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Background and Objectives: Flexor hallucis longus pathology is one of the most common conditions of the ankle and foot in dancers, due to the high demand of dance movements performed in an extreme plantar flexion and dorsiflexion range of motion. The objectives of this study were to determine the bilateral differences between the thickness and cross-sectional area of the flexor hallucis longus muscle in dancers, to establish possible differences between dance modalities, and to analyze whether there is a correlation between ultrasonographic parameters or performance variables and the dance modality. Material and Methods: A sample of 50 (29 classical and 21 contemporary) full-time pre-professional female dancers were included in the study. The thickness and cross-sectional area of the flexor hallucis longus muscle were evaluated for both limbs using ultrasound imaging. The range of movement of the first metatarsophalangeal joint was measured using functional extension with maximal ankle plantarflexion, balance was measured in a unilateral stance with the heel raised, endurance was evaluated through a modified heel rise fatigue test, and a counter movement jump to assess the vertical jump performance was measured bilaterally. Results: There were no significant differences recorded between the dominant and non-dominant limbs for each variable, within both groups. Contemporary dancers showed a greater thickness and cross-sectional area of the flexor hallucis longus muscle than classical dancers. However, classical dancers showed an increase of balance, endurance, range of movement of the first metatarsophalangeal joint, and counter movement jump with respect to contemporary dancers. Conclusion: Bilateral symmetry was identified in all variables for both groups. The size and performance of the flexor hallucis longus muscle may be influenced by the specific nature of dance modality. Sin financiación 2.430 JCR (2020) Q2, 80/169 Medicine, General & Internal 0.530 SJR (2020) Q3, 1256/2448 Medicine (miscellaneous) No data IDR 2019 UEM

Introduction: Prevalence of eating disorders (ED) and discrepancies between actual weight and weight perception seem much higher in dancers. The aims analysed in 77 dancers were: risk for ED; relationship between eating attitudes and psychological variables; dieting and self-weighing, and body image distortion. Method: Weight- and body image-related variables, dieting, self-reported physical fitness, specific ED-related variables and other psychological variables were assessed. The robust Huber's model was applied in order to test the influence of the variables analysed on the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-40) scores. In case of categorical variables, the Chi-square (χ²-test) or the Fisher's exact test were applied. Results: Higher risk of ED was not obtained. Despite the relationship between EAT-40 and BMI, body appreciation and drive for thinness, scores on EAT-40 and BMI do not suggest higher risk in dancers. Dancers had a similar weight perception than other populations and body dissatisfaction seems not to be worse than the reported in other types of participants. Conclusions: Despite some limitations, our study adds some data in this field of study bearing in mind the use of a cluster of variables previously not taken into account as a whole. Introducción: la prevalencia de trastornos de la conducta alimentaria (TCA) y las diferencias entre el peso corporal real y el percibido parecen más elevadas en bailarines. Los objetivos analizados en 77 bailarines fueron: riesgo de TCA; relación entre actitudes alimentarias y variables psicológicas; conducta de dieta y autocontrol de peso, y distorsión de la imagen corporal. Método: se estudiaron variables relacionadas con el peso y la imagen corporal, conducta de dieta, percepción de la propia forma física, variables específicas relacionadas con los TCA y otras variables psicológicas. El modelo estadístico robusto de Huber fue utilizado para probar la influencia de las variables analizadas en las puntuaciones del Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-40). Para las variables categóricas se usaron la prueba de Chi-cuadrado o el test de Fisher. Resultados: no se encontró un mayor riesgo de TCA. Aun existiendo correlación entre el EAT-40 y el índice de masa corporal (IMC), aprecio corporal e impulso a adelgazar, las puntuaciones del EAT-40 y el IMC no sugieren un mayor riesgo en este grupo de bailarines. Por otro lado, estos bailarines tienen una percepción del propio peso similar a la de otras poblaciones y su insatisfacción corporal no parece ser peor que la expresada en otros tipos de población. Conclusiones: a pesar de algunas limitaciones, este estudio añade algunos datos en este campo, teniendo en cuenta el grupo de variables analizadas, previamente no consideradas en conjunto.

The body of the adolescent dancer is the result of morphological, physiological and behavioral adaptations due to specific physical training. For the ballet master, body weight is irrelevant to evaluating the technical and artistic performance and beauty of a figure. All ballet dancers must have bodies that conform to the canon of international ballet in order to be able to perform in public. The purpose of this study is to describe the changes in the body composition of dancers at the Cuban National School of Ballet between two points in their training process. This was a longitudinal study of 54 girls and 40 boys, aged between 15 and 20 years old. An anthropometric protocol of 6 measurements was employed in order to determine body composition using the Durnin and Rahaman method for females and the Parizková and Buzková method for males. The main results demonstrate signifi cant increases in both weight and height for age in both sexes, and it was observed that height growth velocity decreased with age. The female dancers exhibited stable body fat percentages for all ages while male dancers signifi cantly reduced this percentage from one year to the next. The female students exhibited higher mean percentage body fat values than the normal range established in Cuba for elite athletes from competitive artistic sports and professional dancers, while the male students exhibited body fat percentages that were similar to these specialized groups. Resumo El cuerpo humano del bailarín adolescente es resultado de las adaptaciones orfológicas-fi siológicas y conductuales de un entrenamiento físico particular. Para los maestros de ballet el peso corporal no es relevante en la evaluación técnica-artística y de belleza de la fi gura del danzante. Cada bailarín tiene que cumplir con los cánones internacionales de fi gura del ballet para presentarse en el escenario artístico. El objetivo de esta investigación es describir las variaciones de la composición corporal de los bailarines de la Escuela Nacional de Ballet de Cuba en dos momentos del proceso de entrenamiento. Se analizaron a través de un estudio longitudinal 54 bailarinas y 40 bailarines con edades entre 15 y 20 años. Se aplicó un protocolo antropométrico de 6 mediciones para estimar la composición corporal, empleándose las ecuaciones de Durnin y Rahaman, sexo femenino y Parizková y Buzková, sexo masculino. Los bailarines manifestaron incrementos signifi cativos de peso y estatura; la velocidad de crecimiento de la estatura disminuyó con la edad para los dos sexos. En las bailarinas de todos los grupos etarios no se encontraron diferencias signifi cativas en el porcentaje de la masa grasa de un año a otro, mientras todos los bailarines disminuyeron significativamente los valores porcentuales grasos en el mismo intervalo del estudio. Las féminas estudiantes presentaron valores promedios de porcentaje graso superiores al rango establecido en ejecutantes cubanos de deportes de arte competitivo y ballet profesional; los varones estudiantes registraron porcentajes grasos en rangos similares a los informados en esas poblaciones especializadas.