“There are three steps you have to complete to become a
professional dancer: learn to dance, learn to perform, and learn how to cope with injuries.” - D.
Gere
Dancers ask a lot of their bodies on a daily
basis. Although they may try to dance
healthy, sometimes an injury is unavoidable.
It is important that injuries be cared for immediately as I described in
an earlier post on injury care. This week’s post describes some common soft
tissue injuries of the muscles, tendons and ligaments that are common among
dancers.
Anytime a soft tissue injury occurs, cells called fibroblasts
gather at the site and form a web that eventually becomes scar tissue. The swelling that occurs with an injury is
partially caused by this gathering of cells.
Although fibroblasts are necessary, the body overproduces
them. It is important to keep the
swelling minimal to discourage large amounts of scar tissue from forming. Scar tissue is extremely strong, but its
fibers are not organized in a parallel fashion like those of muscle
tissue. The jumbled pattern of fibers
makes scar tissues inelastic. Gentle
stretching is recommended as the injury heals because it is believed to realign
the scar tissue fibers to encourage elasticity.
One of the
most common dance injuries is often referred to as a “pulled muscle” and is
actually a strained muscle. A strained muscle occurs when excessive or rapid stretching
causes a tearing of muscle fibers. Muscle
strains can vary in degrees from a minor tear to a complete tear and can
involve tearing within a muscle, muscle fibers tearing away from a tendon or a
tendon tearing away from a bone.
Hamstring and groin strains are the most common among dancers. The RICE
method, followed by gentle stretching once healing has begun, is usually
sufficient treatment, although complete tears require surgery.Sprains are tears that occur in ligaments and can be caused by improper body alignment or a sudden twisting movement. Dancers usually experience ankle or knee sprains that often occur during turns or when landing from a jump. Sprains, like muscle strains, can range in severity from a minor tear to a complete tear. The RICE method should be used immediately. Some sprains may require immobilization while the ligaments heal and/or physical therapy to re-build strength around the injured joint. Since ligaments are not as elastic as tendons or muscles, they have great potential for re-injury and must be allowed to heal completely before a dancer returns to class.
While
strains and sprains are acute injuries, fasciitis and tendonitis are chronic
conditions that can linger and be very frustrating and painful for
dancers. Fascia, which is the tissue
surrounding muscles, can become inflamed from overuse or as a result of body
misalignment. Tendonitis is similar to
fasciitis but involves inflammation of the tendon and its sheath, or the
membrane that surrounds it. Tendonitis
causes pain whenever the connected muscle contracts and pulls on the inflamed
tendon and can be caused by body misalignment, muscular imbalances or
inadequate conditioning. The most common
site for this condition in dancers is at the achilles tendon. Incorrect alignment of the foot combined with
the tendency to not place the heels down between jumps and relevés contribute
to this chronic condition. Caring for
both these conditions involves using the RICE
method and ibuprofen to decrease the inflammation and bring the dancer
relief. When the inflammation decreases,
a sports medicine doctor or physical therapist will be able to prescribe
stretches to strengthen the joint, determine what may have caused the condition
and help the dancer correct any flaws in his or her pattern of training that
may have contributed to the inflammation.
Injury
prevention should always be the dancer’s goal.
Awareness of body alignment, proper training and creating balanced
muscle pairs can help to keep soft tissue injuries from occurring. If an injury does occur, proper care will allow
the body to heal itself quickly.
