Welcome! My DPT Capstone project focused on the prevention of overuse injury among dancers. I have been dancing for almost 20 years and still currently teach dance, so this is an area I have a lot of interest in and hope to specialize in upon graduation. My upcoming clinical is a performing arts fellowship with a focus on dancers, so I’m really excited to learn more about this area in the clinic this summer! In EBP2, I focused my PICO question on the impact that supplemental training has on dance injury prevention. For my Capstone, I expanded my topic to include other risk factors, both intrinsic and extrinsic. In addition to physical fitness and supplemental training, I examined the influence of floor surface, footwear, training errors, nutritional and hormonal status, and biomechanical factors on injury prevention. My expanded literature review for my Capstone can be found here: Volkerding Capstone Lit Review
I examined the topic of injury prevention from multiple viewpoints, including the physical therapist, dancer, and dance instructor. As a result, I developed a presentation for clinicians and a separate presentation for dancers and their teachers. My goal was to educate all individuals involved and provide appropriate injury prevention recommendations.
The PowerPoint presentation I gave at Cincinnati Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center can be found here: Volkerding_Dance Injury I gave this presentation to the PT staff, which consisted of both clinicians and students. This presentation focused on dance-related overuse injuries, risk factors for injury, and how to tailor a physical therapy examination and injury prevention program to dancers.
The detailed outline of the second presentation I gave to a large group of adolescent dancers (~35 students) and their teachers at Midwest Elite Dance Center can be found here: Dancers Presentation Outline Since I was unable to utilize PowerPoint, I created an educational handout for this audience, which can be found here: Volkerding Dance Injury Handout I was a little worried at first because I had to really adjust how I presented the information since the audience ranged from age 10 to adult. I think it helps that I teach dance to young kids, so I have had a lot of practice simplifying explanations. The students were enthusiastic, and I made it interactive so it would be more fun for them. I used dry erase markers to write on the studio mirrors and called on kids to come up and write answers on the mirror as well. I had the dancers stand up and demonstrate certain positions, feeling what was proper alignment and what was incorrect. I also had them demonstrate stretches and taught them some new ones.
For my health literacy assignment, I gathered information from websites, PowerPoints, and the voice threads to create a handout in an appropriate format and reading level for the adolescent dancers. I used the Fry formula and created a handout at the 5th grade reading level. This was challenging, but I managed it after multiple revisions! Upon completion, I evaluated it using the SAM evaluation tool, and I also took the information from the voice threads into consideration when I created the PowerPoint for the PT staff. Further explanation of how I incorporated health literacy is in my health literacy assignment, which can be found here: Volkerding_Health Literacy
As a feedback tool, I developed a simple questionnaire that was appropriate for the audiences at both of my presentations, which can be found here: Capstone Presentation_Eval Form A summary of the feedback I received may be found in this document: Capstone Feedback Overall, I received positive feedback from both audiences, as well as some suggestions for improvement. If I were to improve one thing for my presentation for PTs, it would be to also include a handout as well. If I were to improve one thing for the presentation for dancers and teachers, I would provide even more kinds of visual aids, especially if I was still unable to utilize PowerPoint.
Thanks for visiting my Capstone page! I’d like to especially thank my project advisor, Mike Gross, as well as my committee members, Julie Jasontek and Stacie Galvin, for their expertise and feedback throughout the development of this project.
8 Responses to “Dance Injury Prevention”
kevolker
Thank you all!! I was glad to be able to share this information with the different audiences and was happy that everyone seemed to get something out of it. I did have a lot of fun with the kids. I am glad you all learned new things as well! Good luck to all of you during your final rotation!
And to Mike: Thank you, I’m glad it turned out well. I also appreciate your feedback throughout the semester too, thanks!
Mike Gross
Katie- Great job on all products and with the presentation work you did for colleagues at your rotation and the young dancers. that was very clever the way you involved the kids. Mike
Amanda Reed
Great project Katie!! Growing up as a dancer I know how important this topic can be (in fact I am still dealing with hip and knee issues that resulted from years of forcing my turn out). I think you did a great job in both of your presentations, and love that you were able to talk to the instructors and dancers. I also love that you did not use the same presentation for the dancers, but instead kept it more interactive (great idea with the dry erase markers on the mirrors…wish I would have thought of that when I was teaching dance….very fun). This is an area that definitely needs more focus within the dance community and I am glad you decided to address it. Wonderful job, and you are going to be great during your final rotation!
afay
Great job Katie! I’m impressed that you were able to engage 10 year olds! The handout is clear and seems very appropriate. Good luck with the fellowship this summer. I think you would be great with this population! Nice work with your capstone!
kculver
What a great project Katie!!! I really enjoyed reading it and learned alot since I don’t know alot about dance. I had no idea how prevalent injuries were. It is kind of scary. I am so excited that your last rotation is in an area that you love I think you will learn alot while you are there but maybe you will also be able to teach them using the materials you created for the project. I think both of your presentations were very informative and appropriate for the target audiences. Great job:)
kevolker
To Katie: Thank you, glad you liked it! I’m hoping some of the info will come in handy this summer as well 🙂
To Julie: Thank you, I’m glad to hear you’ll be able to use the information in the clinic! And thanks so much for all of your help and feedback throughout the semester!
Julie Jaontek PT
Good job Katie!
Nice outline for the presentation. You covered a variety of areas and used recent research studies. Critical analysis of the articles demonstrated areas that are lacking in the research. Good guide to clinical decision-making. Able to use information immediately in clincal practice.
Valuable information for coaches. Appropriate for both medical professionals as well as dancers and instructors.
Well-organized and thorough presentation.
Nice job!
ssites
Great capstone project Katie!! I really enjoyed reading your capstone materials and learning about dance injuries. I know this is a special area for you and I think that was evident from the feedback you got on your presentations. I think it was a great idea for you to create a handout for your dance studio presentation to keep the audience more engaged. I’m glad to hear that the dance instructor will be taking your advice and including a warm up routine before stretching. Hopefully you can take your new found knowledge and use it for your clinical this summer! Good work, I really enjoyed reading it!
Katie