Epidemiology of Injuries in West End Performers

Epidemiological studies in the performing arts are scarce, and only one such study in the last 20 years directly examines West End productions. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyse the epidemiology of injuries sustained by West End performers over a 12-month period (2016-2017). Injury data were self-reported retrospectively by West End performers using an online injury surveillance questionnaire. Information collected covered: participant characteristics, injury location, diagnosis, severity, mechanism of injury, and external risk factors. Simple proportions were calculated for injury location and type. Categorical data were assessed using Chi-squared (p = 0.05) and magnitude-based inferences described as between-group differences. Forty-seven performers responded (26 male, 21 female), with 65% suffering at least one injury in the previous year. The lower limb accounted for 50% of injuries, with muscle strains being the diagnosis in 37% of cases. Males sustained 53% of all injuries, but no differences were found between sexes in locations injured (χ2 = 2.296, p = 0.513). Seventy-two percent of injuries were said to have occurred during performance, with one-third of the total injuries having a gradual onset. Little or no time was lost in the majority of cases.