swollen hips

[Guest notsotinydancer]

I went to the doctor for my physical for school and asked him about my hips. They are really sore when I walk to move them for a while, and I can hardly turn out or in. He said the tendons in my hips are really swollen, and put me on an anti-inflamitory. It kind of helps, but they still get really stiff, just don't hurt. Do you think it is ok to dance on them? I really want to, but I don't want to be hurting myself. Usually I have 6 ballet classes and 3 tap classes a week. Should I just cut back?

[Victoria Leigh]

Generally when there is swelling in any area it means there is injury there, and since ballet is most likely what caused the problem, if you continue to do it before letting the injury heal, it won't heal. Therefore, I would suggest a bit more than cutting back...I would say stop until both the swelling and the pain are gone. I suggest that you also do a bit of detective work and try to figure out what caused this so that you can correct what that is. It could be over rotating, or just doing too much work on one particular movement, especially something like grand rond de jambe or grand battement, or even too much stretching.

[Guest notsotinydancer]

Thanks so much for the advice. I'm cutting back on my classes, down to 3 a week. I went for the first time on Wednesday for an hour, and my hip joints are still stiff. They don't hurt though! My medicine is working. I'll try not to be too tough on them.

[Mel Johnson]

If you're still symptomatic (not TOO bad, just a little stiff), cut some more. Like, say, to watching class instead of taking it.

[Guest notsotinydancer]

Thanks for the advice, I'm going to try that this week.