Dancers' beliefs and attitudes contributing to the development and maintenance of low back pain and injuries: a qualitative study

Pain and injuries are common in dancers, especially pain to the lower back which is highly prevalent. However, there is a lack of studies examining dancers’ beliefs about pain and injuries. This qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews pursues goals of analysis of the experience with (low back) pain and injuries of young dancers enrolled in a pre-professional training program and their attitudes and beliefs about this affection. NVivo software was used to create themes emerging from the data. Three main themes were identified during the results of the interviews. The majority of the participants had a perfectionist personality in terms of body image or performances, as well as a tendency to continue to dance throughout the pain. Pain seemed normal for them. These features are typical of a dancer's temperament. They also thought that the back was fragile and that an arched back or dance exercises that exceed body limitations could cause back pain. Such ideas are also found in the general population. Since dancers have beliefs about their back, which influences how they react to low back pain, further research taking into account the multidimensional aspect of this health problem should be considered to better prevent it among young dancers.