The objective of this study was to cross-culturally adapt and validate the DFOS for Spanish-speaking dancers. A sample of 127 healthy and injured professional and pre-professional da...

A growing number of research papers regarding Spanish-speaking dancers justifies the need for an adapted Spanish version of the Dance Functional Outcome Survey (DFOS). The objective of this study was to cross-culturally adapt and validate the DFOS for Spanish-speaking dancers. A sample of 127 healthy and injured professional and pre-professional da...

Objectives: To investigate intra- and inter-rater reliability of a ballet-based Dance Technique Screening Instrument used by physical therapists (PTs) and student PTs (SPTs) with prior dance medicine or dance experience. Methods: Ten pre-professional dancers were video-recorded in the sagittal and frontal planes while performing four dance seque...

Background: There are no outcomes measures that focus on the unique functional requirements of dancers. Objectives: To evaluate test-retest reliability, internal consistency, construct validity, sensitivity, and responsiveness of the Dance Functional Outcome Survey (DFOS) in professional and preprofessional adult dancers. Methods: This prospec...

The term dance encompasses a broad range of different styles; much of the orthopaedic literature has focused on ballet dancers. Injury is common in dancers at all levels, and many serious dancers sustain multiple injuries as they progress through their career. Foot and ankle injuries are among the most common injuries experienced by dancers. These...

To execute the aesthetic demands of dance while utilizing proper biomechanical body position, a dancer needs the ability to maintain lumbopelvic stability and external rotation of the femur, while maintaining alignment of the knee, foot, and ankle. • The ability to identify technique deficits can guide preventative programs that may reduce injury r...

The Dance Functional Outcome Survey (DFOS) was developed as a self-report questionnaire for healthy and injured ballet and modern dancers, focusing on the low back and lower extremities. Our aim was to determine factor analysis and internal consistency of the 16 items and to investigate test-retest and equivalence reliability and validity of the DF...

Regardless of your view of national or global politics, we are living through an era of toxic partisan rhetoric. From belligerent tweets on Twitter to "fake news" on Facebook and Instagram, where is this taking us? It is so easy to misunderstand a text and even an email. I've been thinking about the artists we work with and what we do in our profes...

Objectives: To examine risk factors for injury in pre-professional modern dancers. Design: With prospectively designed screening and injury surveillance, we evaluated four risk factors as categorical predictors of injury: i) hypermobility; ii) dance technique motor-control; iii) muscle tightness; iv) previous injury. Screening and injury data of 18...

Young dancers often focus solely on dance to the neglect of participation in other physical activities and sports. Similar to other adolescent athletes, this can lead to overtraining, development of physical imbalances, and injury. Dancers appear to have reduced aerobic capacity and muscle strength compared to athletes in other sports. Increasingly...

We analysed work-related musculoskeletal injuries (WMSI) in two modern dance companies to determine whether injury rates decreased and patterns altered compared to previous 3-yr and 6-yr audits (0.48 and 0.25/1000-hrs exposure respectively). In this prospectively designed 15-yr cohort study, data were collected in 30-dancer Company-1 and 12-dancer...

There is ongoing debate about how to define injury in dance: the most encompassing one or a time-loss definition. We examined the relationship between touring, performance schedule and injury definition on injury rates in a professional modern dance company over one-year. In-house healthcare management tracked 35 dancers for work-related musculoske...

Biomechanical and functional considerations in the rehabilitation of complex hip cases in dancers.

Background: Osgood-Schlatter disease (OSD) is typically a pediatric diagnosis for traction apophysitis of the tibial tubercle. Research suggests that OSD can result from disruption of the extensor mechanism due to reoccurring microavulsions of the anterior portion of the secondary ossification center. The knee accounts for approximately 74% of adol...

The aerobic demands of today's dance repertoire warrant understanding of the current cardiorespiratory fitness of dancers. The purpose of this study was to compare aerobic fitness levels of professional and pre-professional modern dancers and determine change over time. A retrospective analysis of four groups, two professional, and two pre-professi...

Purpose/Hypothesis: Previously, there was no dance-specific outcomes tool that can be used to evaluate physical function in ballet and modern dancers. The Dance Functional Outcome Survey (DFOS) was developed to evaluate the impact of orthopaedic injury on dance function in ballet and modern dancers of all training levels following lower extremity o...

1. To understand the differences in anatomy, biomechanics, and clinical presentation of the hip joint complex in the open vs. closed chain athlete. 2. To appreciate the overlap in signs and symptoms between pathology originating from the hip, pelvis, or lumbar spine. 3. To understand the clinical examination findings for hip joint pathology and the...

