Epidemiology of Patients With Dance-Related Injuries Presenting to Medical Staff at Breaking Competitions in the United States, 2021-2023

Introduction: There is a dearth of dance-related injury epidemiology within the breaking competition setting. Breaking injury surveillance data has predominantly been collected retrospectively at healthcare facilities or through survey research. Methods: Medical staff were available at 6 breaking competitions between 2021 and 2023 to provide musculoskeletal care and triage. In addition to consent of treatment, participants provided their age, gender, and injured body area(s), symptom onset, and description. A total of 157 patient reports were obtained, de-identified, and utilized for comparative frequency and logistic regression analysis. Results: The most common body areas that breakers sought care for were: 39% (n = 61) shoulder, 32% (n = 51) neck, 32% (n = 50) lower back, and 25% (n = 40) upper back. The majority of injuries 61% (n = 95) occurred >3 months prior to competition. The most common descriptions of injury were: 57% (n = 89) tightness, 46% (n = 73) pain, and 33% (n = 52) soreness. Logistic regression analysis revealed that: older patients have higher odds of experiencing the issue during or before the competition (P-value = .003); and that age was the only variable that was borderline statistically significant for hip injury (P-value = .055). Conclusion: The highest frequency of dance-related injury within a breaking competition setting cohort was found to be in the shoulder, neck, and back. The highest frequency of injury description were tightness, pain, and soreness. There was a large frequency of chronic injuries that were seen, and older patients were found to have a higher odds of experiencing and seeking medical treatment for a chronic injury. Access to injury management services and education for the shoulder, neck, and back should be provided at breaking competitions to improve health outcomes. Level of Evidence: Level 4.