Assessment of muscle strength in female Bharatanatyam dancers

Abstract

Bharatanatyam is an Indian classical dance form. Aramandi is the most basic position in bharatanatyam. There are various such positions to attain which dancers need optimal muscle strength and adequate motion at the required joints. The objective was to assess and compare the upper and lower limbs muscle strength in female bharatanatyam dancers and nondancers. 32 dancers and 33 nondancers participated in this study. Height, weight and BMI were measured. Lower limbs muscle strength was assessed by 6 metre hop test and wall sit test. Upper limbs muscle strength was tested by modified push ups test. Dancers took lesser time to hop 6 metres with both right and left leg (P