2026 Theses Doctoral

When the Body Speaks: Dance-related Injury Rehabilitation Experiences of Pre-Professional Collegiate Dancers

Grundstrom, Jill

This qualitative, narrative study examined the dance-related injury experiences of pre-professional collegiate dancers. Data for this study was gathered through a multi-stage, interview-based process designed to capture pre-professional performance-focused collegiate dancers’ evolving experiences of dance-related injury and rehabilitation over time.

The approach incorporated sequential semi-structured interviews, participant reflection, and embodied inquiry. The data analysis began with narrative exploration, progressed through structured coding and theme identification, and ultimately focused on interpreting dancers’ perspectives regarding injury, their views on external influences, and how they processed and made sense of injury and rehabilitation across time.

The findings indicate that many injuries originated in pre-collegiate training, underscoring the need for early pedagogical attention to load management, bodily awareness, and dance-focused health literacy education. Dancers emphasized the importance of having their pain and injuries validated by educators, healthcare providers, and family. Rehabilitation also prompted shifts in how dancers understood and listened to their bodies, transforming injury rehabilitation into a site of learning and highlighting the value of shared language and collaborative relationships with healthcare practitioners.

Together, these findings suggest the importance of introducing dance-focused health literacy earlier in dance training and fostering stronger collaborations between studio and university dance programs to support clearer communication and understanding of the rehabilitation process. Ultimately, this work calls for centering the dancers’ voices and experiences to better understand how they interpret and make meaning of their bodies, injuries, and rehabilitation, allowing injury care to better reflect the needs of this population.