This issue of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics, guest edited by Dr. Kathleen L. Davenport, will discuss a number of important topics in Dance Medicine. This issue of one of four issues selected each year by series Consulting Editor, Santos Martinez. Topics discussed in this issue include, but are not limited to: Rehabilitation of the Dancer, Access to Healthcare Among Dancers, Dry Needling and Acupuncture, Nutrition Periodization in Dancers, Choreography Specific Cross Training for Dancers, Mental and Physical Resilience in Dancers, Pointe Readiness Screening, Dancers with Disabilities, Special Considerations for the Growing Dancer, Supplemental Training in Dance: Systematic Review, Concussions in Dancers and Other Performing Artists, and Nutritional Concerns for the Artistic Athlete.

Covering the full spectrum of treatment guidance for dance artists, circus artists, musicians, and more, this practical title by Dr. Lauren E. Elson expertly explores the intersection of sports medicine and performing arts medicine. Ideal for practicing and trainee physiatrists, physical and occupational therapists, and sports medicine physicians, it addresses a wide range of relevant topics including auditory symptoms in musicians; management of the dancer’s foot and ankle, hip, and spine; return-to-dance or return-to-performance guidelines; and much more.

Groundbreaking and long overdue, Essential Dance Medicine is a unique text designed to help medical professionals learn the presentations, differential diagnoses and available treatment options for common dance injuries. As different types of dance have evolved, so have their related injuries. This novel text explains the underlying principles associated with correct ballet, modern and ethnic dance movements to better understand the pathophysiology and mechanism of action for the injuries described. It provides further insight by elucidating common errors and compensations dancers often make in an effort to achieve correct positioning and technique. Describing different types of dance injuries according to body region, each chapter is organized by case reports that depict a typical patient, followed by the epidemiology and pathophysiology associated with the dancer’s injury. The history, physical examination findings, imaging and diagnostic evaluation for each condition are discussed. Non-operative and surgical treatment options are described according to chronicity and stage of severity of the injury. To provide evidence behind the algorithms of treatment and to highlight applicable research, relevant studies are cited as often as possible. Classic texts are also referenced to provide more in-depth information. Certain to become a gold standard in the field, Essential Dance Medicine is an important new text that provides medical professionals with the necessary tools to treat amateur and professional dancers and help them prolong their dance careers.

The energy required to create the kind of music that gives you chills or the dance performance that inspires you to try ballet requires hours of practice. All that practice sometimes leads to pain and injury. It could be a nagging ache in a pianist's thumb every time he practices, a singer's sore throat, or a stress fracture in a dancer. Seneca Storm, MD, from the Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine addresses Performing Arts Medicine in this issue. Like any injury, it's important to treat it before it impairs or impedes a performance. Look for chapters on movement therapies, eating disorders in dancers and more.

The inaugural actions of the Brazil-United Kingdom Dance Medicine & Science Network (BRUK NET) emerged through the organization of the symposium "The Potentials and Challenges of Research in Dance Medicine & Science: building innovation collaborations between the United Kingdom and Brazil" held in Goiânia, in 2016. In this bilingual Portuguese-English book, 23 leading researchers/authors from the BRUK NET write about their experiences in this field. The idea of the book is to share part of their knowledge and to build paths and theoretical, conceptual and methodological constructs around DMS, from where visibility, access and sustainability could develop. The desire for an interinstitutional, interdisciplinary, collective and supportive cooperation has enabled us to create a book of cross-cutting contexts and diverse views. The demand for DMS services and knowledge is growing. It requires that professionals from different backgrounds; dance, health, education and many others, ethically reflect and debate over the breadth and rigor necessary for the growth and valorization of this field of study.