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Projects

Read more about the various projects carried out by the professorship Performing Arts Medicine.

SPRONG project: PErforming artist and Athlete Research Lab (PEARL) | Codarts, ErasmusMC and Willem de Koning Academy received a grant of 1.6 million euros to set up the PErforming artist and Athlete Research Lab (PEARL). PEARL focuses on the health and vitality of performing artists (dancers, musicians and circus artists) and athletes. The goal of PEARL is to prevent health complaints and to optimize health and performances of athletes and artists, so that they are able to maximize their performance. PEARL consists of multiple field labs (locations in ‘the field’ with test and measurement facilities), including the music, dance and circus departments of Codarts, Dutch National Ballet, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Circusstad Rotterdam and NOC * NSF. For a period of eight years, data on physical and mental health of performing artists and athletes will be collected, analyzed and visualized in the form of tailor-made training advice for eight years. The other collaborating partners are National Center Performing Arts, Dutch Association for Physiotherapy in Sport Health Care (NVFS), Dutch Paramedical Institute (Npi), JOHAN Sports, Sportgeneeskunde Rotterdam and VU Medical Center.

Big data and injury prevention | During training and matches, athletes wear sensors to monitor the heartbeat, distance, and speed. These data may play an important role in finding the right balance between load and load capacity. However, analysing these data is a major challenge for coaches and their staff. In dance, these data are not collected on a large scale yet. This project is the first study that bridges the gap between sport and dance science. The aim of this project is to collect sensor data of multiple sport teams and dance companies. We will use state-of-the art computer science techniques to analyse the big data sets and identify possible risk factors for health problems in athlete and dancers.  This project is funded by the Taskforce for Applied Research (Nationaal Regieorgaan Praktijkgericht Onderzoek SIA).

Student Life Monitor | This project focuses on the physical and mental health of students enrolled in five Codarts bachelor programmes (Dance, Dance & Education, Circus, Musical Theatre and Classical Music). The aim of the project is to gain insight into the amount, risk factors and preventive measures regarding injuries, illnesses and mental complaints of our Codarts bachelor students by using the Student Life Monitor (SLM). At the beginning of the academic year students are screened physically and mentally. Throughout the year, their mental and physical health is monitored via online questionnaires and  physical tests. All data are securely stored in the Student Life Monitor and results are shown in individualized dashboards. This project is funded by Codarts Rotterdam.

Fit to Perform | The aim of this research project is to develop an online web-based system (Performing Arts Health Monitor: PAHM). PAHM enables dance companies to collect and analyse data on health problems of their dancers. The tool automatically sends surveys to the dancers, stores the data in an encrypted database and visualises the results in a dashboard. This project is funded by the Taskforce for Applied Research (Nationaal Regieorgaan Praktijkgericht Onderzoek SIA).

Injuries in pre-professional dancers: a performance psychological approach | This PhD project investigates the association between mental factors and injury risk. Furthermore, it focuses on the influence of injuries on mental health of injured dancers and takes a closer look at the role of mental factors in the ‘return to perform’ process. This project is funded by the Taskforce for Applied Research (Nationaal Regieorgaan Praktijkgericht Onderzoek SIA).

Health problems, risk factors and prevention in pre-professional musicians | The physical demands that musicians face are high. Practicing days are often long and the techniques can be challenging, which may lead to physical and mental complaints. This PhD research aims to gain insight into the amount, risk factors, and possible preventive measures concerning health issues in music students. This project is funded by Codarts Rotterdam and the Taskforce for Applied Research (Nationaal Regieorgaan Praktijkgericht Onderzoek SIA).

Reducing the administration time in sport and dance physiotherapy | In the Netherlands, sports and dance physiotherapists are spending more than two hours per day on administration. Aim of this project is twofold. Firstly, we investigate how we can reduce the administration time by using state-of-the art technologies such as machine learning and automatic language processing. Secondly, we explore which data should be benchmarked to give the physiotherapist more insight into the treatment process.

Nutrition | There is a lack of studies focussing on the association between nutrition and injuries. This project investigates whether low protein intake is associated with an increase in injury risk in Circus students. This project is funded by Codarts Rotterdam.