Assessment of the sagittal spinal curvatures in dancers of Spanish dance

Abstract

The goal of this study was to assess whether dancers of Spanish dance had better curvatures of the thoracic and lumbar spine than the rest of the population. The study assessed 34 students of Spanish dance from a professional dance conservatory, with an average age of 17.06 ± 2.86 years, and average practice time of 10.65 ± 3.41 years. The study measured the sagittal spinal curvatures of the dancers in a relaxed standing position. The measurements were performed using a uni-level inclinometer. The main findings revealed that the average thoracic kyphosis was 34.18 ± 5.10, and the average lumbar lordosis was 28.71 ± 4.91. The average values of the sagittal plane alignment of the thoracic and lumbar spine of the dancers in the standing position were normal, according to the scale proposed by Santoja (1993) and Contreras et al. (1981). There were no statistically significant differences; however, it was observed that the more advanced dance courses, the less thoracic and lumbar curvatures.