Excitement is building again with the announcement of this year’s Strictly Come Dancing contestants. As celebrities prepare to swap everyday life for sequins and the ballroom, they’ll also be putting their bodies through one of the most physically demanding experiences on television.

Last year’s series offered a reminder of those demands when Dani Dyer had to withdraw due to an injury. Research on professional dancers shows just how common injuries are, and suggests that recovering from one isn’t just a physical challenge. Fear of getting hurt again can make dancers less willing to fully commit to movements – something that could be even more pronounced in contestants who are new to dancing.

Those with a dance background have an obvious advantage. Their hips, knees and spine are already used to the forces involved in dancing, whereas newcomers have to adapt quickly to movements their bodies may never have performed before.

The hip is one of the body’s most stable joints, thanks to the way the bones fit together, along with the surrounding muscles and ligaments. The knee, by contrast, is one of the body’s most complex joints,........

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