Differences in the Size of Individual Plantar Intrinsic Foot Muscles Between Ballet Dancers and Non-Dancers

In classic ballet, choreography often involves tiptoe standing. Tiptoe standing requires a high and stable foot arch structure, which is achieved by contraction of the plantar intrinsic foot muscles (PIFMs). Long-term repetitive loading with a specific movement can induce hypertrophic adaptation of the associated muscles. For dancers, however, limited information on the size of individual PIFMs is available from previous studies. The purpose of this study was to determine the differences in the sizes of 10 individual PIFMs between dancers and non-dancers.