Study design: Case report. Background: Professional ballet and modern dancers spend an inordinate amount of time on demi pointe (rising onto their forefeet), placing excessive force on the metatarsophalangeal joints and putting them at risk of instability. Surgical treatment of this condition is well described in the literature. However, studies...

Generalized joint laxity (GJL) is a condition in which synovial joints have range of motion beyond normal limits. Research on dancers has shown increased GJL compared to agematched non-dancers based on the 9-point Beighton joint-mobility index. The objective of this study was to ascertain whether increased GJL is a predictor of musculoskeletal inju...

Purpose: In-house physical therapy management of work-related musculoskeletal injuries (WMSI) in a professional dance organization demonstrated decreased new time-loss injuries (TL-inj) in dancers over a 6-year period1. The objectives of this study were to identify injury patterns, and determine changing injury rates over a 15-year period. Methods...

Objective. Prefrontal hemodynamic responses are observed during performance of motor tasks. Using a dance video game (DVG), a complex motor task that requires temporally accurate footsteps with given visual and auditory cues, we investigated whether 20 h of DVG training modified hemodynamic responses of the prefrontal cortex in six healthy young ad...

We investigated the relationship between stress (specifically, sympathetic tone) and effective and efficient cooperation between partners using a cooperative version of a Tetris game as a model of limited resources in a shared environment. Participants were recruited from 2 distinct sociocultural orientations: individualism (Americans) and collecti...

We present a method to compare brain activity recorded with near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in a dance video game task to that recorded in a reduced version of the task using fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging). Recently, it has been shown that fNIRS can accurately record functional brain activities equivalent to those concurrently reco...

Exer-games and virtual reality offer alternative opportunities to provide neuro-rehabilitation and exercise that are fun. Our goal was to determine how effective they are in achieving motor learning goals and fitness benefits as players gain experience. We employed a repeated measures design to determine changes in physical exertion and engagement...

While studies have investigated the physical demands of dance in terms of cardiorespiratory fitness, there are no recent comparisons of cardiorespiratory response to exercise among professional dancers of different genres. Our purpose was to: 1. develop a cardiorespiratory profile of professional dancers; 2. investigate differences in peak and reco...

Abstract Biomechanical analysis is a powerful tool in the evaluation of movement dysfunction in orthopaedic and neurologic populations. Three-dimensional (3D) motion capture systems are widely used, accurate systems, but are costly and not available in many clinical settings. The Microsoft Kinect™ has the potential to be used as an alternative low-...

As the technical performance demands of dance increase, professional companies and pre-professional schools are implementing pre-season screenings that require an efficient, cost effective way to measure dancer aerobic fitness. The aim of this study was to assess an accelerated 3-minute step test (112 beats·min(-1)) by comparing it to the well-stud...

Abstract Epidemic levels of inactivity are associated with chronic diseases and rising healthcare costs. To address this, accelerometers have been used to track levels of activity. The Fitbit and Fitbit Ultra are some of the newest commercially available accelerometers. The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability and validity of the...

To determine energy expenditure and player experience in exer-games designed for novel platforms. Energy cost of 7 trained players was measured in 5 music-based exer-games. Participants answered a questionnaire about "game flow," experience of enjoyment, and immersion in game play. Energy expenditure during game play ranged from moderate to vigorou...

Ankle injuries are the most common lower extremity injury in dance and sports, often resulting in limitation of dorsiflexion or plantar flexion. Accurate assessment of any limitation in range of motion is an important factor in implementing effective preventative and rehabilitative regimens. Ankle range of motion has traditionally been quantified w...

Using functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) we studied how playing a dance video game employs coordinated activation of sensory-motor integration centers of the superior parietal lobe (SPL) and superior temporal gyrus (STG). Subjects played a dance video game, while changes in oxy-hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) levels were measured. The game was modif...

Using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) we investigated regional brain activity reflecting the accurate control of motor executive timing during real time dance video game play. It was previously shown that amplitude of the oxy-hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) response in the temporal lobe corresponds to difficulty of the game, however the influence of game per...

The Kana Pick-out Test (KPT), which uses Kana or Japanese symbols that represent syllables, requires parallel processing of discrete (pick-out) and continuous (reading) dual tasks. As a dual task, the KPT is thought to test working memory and executive function, particularly in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), and is widely used in Japan as a clinical...

Ankle injuries are the most common lower extremity injury in dance and sports, often resulting in limitation of dorsiflexion or plantar flexion. Accurate assessment of any limitation in range of motion is an important factor in implementing effective preventative and rehabilitative regimens. Ankle range of motion has traditionally been quantified w...

