Dance Injuries

[All4pointe]

I'm not sure if I can ask this but I'm in quite a dilema. We moved to a new studio following teachers we loved. Everything seemed to be going well, but now we are seeing many girls treating injuries. The injuries are pulled muscles, stress fractures, breaks, in the foot, ankle, hips and back. The dancers' age ranges from 9 to HS. Is it normal for 10 out of 200 to be injured? Could it just be coincidental? I'm new to this and watching closely to see what is in store for my DD's. They love to dance. We are friends with parents of older dd's, but I don't want to ask for fear of insulting someone. The girls and the teachers seem so dedicated.

[Victoria Leigh]

Hello All4pointe, welcome to Ballet Talk for Dancers

 

Unfortunately, injuries are not uncommon in dancers, as with athletes. Is the ratio unusual? I don't know. Could be, but maybe not. It is always worth looking at what is causing the injuries, though. There are some ways of training that can be detrimental, especially to certain types of bodies, but then there are also certain bodies with a predisposition to certain types of injury and they could be caused by any number of activities. It's also possible that some of the injuries in those 10 dancers could have happened through something other than ballet. Very hard to know. Sorry I can't give you a more definitive answer.

[All4pointe]

I guess I'm a little shell shocked. We had a dress rehearsal yesterday and there were backbraces over tutu's and girl's on cruches in the wings waiting to dance. It just was mind boggling. I feel a bit like a mother hen. Maybe my feathers ruffle to easily.

[Victoria Leigh]

Not liking the sound of that at all. Anyone in a back brace, and most certainly anyone who needs crutches to walk, simply DO NOT dance. That is totally crazy. What teachers would allow that? Makes no sense to me.

[Guest dreamofdance]

All4pointe, We are in the process of switching studios for that very reason. We switched to this studio full-time in September. Since that time, my DD has had ankle sprain, shin splints, pulled groin muscle, and numerous blisters. While fortunately none of these are serious injuries and are not uncommon to ballet, it is noticeable for us that she danced at another studio for 5 years with none of the above injuries and in the first 3 months at her new studio, she has missed classes for minor injuries. All injuries for her were a direct result of her ballet classes. I could tell exactly which class caused each and every one of them. We know it's time to go before a "big bad injury" happens. If you are sensing something is just not right, I would DEFINITELY keep my eyes and ears (and if necessary, mouth) open to see if it is something in the training.

[LauraR]

All4pointe, being dedicated is a wonderful quality, but if you're not dedicated to activity that is healthy, rewarding, or safe, it's not always a 'good thing'. I liken it to driving really fast while you're lost. You have no idea where you're going, but you sure are going to get there in a hurry!

 

My post is purely anecdotal and I hope it doesn't violate any policies. We have a large school with over 1,000 students on three campuses. I don't see many students who are injured. I know of one girl last year who was a very advanced dancer who broke her foot in class and that was a pretty rare event. She recovered and is now dancing with Houston Ballet. My dd has a friend that has been injured a couple of times in class, but I speculate that it has a lot to do with her exceptional flexibility and the fact that she keeps dancing and doesn't say anything. Another classmate had overuse injuries and Achilles tendinitis last year, but we found that she was doing unauthorized pointe work at home.

 

My reason for mentioning these instances is that in the past six years, that's about all we have seen. We see girls here and there who have hurt themselves outside of class, but I think class injuries are relatively uncommon. One girl does have a back brace because she has scoliosis. She flies to Chicago for treatment and continuing ballet is part of her therapy.

 

You are your dd's advocate. If I had any doubt, I would ask. Better to insult someone than to put your dd at risk. Plus, it's not really insulting to inquire, "There seem to be a lot of injuries, are all of these dance related?" Stories will come out and then you will be able to see how the injuries came about and why the girls are dancing with them.

[Victoria Leigh]

My main question is why are they dancing with them. Injuries happen, but students dancing when they can't walk should not happen. Teachers and parents allowing this just does not make any sense to me. Who is in charge here?

[LauraR]

Ironically, I posted in this thread years ago. Now that my daughter is in more advanced classes I'm seeing more injuries, too, similar to ceecee. I'm also seeing that I have a lot less confidence and "cockiness" after being in the ballet game for a few more years, lol. I would also love to hear more from Ms. Leigh.

[Toitoi43]

Hi Victoria. You mentioned that if a dancer cannot walk, he/she should not dance. How about if the dancer can walk and work at the barre without pain? At what point can they start back up on pointe and jumps? My DD sprained her ankle in a track meet two weeks ago and has some pain (3 out of 10) when she has to roll through her foot. She has a performance tomorrow and initially I thought she shouldn't dance on pointe. However, was wondering if it's okay to "push" it a little.

 

Thoughts please?

[Victoria Leigh]

That is a call I can't make, baltroj. I have no idea how bad the sprain is, nor her ability to as a dancer and her pain tolerance, nor can I know if it is healed enough to not damage it further by proceeding to dance. This had to be a doctor's call. Since this is the under 13 forum, I would have to say I would be very, very hesitant to let her dance unless she is completely able to do everything in class with no pain.