Injury prevention for dancers
Friday, December 18th, 2015 | ACL Injuries, Balance, Foot Pain, Injuries, Knee INjuries | No Comments
Most dancers know that one of the challenges of the performing arts is to make it look easy, effortless – and painless. According to Elisabeth Wheeler, a physical therapist who works with dancers at Allegheny Chesapeake Physical Therapy in Pennsylvania, up to 90% of dancers will have an injury at some point during their training. So whether you are a professional dancer in a company, or one who takes classes for physical (and mental) activity, it is important to pay attention to your body in order to avoid injury.
Elisabeth notes that dancers can have a variety of injuries throughout the body:
- Feet and ankles: Lateral ankle sprain, shin splints/stress fractures, Achilles tendonitis, and flexor hallucis tenosynovitis (also known as trigger toe)
- Knees: Patellofemoral knee pain, meniscal or ACL injuries, patellar tendonitis, and pretibial or prepatellar bursitis
- Hips: Strain, and snapping hip syndrome
- Back: Strains and sprains, facet syndrome, stress fracture and spondylolisthesis
Like any athlete, if a dancer begins to feel pain that does not go away after a day or two of rest, Elisabeth advises visiting a physical therapist to determine the cause of the pain. Physical therapy treatments may include strengthening or stretching exercises to address muscular imbalances; neuromuscular re-education during dance-specific movements; modalities, including ultrasound and moist heat; and manual treatments like joint mobilizations and massage. If physical therapy can’t eliminate the pain, she says, an x-ray or MRI may be necessary for a diagnosis, along with a trip to an orthopedic doctor for further advice and treatment, and possibly surgery.
A dancer’s body is her instrument. Read More
