ABSTRACT

　Classical ballet dancers can stand on one's toes with toe shoes which are made of hard materials. This posture is called as pointe. Ballet dancers tend to suffer from injuries by a substantial mechanical load on the toe. The purpose of this study was to clarify the mechanical load acting on the foot during pointe for protecting injury. The ground reaction forces acting on a dancer with a Greek foot shape, in which second toelength was the longest of the toes, were measured while holding pointe with both legs supported. Images of the bones and deformation of the cartilages in the foot were taken using a nuclear magnetic resonance system when the dancer holds a pointe-simulated posture. The stresses in the bone and cartilage were determined with a finite element model constructed from the images. During pointe, ground reaction force acted from between the first and second toes and pushed both feet toward the instep. The load along the longitudinal axis of the foot was the largest and followed by towards the first toe. With the foot finite element model, the center of the second metatarsal was the most stressed. These results suggest that holding a pointe posture should induce the second metatarsal fracture, bunion, and lateral ankle sprain.

DECENTE SPORTS SCIENCE Vol.42/The DESCENTE AND ISHIMOTO MEMORIAL FOUNDATION FOR THE PROMOTION SPORTS SCIENCE