Demands at the Knee Joint During Jumps in Classically Trained Ballet Dancers

The aim of this study was to analyze the differences in ground reaction strength and knee mechanics joint in four jumps usually trained in ballet: Changement, Echappé Sauté 1 (fifth position for second position), Echappé Sauté 2 (second position for fifth position) and Sauté. Fifteen professional dancers participated in this study, exceeding a weekly 15 h of classes. The participants performed three trials of each jump in a randomized order on a force platform. The Sauté jump produced the greatest peak knee moment in both propulsion (< 0.001) and landing phases(< 0.001), but the lowest rate of force development in propulsion phase (0.023). These results indicate that Sauté is performed with a deeper plié in both propulsion and landing phases, with smaller ground reaction force peak and knee peak force. This pattern of jumping may be less harmful and should be adopted in the other jumps by classical dancers who perform such exercises daily several times.