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| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2017 | Volume
: 11
| Issue : 2 | Page : 45-48 |
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Prevalence of ankle instabilities and disabilities among female Kathak dancers
Roopika Sabharwal, Sonia Singh
Department of Physiotherapy, Punjabi University, Patiala, Punjab, India
| Date of Submission | 21-Jul-2017 |
| Date of Acceptance | 16-Oct-2017 |
| Date of Web Publication | 19-Jan-2018 |
Correspondence Address:
Dr. Roopika Sabharwal
House No. 1055, Sector 21, Panchkula, Haryana
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/PJIAP.PJIAP_18_17
BACKGROUND: Kathak dancers are required to perform certain complex mudras at their foot involving extreme ranges. This may make them prone to ankle instabilities. The purpose of this study was to find out the prevalence of ankle instabilities and disabilities among the Kathak dancers.
METHODS: Screening of forty female Kathak Dancers was done for the study from the Department of Dance, Punjabi University, Patiala, on the basis of inclusion criteria. Subjects were assessed for Ankle Instabilities and Disabilities through Foot and Ankle Disability Index (FADI) and Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool (CAIT).
RESULTS: Percentile analysis of the scores obtained from both FADI and CAIT was done. 70% of the Kathak Dancers were found to suffer from Foot and Ankle disability. 90% of the Kathak dancers were found to have ankle instability at left side while 75% were having ankle instability at the right side.
CONCLUSION: Kathak dancers are prone to develop functional disability and instabilities at ankle joint. This may be attributed to the complex postures accomplished by them at foot. It is important to advise them about the prevention and treatment of their foot problems. Ergonomic education to these dancers also holds importance. Keywords: Complex postures, cumberland ankle instability tool, Foot and Ankle Disability Index, foot problems, functional disability, Kathak dance
How to cite this article:
Sabharwal R, Singh S. Prevalence of ankle instabilities and disabilities among female Kathak dancers. Physiother - J Indian Assoc Physiother 2017;11:45-8 |
How to cite this URL:
Sabharwal R, Singh S. Prevalence of ankle instabilities and disabilities among female Kathak dancers. Physiother - J Indian Assoc Physiother [serial online] 2017 [cited 2023 Feb 9];11:45-8. Available from: https://www.pjiap.org/text.asp?2017/11/2/45/223700 |
| Introduction | |  |
Kathak dance is portrayed by hasty swirls, refined footwork, and acuate postures. Lot of variations are seen in different dance forms of Kathak as it has a history of being passed on from one person to another in a guru shishya parampara. Apart from this, slight variations are introduced when the learners adapt the postures according to their own body inclinations. However, some primitive movements remain unchanged in general.[1] The basic movements accomplished at the foot in Kathak dance are Udghattita, Sama, Agratalasanchara, Anchita, and Kunchita [Figure 1]. | Figure 1: Various Foot Postures adapted by Kathak dancers during their performance. Source: Khare[2]
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In Udghattita, forefoot comes in contact with the ground hence bearing weight, and afterward heel is brought down. Sama is the initiating position of the Kathak dance performance. Feet are placed on the ground naturally (neutral position). This position is also used to tap the foot repetitively on the floor. In Agratalasanchara, heel is raised up with toes placed on the ground, and all the fingers are held in the bent position. In Anchita, the heel is in contact with the ground with the raised forefoot and all the fingers held in the bent position. In Kunchita, heel is raised up along with fingers and midfoot in the bent position. A movement called Soochi is also performed sometimes in which whole foot is raised up, and only big toe is in contact with the ground.[2]
Thus, the foot is repetitively taken to extreme the ranges of dorsiflexion and plantarflexion while performing Kathak, thus making excessive use of these muscles. Dorsiflexion places the ankle into its most stable position as the trochlea of the talus, and the articular surfaces of the tibia and fibula are in the “close-packed” position [Figure 2].[3] Extreme dorsiflexion of the leg over the talus causes the mortise to explode outward, rupturing many of the collateral ligaments. It elongates the posterior capsule of the ankle joint and other soft-tissue structures such as Achilles tendon. Plantarflexion is a loose-packed position. Full plantar flexion slackens most collateral ligaments of the ankle and all plantar flexor muscles. It also causes the distal tibia and fibula to loosen its grip from the talus. Bearing all body weight over a fully plantarflexed ankle, therefore, places the talocrural joint at a relatively unstable position. Landing from a jump in a plantarflexed and usually inverted, position increases the likelihood of injuring the mortise.[4] | Figure 2: Arthrokinematics of ankle joint during passive (a) Dorsiflexion and (b) Plantarflexion. Neumann[4]
