Dolphingirl Posted November 6, 2003 Report Share Posted November 6, 2003 I took a lower level class tonight, with a teacher I don't normally have for class. Halfway through the pointe section, she noticed that my shoulders were uneven. I've noticed that, and that my hips, too, are uneven. For both my hips and my shoulders, it's my right side that's lower. I'm very careful about always carrying my backpack on both shoulders, or switch back and forth if I'm carrying it short distances on one shoulder. It is also known that my mom has one leg that is shorter than the other, by a good deal (half an inch or so). I've had scoliosis checks at all my check-ups, and I've come up clean each time (the last one was in late June). My teacher was thinking maybe chiropractor, and she knows the one that works with Joffrey, and of course, there is always the possibility of scoliosis, which would be a doctor's job. It never hurts, or anything, though, after I noticed today and my teacher pointed it out, I discovered that some things (namely a tight sous-sous with my left foot in front) that might possibly be connected to this. What do the wonderful moderators think? Thanks so much, Dolphingirl Quote Link to comment
Mel Johnson Posted November 6, 2003 Report Share Posted November 6, 2003 Sight unseen, that's a tough call. If you've been checked for scoliosis in an annual physical, and that's out, and asymmetry of the legs hasn't been noticed by your doctor, it may be something correctable in class alone and without the need for outside intervention. Sometimes this "crookedness" is brought on by favoring one leg or the other because of weakness or discomfort. When you stand in a parallel position, no turnout, is this misalignment also visible? Quote Link to comment
Dolphingirl Posted November 6, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2003 Yes, it is visible when I stand in parallel. Quote Link to comment
Mel Johnson Posted November 6, 2003 Report Share Posted November 6, 2003 OK! Now, the next step - didn't you have some knee surgery within the last year? Quote Link to comment
Guest ballet princess Posted November 7, 2003 Report Share Posted November 7, 2003 First off, when you said "I'm crooked!", you completely reminded me of myself. I have scoliosis and I say that sometimes. I would get it checked by a doctor again because you may have scoliosis. I was in a similiar situation where I was checked for scoliosis in about january and then sometimes in june i noticed one shoulder was higher than the other. My mom took me to the doctor again and I DO have scoliosis. Something else that may be a sign of scoliosis is if you find it difficult to do an arabesque more so than another side. We all have our good and bad side but when you have scoliosis one side of the back tends to have larger muscles and that can sometimes make an arabesque harder on one side. I'm not an expert, but If you need to talk about scoliosis feel free to PM me! Keep us updated! Quote Link to comment
Mel Johnson Posted November 7, 2003 Report Share Posted November 7, 2003 Ballet princess, thanks for trying to help, but dolphingirl and the moderators have a history going for us. We'll handle it. Quote Link to comment
coffee Posted November 18, 2003 Report Share Posted November 18, 2003 ok i dont know if i am supposed to give any imput, but i guess it can't hurt. I think i may have the same problem. My legs have a 3/4 in difference in length and it changes my back in such a way that I appear to have slight scoliosis. The only thing to do about it that I have found is put lifts in my street shoes, but as far as dance goes, I have had no luck. Sorry if I wasn't supposed to comment on this! Quote Link to comment
Mel Johnson Posted November 18, 2003 Report Share Posted November 18, 2003 Oh wow! If you have that much of a bilateral asymmetry in the legs, I don't know that there's much you can do for it. Just do the best you can. Quote Link to comment
coffee Posted November 18, 2003 Report Share Posted November 18, 2003 Its actually not that bad. The only time I have a real problem is portebras en pointe (sorry if I butchered that spelling- i sounded it out!) because i only have one foot on the floor. Other than that I can handle it. Quote Link to comment
Dolphingirl Posted November 19, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2003 I've been concentrating on it recently, and I don't know if I'm getting any better or not, but I'm starting to pick things up that I didn't before. My echappes are completely uneven, and I have more trouble rolling up onto pointe on my left leg, if I'm using two legs. The side that seems longer is the side that I had surgery on (my left). My teacher seems to think it's no big deal, that if we keep an eye on it and work on staying between my legs and not favoring, etc, it'll get better. I'm sure it'll help, but is there anything else I should be doing? Quote Link to comment
Mel Johnson Posted November 19, 2003 Report Share Posted November 19, 2003 I think you've got it about covered, with both you AND your teacher aware of the difficulty. She's going to be your best friend with regard to the problem! Quote Link to comment
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