Dancing Through Life - Caring for a young dancer’s body
Training to be a dancer involves repetitive movements, extreme positions and a high load on muscles and ligaments - so how do we keep up with the ever-growing demands placed on a developing dancer’s body?
The most common injuries incurred by young dancers are in the lower half of the body. This is due to the demand for hyper-mobility and the desire to achieve dramatic lines in extreme positions.
Between the ages of roughly 11 to 16 the female body takes on immense changes. Puberty, along with rapid height and weight gains, can contribute to the likelihood of injury; during a growth spurt bones often grow faster than ligaments and tendons which can leave them vulnerable to injury.
Many genres of dance require external rotation of the hips or “turnout”. Each body has a different pre-determined angle of external rotation. Although stretching may increase the range of turnout to some extent unfortunately if you have a lower range of external turnout you can be more likely to incur injury by trying to force the body into positions it doesn’t naturally want to go. This can often lead to lower back pain or other injuries as the body tries to compensate.
It isn’t all bad news though!
Whilst you can’t change some of the factors that contribute to injury there are some things you can do to decrease your risk.
Ensure you attend a reputable dance school with a teaching faculty that is highly trained and experienced. They will encourage correct technique from an early age and be able to recognise and work within your body’s physical limitations.
Always dance on a safe surface such as a sprung floor specifically designed for dance.
Keep a check on the number of hours you are training and be mindful of fatigue. More than 60 minutes en pointe at a time has been shown to increase the incidence of lower back pain.
Engage in a warm-up that includes a combination of cardiovascular work and static and dynamic stretching.
Eat a variety of healthy and nutritious food.
Have an assessment from a medical professional that has experience working with dancers before dancing en pointe.
If you do get injured, make sure you seek professional advice in applying appropriate rehabilitation and put preventative actions in place to avoid future injuries.
Remember to find enjoyment in other activities too. The break from being in the dance studio will do wonders for your body and your mind.
REFERENCES
STEINBERG, N., SIEV-NER, I., PELEG, S., DAR, G., MASHARAWI, Y., ZEEV, A., & HERSHKOVITZ, I. (2013). INJURIES IN FEMALE DANCERS AGED 8 TO 16 YEARS. JOURNAL OF ATHLETIC TRAINING, 48(1), 118–123. HTTPS://DOI.ORG/10.4085/1062-6050-48.1.06 2.
MORRIN N AND REDDING E. ACUTE EFFECTS OF WARM-UP STRETCH PROTOCOLS ON BALANCE, VERTICAL JUMP HEIGHT, AND RANGE OF MOTION IN DANCERS. J DANCE MED SCI. 2013;17(1):34-40. DOI:10.12678/1089- 313X.17.1.34
AUTHOR
KATE CRICHTON - SEE KATE’S FULL BIO HERE
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