Technical Tuesday Dance Injuries
Dancers get injured. It goes with the territory. However,
there are ways to minimize the chance of injury and dancers should do their
best to prevent as many injuries as they can.
Although dancers do injure their arms and even their spine
(scary), 60-80% of injuries occur in the legs. This is not surprising. Causes
of these injuries include: incorrect turn-out, rolling on the arches (excessive
pronation); and muscle imbalances (too tight or too loose). Too tight muscles are
often the turn-out muscles in the hips, the hip flexors, the outer quadriceps,
and calf muscles. The muscles that are frequently weaker include the muscles
involved in turning in the legs, the
deep abdominals and inner quadriceps among others.
What steps can be taken to prevent these issues? Always warm-up muscles before you stretch
them. Know the capabilities of your
particular body structure and do not over-train or push too hard. Know what
muscles you should strengthen and which ones are at risk of over-developing. But
also know which muscles need to be
strengthened. Finally, make sure you are dancing on a suitable surface – no concrete
floors!
A knowledgeable dance teacher can help with all these
things.
From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:
Anatomical Secret #25n:
“Approximately 65-80% of dance injuries occur in the legs.”
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Quote
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“Your assumptions are your windows on the
world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won't come in.”
― Isaac Asimov
― Isaac Asimov
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