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Injuries


Magda

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Hi,

This is my first post yay!

Okay, so I have been dancing since I was 3, and I've always loved it. However, I have been recovering from a serious injury for the past 4.5 months. I have not been dancing during this time period at all. Now, I am about to go to my first ballet class, and I am extremely excited. That was just background info. Now, my dream is to be a professional ballerina/dancer at LINES (even at the lowest level!) but is that even possible? I'm 14 and I'm just starting again. It seems pretty far fetched. I was just wondering if you guys could give me some suggestions? Thanks so much!

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Hello Magda, and welcome to Ballet Talk for Dancers!!! :)

 

It's wonderful that you have goals- very important to have ideas and dreams! Nobody can tell you whether things will work out in the way you currently wish, but I think deep down, you know that. What we can do is help you on your path, and one of the most important things we do here is helping young dancers sort through injuries.

 

May I ask what your particular injury is, and how it happened?

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Thank you for the response,

I have had bilateral labral tears in both of my hips for 3 years, but I just got diagnosed last year, and had surgery on my right hip in July and on my left hip in September. I really don't know how I got injured, I just remember that I started having pain in my hips, but I ignored it (bad idea). Finally I told my teachers and they told me to go to the doctor. They gave me an X-ray and found nothing wrong with my hip structure, so they (mis) diagnosed hip tendinitis. I was put in physical therapy for a few months, and my hips felt a bit better, but the pain came back again, and it got worse. I did my PT exercises, and stretched my tendons during ballet class. But that didn't help much, so I went back to the doctor last winter, and I got an MRI in February. They found labral tears. I had pre-surgery PT and post-surgery PT, and I'm feeling a lot stronger, and ready to try dance again. I hope this helped!

Thanks for you time,

Magda

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Very difficult injuries, Magda. I'm so sorry that you had to go through all of that. :(

 

You are young, and the chances are good for you to recover completely and to dance. What worries me a bit would be the concern that rotation could be the major reason for these injuries, and I think you should have a serious discussion with your doctor, your PT, and your teacher, in terms of how much rotation you can safely use, and especially, how to start back and stay healthy. You need to know exactly what you can do and what you cannot, and when you can do what. Do not expect to do everything right away! Start very slowly, and very carefully. It will take you a few months to regain the strength and control, as well as the rotation and flexibility, assuming that the doctors understand what is demanded of ballet dancers and still say that you can do it.

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Thank you for your advice.

I am starting back this week in a very basic open class, and I understand what I should not do for the most part. I think that rotation is definitely a factor in the injuring, but also extensions and ronde de jambe en l'air. I will definitely not be doing those. I don't expect to be anywhere close to where I was before, and it may be nice to start over training because obviously something I was doing before was not right. I am going to focus more on my core strength and alignment, because I never really had that down solid (growth). I hope this is a good plan?

Thanks again!

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Sounds like a good plan, Magda. :) Keep your extensions low for a while, do not force any rotation in any position, and let your teacher and your Doc and PT guide you too. Core strength and alignment are definitely first priority!

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thank you so much!

I also had one more question, I live in Chicago, and I was wondering if you could possibly advise me on which schools I should consider auditioning for? I am reluctant to go back to my old school, because it is not focused on pre-professional training (so my training is definitely not too good).

Thanks!

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Joffrey Ballet

School of Ballet Chicago

Ruth Page Center for Dance

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