The show must go on: What are the available tools to assess readiness to return to dance post injury in elite dancers? A scoping review protocol

Injury in elite dance is commonplace and pernicious. The decision to return to dance practice after injury requires careful consideration to ensure that the dancer is ready to safely resume practice. There are a limited number of pertinent assessment tools in dance, which largely consider predominantly physical domains and refer to specific dance genres only. Therefore, this scoping review aims to explore biopsychosocial domains identified in dance and sport literature to inform the safe return to practice post-injury in elite dance. The scoping review will conform to Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Evidence Synthesis guidelines. Ten databases will be searched for relevant articles. Two independent reviewers will conduct title and abstract screening followed by full-text screening. Data charting will be completing using a modified standardised form. Descriptive results will be reported using tabular and graphical media. The published scoping review will be disseminated to relevant stakeholders including those in the world of elite dance in both performance and educational settings, as well as to clinicians working with these artists. The resulting outputs will be in the form of both peer-reviewed and non-peer reviewed publications (e.g. blog posts, academic publications and conference presentations to reach key stakeholders such as dancers and their support teams). An infographic of key findings will be developed and shared on social media platforms as appropriate. The findings of this scoping review will inform a subsequent e-Delphi project involving dancers, teachers and clinicians to develop a dance-specific tool to inform safe return to dance post injury. Ethical approval was not required for this study. O_LIWhat is already known on this topic : Although injury in elite dancers is extremely common and often severe, there are limited tools available to guide safe return to dance after injury. C_LIO_LIWhat this study adds: By drawing on the broader literature in dance and sport, this study will identify key biopsychosocial domains that should be considered when deciding when a dancer is ready to safely resume dance practice after injury{inverted exclamation} C_LIO_LIHow this study might affect research, practice or policy: The outputs of this scoping review will raise stakeholder awareness of the biopsychosocial impacts of injury on dancers and will inform the development of a dance-specific instrument to help guide considered and appropriate return to dance post injury in this cohort. C_LI