Specialist dance injury clinic opens in Birmingham

An NHS dance injury clinic has been established in Birmingham to offer specialist care to dancers. Aiming to emulate the success of the first NHS dance injury clinic, which opened at London’s Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital last year, the new clinic will be linked with the sports medicine and rehabilitation facility based at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham and will work in partnership with Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Jerwood Centre for the Prevention and Treatment of Dance Injuries, part of the National Institute of Dance Medicine and Science (NIDMS). This second initiative has been launched with a £10k donation from dance floor manufacturer Harlequin Floors, who also contributed £30k to the first clinic alongside donations from the Jerwood Charitable Foundation, students, dancers and dance enthusiasts.

Research indicates that 80% of professional dancers suffer an injury that stops them working each year, so fast, affordable, specialist healthcare is critical to keeping dancers in employment. NIDMS, a partnership brought together by Dance UK working with Birmingham Royal Ballet, Trinity Laban Conservatoire, University of Wolverhampton, University of Birmingham, the RNOH and now the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, aims to provide all dancers with access to high quality, dance-specific healthcare and dance science services. Birmingham has one of the biggest hubs of dancers in England with a concentration of dance science expertise, including three of the founding NIDMS partners.

The London clinic has treated over 200 dancers in its first year. Recent research there by NIDMS has identified that many dancers suffer from Vitamin D deficiency, leading to the recommendation that dancers’ vitamin levels are monitored throughout the year and supplements provided during the winter months. Dr Leon Creaney, Consultant in Sport and Exercise Medicine at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, said: “This model of care has worked extremely well in London and we plan to replicate this in Birmingham so the region’s dancers can receive a bespoke service.” The announcement of the second clinic marks a milestone in fulfilling the goal announced at the London launch to raise further funds to create similar services across the UK where there are concentrations of dancers, by 2017.