Preventing Dance Injuries
Hi everyone, this is Part 2 of my Dance Blog series. I hope you enjoy Preventing Dance Injuries. If you’ve got any questions after reading this article, please feel free to get in touch.
Pushing through pain
For the longest time being injured has been an accepted part of being a dancer. It’s so common to hear of dancers pushing through pain and performing with muscle strains, stress fractures or any number of injuries.
Best way to recover
As Physiotherapists, we know that the best way to recover from an injury is to prevent it happening in the first place! This is talking less about the ‘got dropped in pas de deux’ and more of the little niggles that become a full blown injury all the way to landing poorly from a jump and rolling an ankle.
Dance is complex
Dance is a complex activity and requires optimal range, strength, coordination and proprioception (internal body awareness). Together, this allows the body to learn and perform movements but also to adapt when things go slightly wrong. However, as strain builds up on the body we can find it more and more difficult to move comfortably into the ends of ranges or to fully activate muscles. We may start to feel a little niggle or an “always tight” muscle. This is your body and brain giving you the signals that something isn’t super happy. If we ignore these signals, the niggles turn into something more complex and can even predispose you to more serious injuries as the load becomes higher than the body’s tolerance.
Staying optimal
We want to make sure that doesn’t happen! I know how important it is that your body stays optimal and ready for anything! In our sessions we’ll have a look at how things are presenting for you, but also test the full body for any neural irritation or restriction in joints/muscles/movements. We can then treat the area with hands on techniques, home releases and importantly motor control, strength and proprioception exercises specific to you. It’s crucial to have a happy foundation that can help you achieve and adapt to everything life demands from you.
Need help?
If you do have a little niggle developing or particular movements/ranges that are continuing to allude you – give us a call for a chat or book in to see how we can help you the most!
