Pars interarticularis injury screening in Ballet Dancers
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Pars interarticularis bone stress injury screening and risk factors in adolescent ballet dancers
IRAS ID
359736
Contact name
Daniel Fitzpatrick
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Fortius Clinic
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
Par interarticular bone stress injuries are prevalent in many sports and are often seen in adolescents. They are overuse injuries which are the result of accumulated micro damage to this area of the spine and are associated with a high burden of time loss from ballet. Their presentation can be vague which makes it hard for clinicians to diagnose them until they are at a relatively advanced stage. Dancers are at risk of these injuries due to their repetitive lumbar spine extension movements and often having conditions such as Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport which increases the likelihood of sustaining a bone stress injury.
Studies in other sports such as cricket have shown a benefit of screening for these injuries to pick them up earlier and reduce time loss from sport. It also allows them to pick out risk factors for times when particular individuals may be at increased risk of these injuries.
MRI scans are the gold standard for diagnosis and this study will use MRI scans done on asymptomatic dancers at three time points in their academic year to establish whether there are asymptomatic injuries and will also collect longitudinal data on risk factors.
REC name
West of Scotland REC 1
REC reference
25/WS/0121
Date of REC Opinion
20 Aug 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion