Injury Risk Reduction: Innovations From Performing Arts
Abstract:
Considering the high physicality of performing artists and the risks associated with their craft, performing arts offer athletic trainers a rich study in injury risk and risk reduction. The result is robust interchange among practitioners in performing arts, sports, and other settings. This interactive lecture will utilize video snippets of high-level performing arts as the basis for attendees to identify and discuss methods of risk reduction that can span between arts and sports. Foundational to the session’s success will be an evidence-based injury risk model developed for circus arts that is robust in its applicability to sports.
Learning Objectives:
- Discuss injury risk reduction procedures for application in a variety of athletic training settings.
- Evaluate several performing arts activities for risk of injury.
- Explain how injury risk can be reduced in performing arts.
Level:
Advanced
Domain(s):
Domain 1: Risk Reduction Wellness and Health Literacy
Orthopedic Domain(s):
N/A
Keywords:
safety; health; wellness
CEUs:
1.0 Category A
In order to earn your CEUs, you must watch the session video in its entirety, complete the assessment, and receive a certificate of completion. Your statement of credit, reflecting the total CEUs earned for on-demand sessions, will be uploaded to your NATA EducATe transcript in early November. The maximum CEUs to be awarded are: up to 20 CEUs for On-Demand Only Registrants; and up to 5 CEUs for In-Person Attendees (A statement of credit for 15 in-person CEUs will be issued separately.) CEUs will only be awarded for sessions that have a certificate of completion.
Course Expiration:
All sessions of the NATA 76th Symposia On-Demand must be completed by October 31, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. CDT.
For full details, refer to the expiration policy on our FAQ page.
Jeffrey A. Russell, PhD, ATC
Dr. Jeff Russell is an Associate Professor of Athletic Training and Director of Science and Health in Artistic Performance (SHAPe) at Ohio University. Dr. Russell leads a community-engaged research team that studies injuries and healthcare access of performing artists, including in the artistic disciplines of dance, music, theatre, film and television, and marching band. His primary research emphasis is concussions with a special focus on stunt performers working in film, television, and live events, as well as dancers. He earned his Ph.D. in dance medicine and science from the University of Wolverhampton in England. He is the editor of “Dance Injuries: Reducing Risk and Maximizing Performance,” a 2025 textbook published by Human Kinetics Publishers.
In 2024, Dr. Russell founded the International Task Force on Head Impacts and Trauma in Stunts (HITS Task Force) to help improve the identification and care of concussions in stunt performers. He also leads the Department of Athletic Training’s graduate certificate in Performing Arts Medicine and undergraduate certificate in Performing Arts Health and Wellness. He has served on the Board of Directors of both the International Association for Dance Medicine & Science and the Performing Arts Medicine Association and has published numerous research and review articles and presented across the world on a variety of topics in sports medicine, orthopaedics, and performing arts medicine.
Carina Nasrallah, MS, ATC
Carina Nasrallah MS, ATC, LAT, CISSN, PAM-C, is a board certified and licensed athletic trainer currently living in Houston, Texas, USA. She works as an outreach athletic trainer for Houston Methodist Hospital and is in her seventh season as head athletic trainer for the Houston Ballet & Academy.
Carina has been caring for professional and student dancers, musicians, and gymnasts for the last decade. She holds a bachelor's degree in dance from Belhaven University and received her master's degree in athletic training from Shenandoah University with a graduate certificate in performing arts medicine. Carina is also a Certified Sports Nutritionist from the International Society of Sports Nutrition and has served as adjunct faculty at Virginia Commonwealth University and Shenandoah University teaching classes on dance kinesiology and performance nutrition.
Carina is an active member of several performing arts medicine organizations, including the Performing Arts Medicine Association (PAMA), and has presented both domestically and internationally on rehabilitation and management of performing arts injuries. Mostly recently, she co-authored a chapter in “Dance Injuries: Reducing Risk and Maximizing Performance” published by Human Kinetics (2025). She currently co-chairs the Houston Methodist Athletic Training Performing Arts Medicine Committee which provides education and outreach services to gymnasts, dancers, and performing artists across the greater Houston region.