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:
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
Tags: Dance Injuries, Dancing
Many people think of physical therapy clinics as a place to recover from injury, or a place to do rehabilitation after an operation. But many physical therapy clinics are now offering a broader range of services, shifting their attention to both prevention of and recovery from injury and illness.
Clinton Physical Therapy Center, a Physiquality member in Clinton, Tennessee, launched their wellness program, now known as the Take Charge Fitness Program, 20 years ago in 1995. It was originally intended as a bridge program for clients who had reached the end of physical therapy, but weren’t quite ready to exercise on their own. “Many of the people who come here need supervision that they can’t get at a health club,” says co-owner Joyce Klee. “We can cater their exercise programs to specific health issues, whether they are orthopedic or neurological problems, or other issues, like obesity.”
Now they often have clients who have never been through physical therapy, which is why anyone who joins the Take Charge Fitness Program gets a thorough evaluation. “During this screening,” explains Anna Dark, the Fitness Director at TCFP, “we look for any potential musculoskeletal dysfunctions or imbalances that can lead to injury if not addressed.” The staff at TCFP then incorporates specific exercises to improve and correct such problems, as a part of the member’s exercise regimen. Read more
Arthroscopy is a procedure used to investigate a multitude of joint-related symptoms by actually looking inside the joints. Similar to a telescope with a light source, the light aspect is necessary to “light up” the joints and to magnify the structures contained within the joint.
Arthroscopy is typically performed under local or general anesthesia, and sometimes under spinal or epidural anesthetic. Some of the common symptoms arthroscopes examine are swelling, pain and joint instability.
Common misconceptions about arthroscopy are that it is a benign procedure and that any condition requiring this type of procedure is not a serious one. Arthroscopy can show deterioration and damage to cartilage, ligaments and bone, as well as highlighting signs of arthritis. A surgeon may create a small incision in the skin and then use fine instruments that pass through the joint to biopsy or manipulate areas inside the joint.
Your procedure could involve repair of torn ligaments, removal of damaged cartilage, and identification and removal of broken bone pieces. Arthroscopic procedures are commonly performed on the knee joint and shoulder, but other areas requiring this type of procedure include the ankle, elbow, wrist or hip. Read More
Unless you’re Marcus Lattimore, who famously — or infamously? — injured all four knee ligaments in a college football game in 2012, the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is the knee ligament you’re most likely to injure. All of us can take steps to reduce the risk, but if you do suffer an ACL tear, your physical therapist can help you on the road to recovery.
An ACL tear is usually caused by a traumatic event, says Rebekah Glass, a physical therapist at The Center for Physical Rehabilitation, a Physiquality member with four locations in Western Michigan. While some tears occur during vehicle collisions or during a fall, most are sports-related and occur without contact from anyone or anything else. These “non-contact” injuries can be caused by quick changes in direction with a misstep, a bad landing after a jump (especially in basketball) or even simply turning the body while slowing down. Read More