Injury costs strain the finances of many dance companies. The objectives of this study were to analyze the effect of comprehensive management on injury patterns, incidence, and time loss and examine its financial impact on Workers Compensation premiums in a modern dance company. In this retrospective-prospective cohort study, injury was defined as...

Using functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) we studied how playing a dance video game employs coordinated activation of sensory-motor integration centers of the superior parietal lobe (SPL) and superior temporal gyrus (STG). Subjects played a dance video game, in a block design with 30s of activity alternating with 30s of rest, while change...

Physical inactivity is a risk factor for heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Efforts to increase physical activity can include active video games. While many active video games demonstrate exertion levels commensurate with light to moderate exercise, it is unclear whether these games can meet requirements for vigorous activity. The purpose of thi...

Study of the brain is somewhat similar to understanding a multi-core processor. Video games offer a way to study how different sensory inputs affect motor output. Co-processors, comparator elements, and integrators of executive function and working memory work to balance sensory modalities and integrate this information into motor output. In this p...

Plantar fasciitis is a condition causing heel pain. Supporting the arch, the plantar fascia, a thick band of tissue connecting the heel to the ball of the foot, can become inflamed or can tear. You experience pain when you put weight on your foot—particularly when taking your first steps in the morning. The pain can be felt at the heel, or along th...

To establish reliability, accuracy and concurrent validity of a new electrogoniometer (SG110A, Biometrics) for measuring ankle movement. The new electrogoniometer, placed at the lateral malleolus (A-perp), was compared to a customary electrogoniometer (SG110, Biometrics), placed along the Achilles tendon (A-para). Concurrent recordings were made wi...

To establish the reliability, accuracy and concurrent validity of electrogoniometers for measuring extreme lower extremity movements. Reliability, accuracy and validity study. Methods: This project employed two experiments. Investigation I determined electrogoniometer accuracy compared to a digital protractor. Investigation II compared electrogonio...

Tap dance is a unique performing art utilizing the lower extremities as percussion instruments. In a previous study these authors reported decreased injury prevalence among tap dancers compared to other dance and sports participants. No biomechanical analyses of tap dance exist to explain this finding. The purpose of the current pilot study was to...

Case report. Tendon lacerations of the hallux are potentially devastating to a dancer. Strength of the hallux musculature is necessary to attain and maintain balance, push-off in multiple turns, and decelerate in jumps and hops. The purpose of this paper is to report on the repair and rehabilitation of extensor hallucis longus and extensor hallucis...

Misdiagnosed o sesamoid bone pathology in dancers may result in prolonged pain, disability, and career limitation. A thorough understanding of sesamoid disorders and appropriate treatment facilitates timely recovery. The potential loss of hallux plantar flexion strength consequent to sesamoidectomy is a major consideration for dancers. An 18-year-o...

Symmetry of skill development is emphasized in dance training, and many movements are well learned by both genders. The authors conducted a 2-dimensional kinematic analysis of a complex dance movement, the passé, in 12 healthy professional male and female dancers to determine whether there are differences between genders or limbs during the perform...

Varying methods of injury definition, data collection and interpretation of findings complicate analysis of results from epidemiological studies of sport and dance injuries. Comparison between studies is therefore difficult. Researchers have suggested adoption of uniform methodology for injury definition and reporting. This paper outlines a suggest...

Introduction: Work related injuries strain the finances of many dance companies. The financial strain is particularly evident in modern companies, who tend to have smaller budgets, than ballet companies. Several companies instituted in-house medical and therapy services to reduce the financial impact of such injuries (Bronner, Ojofeitimi, & Rose, 2...

A literature search revealed no information on the prevalence of tap dance injuries, one of several dance styles involving percussive footwork. We conducted a retrospective survey to determine the rates and patterns of injury among a cohort of experienced tap dancers enrolled in "advanced" or "master" classes at the New York City Tap Festival. Demo...

Professional dancers are a medically under-served occupational group at high risk for work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Historically, a sports medicine approach has been used in the treatment of dancers and dance companies. Recently, health care providers have also applied occupational medicine concepts to the dance organisation. Consideratio...

Professional dancers experience high rates of musculoskeletal injuries. To analyze the effect of comprehensive management (case management and intervention) on injury incidence, time loss, and patterns of musculoskeletal injury in a modern dance organization. Retrospective/prospective cohort study. Injury data were analyzed over a 5-year period, 2...

Semitendinosus-gracilis (STG) and patella-tendon-bone (PTB) are frequently selected grafts for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction in dancers. While STG and PTB grafts appear to be similar in restoring acceptable mechanical joint stability, it is not known whether there are alterations in the kinematics of dance movements following thes...