Dance Medicine
Injury Prevention
For injury prevention attention must be given to proper technique. This is especially true with younger dancers in their training years. Injuries must often be evaluated along with the teacher and one should not always focus on the specific injury because it may be secondary to a compensation or a primary problem elsewhere. Forced hip turnout is a classic example of this and can often result in pain syndromes about the foot, knee, and lower back. Dancers have great athletic demands and should condition themselves accordingly.
The Dancer as Athelete
Dancers often do not consider themselves as athletes, but in reality, the physical demands they place upon themselves rival almost any athletic endeavor. In fact, a recent article in Philadelphia Magazine tried to determine who was the toughest athlete in the rough and tough pro sports City of Philadelphia. Their choice was a ballerina, Arantxa Ochoa (see below). The article, “Real Jocks Wear Tutus” went on to describe the rigorous training, schedule and physical demands that dancers face just about every day of there life. They are indeed athletes, and just as other athletes can learn a great deal from dancers, dancers would be wise to embrace many of the proven strategies athletes use in the areas of training, nutrition and rehabilitation. The same way Arnold Schwarzenegger (bodybuilding), Bruce Lee (martial arts), Greg Louganis (Olympic gold medal diver), Willie Gault and Hirschl Walker (pro football) and many other high level athletes have used ballet training to make them better at their sport, dancers can “cross-train” like athletes to make themselves more resilient, less injury prone and improve performance.
Overall athletic conditioning, including a balanced program of cardiovascular, strength and flexibility training, will extend dance careers and lessen the chance of injury. Dance Medicine goals as I perceive them are similar to Sports Medicine in that they include injury prevention, early accurate diagnosis and treatment, and full functional rehabilitation, but also must take into consideration the dual roles of the dancer as both artist and athlete.
Getting Back in Action
Dancers typically do not take injury well/ so permitting the injured dancer to carry out as many of the ballet exercises as possible, without incurring further injury or delaying recovery, will alleviate anxiety and promote cooperation. One must preserve overall strength, flexibility, and endurance while the injury heals. This often takes creative techniques. Other Dance Medicine goals include bridging the dancers gap between artist and athlete as well as educating both the dancer and the doctor.