Dancers are now starting to be viewed as artistic athletes more than simply artists. Dance varies from other conventional sports due to the extreme range of motion required at the joints as well as the expressivity and emotion that makes it an art form. There has been a big push in recent years for the cross training of dancers with other forms of exercise to prevent injuries.

Are you ready to be en pointe?

With these unique components of ballet, dancers will often get injuries that are not seen in other sports. It is common to see injuries such as posterior impingement of the ankle, tendinopathies of the deep calf and foot muscles, dysfunction of the tarsals as well as stress fractures of the feet. Snapping hip, hip impingement as well as lumbar stress reactions are also common in the adolescent dancer.

With dance physiotherapy, your physiotherapist will take a detailed history about you and your dance training, your main styles and your current schedule. From there they will find a way to integrate your rehabilitation and exercise into your dance training while also grading and balancing your return to ballet/dance following an injury.

The cornerstone of ballet training is en pointe, where the dancers wear specially designed shoes that allows them to dance on the tips of their toes. Given the unnatural mechanics of en pointe it is paramount that you receive a pre pointe assessment prior to beginning pointe work. In the pre pointe assessment your physio will assess the strength of the muscles required for pointe, technical aspects of your dance as well as the angles of your body to determine whether pointe is right for you. During the pointe assessment, your physio will determine areas of improvement and provide exercises to help you achieve your goals.

Contact Point Cook Physiotherapy about dance physiotherapy if you are a dancer:

·         Looking for a pre-pointe assessment

·         With foot pain

·         With ankle pain

·         With knee or hip pain

·         With lower back pain

·         Looking to progress strength and dance technique

Please call the clinic on 93953499.