Pains.

[performancesmiles]

I have a problem with my hip. It hurts in a straddle position as well as the turn out stretch (on the stomach in a flipped butterfly position). It hurts 'inside' my hip in retiré. One of my ballet instructors told me that I strained it. My other ballet instructor told me that I should ease into stretches from now on and only do them when I'm warm. I had been working on my straddle and doing stretches to improve it everyday. I wonder if that is the cause of this pain? I don't want to stop stretching altogether because I really want to improve my extension. Is there anything I can do to relieve this hip pain?

I also have pain at the back of my ankle. It's not tendonitis, though. Is there a stretch to relieve this pain? It hurts sometimes in relevé and when I point my foot.

I want to improve my extension in derrière and devant. What excercises, besides splits, would help?

[Mel Johnson]

First, pain can be your friend. It lets you know when something's wrong.

 

But pain is always a problem, BECAUSE it means something's wrong. You need to take some time off and let the sore part heal. I recommend a trip to the doctor to ascertain exactly what's wrong. But after you recover, never ever try to do big stretches like a straddle split without being completely warmed up. When at the doctor, I would also have that ankle and foot checked out. Stretching is probably the worst thing you can do for something like that.

 

And welcome to Ballet Talk for Dancers.