Whether its ballet, modern, hip hip, or ballroom, dancing requires a lot of flexibility, strength, and endurance, and like any other sport puts a tremendous amount of stress on the body. Most of the injuries related to dance are usually due to overuse and tend to occur in the foot/ankle/lower leg, lower back, and shoulder. Some of the more common dance injuries are:
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Hallux Valgus (Bunion)
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Plantar Fascitis (Heel/arch pain)
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Ankle/Calf Sprain/Strain
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Stress Fractures
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Shin Splints
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Knee Pain (Patellar-Femoral Pain Syndrome/ Iliotibial Band Syndrome)
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Snapping Hip Syndrome
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Low back sprain/strain
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Rotator Cuff Tendonitis/Tear (shoulder pain)
For any of these injuries, seeking medical attention is very important, especially for the individual who wishes to continue dancing whether for competition or even just personal enjoyment. Most of the above injuries may be treated with some light stretching to maintain flexibility, some manual therapy such as massage, maintaining a strengthening program, realignment, and REST. Because the main cause of a dancer’s injury is due to overuse, it is important to give your body time for rest so that your body has time to recover. It is also important to use the right equipment especially shoes for each specific dance, and avoid dancing on hard floors.
Since we are more susceptible to injury as we age, it’s important to train young dancers early on how to avoid and prevent injuries from occurring. Some key thing to remember are:
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Wear properly fitting clothing and proper shoes for each individual dance
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Drink plenty of fluids
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Pay attention to proper technique/ have instructor routinely check your technique
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Be aware of your body’s limits and avoid pushing your body too far too fast
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Resist the temptation to dance through the pain
- Perform a proper warm up and cool down including stretches
We treat Hallux Valgus (Bunion), Plantar Fascitis (Heel/arch pain), Ankle/Calf Sprain/Strain, Stress Fractures, Shin Splints, Knee Pain (Patellar-Femoral Pain Syndrome/ Iliotibial Band Syndrome), Snapping Hip Syndrome, Low back sprain/strain, Rotator Cuff Tendonitis/Tear (shoulder pain) in the 34715 and 34711 area!
