SeaMonkey Posted November 13, 2003 Report Share Posted November 13, 2003 Ok, I've always had a very SLIGHT hyperextention in my arms and fingers......but I've noticed within the last 2 years, it's gotten worse. I have a huge swayback, both my arms and fingers bend back at the wrong angle and my shoulders will twist so that I can pull my arm behind my head and almost have it in a completely straight line....I'm 24 years old, shouldn't I be tightening up instead of getting so loose? I've been working on making sure I'm straight behind the knees and really focusing on my turnout, and now my stupid knees are starting to hyperextend too. It's not that the hyperextension is making me unstable. I do a lot of situp to stablize my back and once I started doing Modern it helped to keep it stable and its fine, its just that if I'm doing a piece with really straight arms, they'll ache afterwards and if I'm standing up and painting for long hours (I'm a painting major) the backs of my knees will hurt. I guess my question is that have you ever heard of hyperexension getting worse as someone gets older and is there something I can do to maybe prevent it? Quote Link to comment
Mel Johnson Posted November 13, 2003 Report Share Posted November 13, 2003 Boy oh boy, you should dance in Thailand or Cambodia. They really like that profile there! And a lot of the steps are in demi-plié! As far as hyperextension manifesting itself at 24 or 25, that's not all that unusual, as the body comes to its final adult configuration about that time, and that includes the skeleton and all the connective tissue. The most annoying thing you've mentioned is the sway back. Situps, properly done, can help here, but most importantly, you have to use the abdominals in order to support your front, so that you can feel the spine lengthen using your back muscles. This stuff you can work on all day long! You don't have to be in class! Quote Link to comment
Guest DanceMonkey Posted November 14, 2003 Report Share Posted November 14, 2003 I meant to post this on another topic about having a big curve in the spine, but I don't think I did. One of my ballet teachers gave me some floor barre excersizes to do and I do them either right when i wake up and right before I go to bed. I make sure I keep my spine as straight as possible, how'd I'd want my alignment to be standing up. Working those muscles on the floor in alignment REALLY helped with my swayback and working on placement. Now if I could just find something for my arms and knees! Quote Link to comment
Mel Johnson Posted November 14, 2003 Report Share Posted November 14, 2003 Just don't let them lock back, and you should be on the road to all right. Quote Link to comment
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