How many times have we seen a participant with an injury and missing out on their performance or just ending up with an okay performance due to the pains and aches? Its life and sometimes things happen in life.
A dancer needs to be innovative especially when he or she is performing in a competition. As we heard many times that it is the survival of the fittest and so one thinks of ways to not only improve and show a flawless performance but come up with steps that others may not match. That surely can help the performer gain a point or two but sometimes it so happens that we injure ourselves in trying to prove our abilities.
There are five common injuries that are faced by dancers especially during competitions and auditions.
- Ankle Sprains
- Knee Injuries
- Hamstring Injuries
- Hip Injuries
- Back Injuries
Today we will talk about these injuries and how to treat them temporarily. As they say little knowledge at a time is easy to grasp so we will split this knowledge into two to three sessions.
I am sure most of you have studied that we have 206 bones in our body and those who did not study must have come to know of it by watching Munnabhai MBBS 
Jokes aside, a human body consists of 206 bones, more then 600 muscles and many more nerves, ligaments and tendons.
For those wondering what these above terms are, please note down that “Muscle” is one of the contractile organs of the body which is a tissue consisting predominantly of contractile cells. “Nerve” is any bundle of nerve fibers running to various organs and tissues of the body. “Ligaments” are tissues that connect bones to other bones and last “Tendons” is a tough band of fibrous connective tissue that usually connects muscle to bone and is capable of withstanding tension.
Now coming back to dance, there are very few dancers who manage to dance all the time without getting them injured. Most of the dancers injure themselves at some point or the other. What causes these injuries? Sometimes due to the pressure or wrong placement of foot, one ends up with acute injuries. Sometimes due to exhaustion, over rehearsals or under rehearsals or trying out new steps that body is not prone to or even trying to match up with your partner’s energy level can injure a dancer.
Ankle Sprains: These are the most common injuries in dance. The cure for ankle sprains is “Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation.” They say an ankle sprain can be of three types. Type 1 could be just a micro tear or excessive stretching of the ligament with no looseness. Type 2 involves a more severe tear which results in a noticeable pop or swelling and some instability. Type 3 involves a complete tear of the ligament with significant instability. Any negligence can result in much more severe injury or might have to go for a surgery.
Knee Injuries: Our knees are more vulnerable to injuries and can result from mild to severe injuries. Some doctors believe that some knee problems occur in dancers with limited hip rotation. Twisting your knees to improve turnout may result in knee injury. One need to follow the same ankle sprain procedure to cure the knee injury plus heat therapy would help a lot. Electric stimulation may help speed up the healing process. If you knee continues to catch or cause swelling and pain, one might need to get an MRI for a more accurate diagnosis.
Hamstring Injuries: Muscle pulls are rarely serious unless they occur in a vulnerable area such as hamstring. This muscle spans two joints which are knee and hip with a large blood supply that causes inflammation and scar tissue when it’s torn. Dancers use the hamstring in almost every movement of the lower body making it easy to overload. Tightness is the main cause of these injuries. This large degree of rotation may be due to shallow hip sockets which the body attempts to stabilize with a very large ace tabular labrum which is the supporting rim of hip cartilage. It may result in degenerative arthritis and one might have to go for a hip replacement. The symptoms are gradual increase in groin pain, causing the dancer to avoid certain movements.
It is not advisable to dance with any of the above injuries. I know in many competitions, it may be a participants only chance but my mother always says one thing “There is nothing greater then health – if health is there then everything is there” so avoid dancing with any of the injuries. It’s true that in some competitions, a judge does not want to hear any excuses and may take your excuse in negative manner thinking you are under rehearsed and avoiding competition or trying to gain sympathy. No matter what one thinks, AVOID DANCING WITH INJURY!!! I tell you my own example. I had gone for a party and had twisted my foot ending with a sprain on my right leg. The party was crowded and it was at a very dear friend of mine and when I wanted to go back home, she insisted I stayed there till the end. Out of courtesy, love, inability to say “no” and over confidence to handle a sprain, I totally ignored my injury. Kept walking and talking in those uncomfortable shoes where as my foot was getting more and more painful. Anyway, when I went home and took my shoes off, I was shocked to see my foot swollen like a potato. Next day I found out that ignoring my foot and continuing to walk them resulted in a couple of fractures on my foot. So my advice friends, even though it’s most important dance for you, never ever ignore your injury. It can be a simple injury or it may be something totally unexpected. It is always better to be safe then sorry when it comes to health. And with Boogie Woogie what do you fear, I am sure those sweet judges will be more then understanding and willing to work out a way for you.
“It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.” Mahatma Gandhi
Tomorrow we will talk about Hip and Back Injuries while dancing.
Have a great day Folks!!
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