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Ligaments of the ankle joint are put under tension during the dance performance. The syndesmotic ligaments are also under maximum tensile loading in these positions. In addition, these positions also cause the talus to press against the lateral malleolus which places considerable stress on the ankle mortise, thus putting the foot into high risk of instability.[5]
Other positions which are responsible for increasing the risk of ankle instability are forced external rotation and forceful eversion at foot. Both these positions widen the ankle mortise and drive the talus into external rotation.[6] During bhramaris (chakkars), the dancers perform whirling movements at the body. They rotate by considering heel as the fulcrum with the ankle held into dorsiflexion [Figure 3]. Thus, there occurs combination of the dorsiflexion and external rotation thereby increasing the risk of ankle instability. Repetitions of these postures throughout the performance slacken the ligaments cause strength deficits in muscles thus making the ankle highly unstable and prone to injury. | Figure 3: Dorsiflexion taking place at the feet of the Kathak dancers while taking turns (Bhramaris). Source: Bureau T. Preserving the Kathak tradition. The Hindu. Available from: http://www.thehindu.com. [Last accessed on 2012 Jul 28]
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In our previous study on Kathak dancers, emphasis was laid on the development of foot postural deviations in Kathak dancers.[7] Foot Postural deviations may lead to the development of stability problems in these dancers. In this study, detailed assessment has been conducted for the ankle instabilities in Kathak dancers.
| Methods | | |
An observatory study was performed for analyzing the Kathak dancers for instability and disability at foot. Screening of 40 female Kathak Dancers was done for the study from Department of Dance, Punjabi University, Patiala, on the basis of inclusion criteria. The inclusion criteria allowed considering female Kathak dancers falling within the age group of 18–35 years with a minimum dancing experience of at least 2 years. It was ensured that the dancers practice Kathak for a minimum of 4 or <4 h/week.
Subjects with any history of recent surgery at lower limbs, any neurological deficit at foot or any congenital deformity which may affect the functionality of the lower limbs were excluded. In addition, dancers who were professionally inculcated in any outdoor sports activity such as football, athletics, badminton, soccer, judo, etc., were excluded from the study to restrain the results of the study from any error.
Procedure
For appraising the extent of disability, Foot and Ankle Disability Index (FADI) was used and for instability, Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool (CAIT) was used.
The FADI helps to assess the functional limitations related to foot and ankle conditions. It is focused on the subject's performance during the activities of daily living. The FADI consists of 26 questions with 104 total points. Each is scored as a percentage of the total points possible. For each question, subjects have to select the most appropriate response that best describes their condition. Responses to choose from include no difficulty at all (4 points), slight difficulty (3 points), moderate difficulty (2 points), extreme difficulty (1 point), and unable to do (0 points). A score of ≤90% on the FADI indicates that a subject has FAI.[8]
The CAIT consists of nine questions with a total score of 30 points. Lower scores indicate more severe functional ankle instability (FAI). It is the only questionnaire which takes into account both left and right feet individually at a time. A score of ≤27 indicates a subject has FAI, whereas a score of 28 or higher indicates no FAI. The CAIT has an excellent reliability with an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.96.[9]
| Results | | |
The data were analyzed using Microsoft Office Excel 2010. Mean and standard deviations were analyzed for demographic Details. Percentile analysis was done to analyze the results.
| Discussion | | |
In the present study, 70% of Kathak dancers were found to have functional ankle instability FAI as per the scores obtained through FADI [Figure 4]. Scores obtained from CAIT suggested that 90% of the Kathak dancers were found to have FAI at the left foot and 75% were having it at the right foot [Figure 5]. | Figure 5: Percentage of Kathak dancers having functional ankle instability at left foot (a) and right foot (b)
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These results can be attributed to certain foot postures adapted during Kathak dance such as Udghatitta, Agratalasanchara, etc., which consists extremes of dorsiflexion and plantarflexion. They may lead to putting of the ligaments of the ankle joint under tension. According to Norkus et al., when the ankle is either in the fully dorsiflexed or plantarflexed position the syndesmotic ligaments are under maximum tensile loading.[5] In addition, these positions may also cause the talus to press against the lateral malleolus which places considerable stress on the ankle mortise thus putting the foot into high risk of instability.
