Hypermobility screening in dance and rugby

Introduction: Injury is a challenge for Sports Medicine professionals and results from a complex interaction between intrinsic, extrinsic and situational variables. The identification of potential risk factors that may predict injury would be beneficial. Aim: This study attempted to identify the range of hypermobility in female university dancers and university rugby union players. Methods: Eighty-two female university students volunteered to participate in this study. They were composed of 40 dancers and 42 rugby players. Participants were excluded from the study if they had suffered an injury in the previous 30 days which prevented them from participating in games or training. The Beighton score1 was used to measure Joint Hypermobility in all participants by measuring range of motion of the 5th metacarpal joints, thumbs, elbow, knee and lumbar spine which provided a maximum score of 9. Hypermobility was classified as a Beighton score of ≥ 4. Hypermobility scores were analysed using a independent t-test. Results: The mean Beighton score for dancers was 5.37 (SD +/- 1.45) and for rugby players was 2.19 (SD +/- 2.05). There was a significant difference between hypermobilty scores in dancers and rugby players (P < 0.01). Conclusion: The prevalence of Joint Hypermobility in female university dance students is very high in comprasion to female university rugby union players of a similar age. This may have implications in terms of injury prevention.