BALLET PRACTICE IMPROVES NEUROMUSCULAR AND BIOMECHANICAL RESPONSES TO AN UNEXPECTED STANDING-SLIP IN OLDER ADULTS

• Published in: Journal of neurophysiology 2024-10, Vol.132 (4), p.1115-1125
• Main Authors: Simpkins, Caroline, Yang, Feng
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0022-3077; 1522-1598; 1522-1598
• DOI: 10.1152/jn.00219.2024

Falls and fall-induced injuries are common and consequential in older adults. Ballet emphasizes full-body coordination, leg strength, and postural control. However, it remains unknown if ballet can indeed reduce falls in older adults. This study examined biomechanical and neuromuscular responses of older recreational ballet dancers to an unexpected standing-slip. Twenty older ballet dancers (17 females, 3 males) and 23 age- and sex-matched non-dancers (19 females, 4 males) were exposed to an unexpected slip during treadmill standing. The slip-faller rate was the primary outcome. The secondary outcomes were kinematic measurements, including dynamic gait stability, slip distance, and recovery stepping performance (step latency, duration, length, and speed). The tertiary outcome was the electromyography latency of leg muscles (bilateral tibialis anterior, medial gastrocnemius, rectus femoris, and biceps femoris). Fewer dancers fell than non-dancers after the standing-slip (45% vs. 83%, =0.005, =0.970). Dancers displayed better stability at recovery foot liftoff ( =0.006) and touchdown ( =0.012), a shorter step latency ( =0.020), shorter step duration ( =0.011), faster step speed ( =0.032), and shorter slip distance ( =0.015) than non-dancers. They exhibited shorter latencies than non-dancers for the standing leg rectus femoris ( =0.028) and tibialis anterior ( =0.002), and the stepping leg biceps femoris ( =0.031), tibialis anterior ( =0.017), and medial gastrocnemius ( =0.030). The results suggest that older ballet dancers experience a lower fall risk and are more stable than non-dancers following an unexpected standing-slip. The greater stability among dancers could be attributed to more biomechanically effective recovery stepping, possibly associated with the ballet-induced neuromuscular benefit - an earlier leg muscle activation.