Other positions which are responsible for increasing the risk of ankle instability are forced external rotation and forceful eversion at foot. During bharamaris (turnouts), the foot is rotated while maintain the plantarflexed position. They lead to widening of the ankle mortise and thus, drive the talus into external rotation.[6] Repetitions of these postures throughout the performance may slacken the ligaments causing strength deficits in muscles.
A combination of the mechanical insufficiencies such as arthrokinematic changes (widening of ankle mortise, etc.) with the functional insufficiencies such as muscular imbalance leads to recurrence of ankle sprain and instability.[10] According to a study, ankle sprains were found to be frequent in Ballet dancers. They result from working in the positions which allow increased risk of sprain on the lateral side of the ankle for many hours a day.[11]
Other factors responsible for the FAI includes changes in coordination due to transitions in ankle synergy, proprioceptive deficits, etc., which can occur during fast and rapid dance steps, swirls, foot tapping, etc.[12] However, this is the limitation of the study that the present study did not analyze these factors. Many other factors which lead to instability such as proprioceptive and coordination deficits were not considered in the study. In the future, Kathak dancers can be evaluated for various other factors such as mechanical instabilities, proprioceptive, and other neuromuscular deficits. A treatment approach can be formulated and tested specifically for the Kathak dancers according to their profession and lifestyle.
| Conclusion | | |
With time, Kathak dancers become prone to develop functional disability and instabilities at ankle joint. It is important to advise them about the prevention and treatment of their foot problems. Ergonomic education to these dancers also holds utmost importance. Development of treatment plan which can be at par to their profession-specific demands is also essential.
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
| References | | |
| 1. | Morelli S. Intergenerational adaptation in North Indian Kathak dance. Anthropol Notebooks 2010;16:77-91.  |
| 2. | Khare S. Chari Bheda (Division of Leg Movements). Kathaka, Saundaryatmaka Shastriya Nritya: Gahan Adhyayana Evam Chintana, Kanishka Publishers; 2005: p. 106-18. |
| 3. | Donatelli AR. The Biomechanics of the Foot and Ankle. 2 nd ed. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Company; 1996. |
| 4. | Neumann DA. Lower extremity. Kinesiology of the Musculoskeletal System: Foundations for Rehabilitation. St Louis: Mosby; 2010. p. 584. |
| 5. | Norkus SA, Floyd RT. The anatomy and mechanisms of syndesmotic ankle sprains. J Athl Train 2001;36:68-73. [ PUBMED] |
| 6. | Lin CF, Gross ML, Weinhold P. Ankle syndesmosis injuries: Anatomy, biomechanics, mechanism of injury, and clinical guidelines for diagnosis and intervention. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2006;36:372-84. [ PUBMED] |
| 7. | Sabharwal R, Singh S. Foot postural deviations in female Kathak dancers. Int J Physiother 2017;4:38-43. |
| 8. | McKeon OP, Hertel J. Spatiotemporal postural control deficits are present in those with chronic ankle instability. BMC Musculoskeletal Disord 2008;9:76. |
| 9. | Hiller CE, Refshauge KM, Bundy AC, Herbert RD, Kilbreath SL. The Cumberland ankle instability tool: A report of validity and reliability testing. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2006;87:1235-41. [ PUBMED] |
| 10. | Hertel J. Functional anatomy, pathomechanics, and pathophysiology of lateral ankle instability. J Athl Train 2002;37:364-75. [ PUBMED] |
| 11. | Hamilton WG. Sprained ankles in ballet dancers. Foot Ankle Int 1982;3:99-102. [ PUBMED] |
| 12. | Tropp H. Commentary: Functional ankle instability revisited. J Athl Train 2002;37:512-5. [ PUBMED] |
[Figure 1], [Figure 2], [Figure 3], [Figure 4], [Figure 5]
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