Sprains, tendonitis, broken bones…  What comes to mind first when you hear these words?  Football?  Rugby?  Mixed martial arts?  Ballet?  Wait.  “Ballet”?!?!  Yep.

The article Sprains and tendonitis: Dancer injuries and treatments by Lindsay Zier-Vogel introduces us to Paul Papoutsakis, the company athletic therapist for the National Ballet of Canada.  As company athletic therapist, Papoutsakis “regularly treats acute injuries, like twisted ankles and broken bones, and says the pain threshold of dancers is probably the highest of all other athletes.”, the article informs us.

The National Ballet of Canada also employs a massage therapist, of course and his name is Ron Mulesa.  Mulesa notes of dancers,

“Dancers have a really strong awareness of their bodies.  They know a lot more about what their bodies need than other athletes.”

The article continues by giving us more detail about injuries that dancers are prone to (IT band injuries, patellar tendonitis, arthritis, rotator cuff injuries, etc.) and even expounding on the different tendencies among males vs. females:

Injuries in males and females differ a little bit, Mulesa notes. “Males tend to get more low back injuries because they are lifting a lot more, where females get more leg injuries — anything from shin splints to tendonitis,” he says.

Working as a team, Papoutsakis is first to see the injured athlete:

The first thing dancers do after sustaining an injury is to go to see Papoutsakis so he can assess their injury and decide whether they need to be sent straight to the doctor or if other tests are needed, like MRIs or x-rays.

Both Papoutsakis and Mulesa agree that balance is crucial:

“Often dancers will be able to turn better on their right than their left, which often indicates a physical imbalance. They become dominate on one side, which in turn increases a muscular imbalance between one side and the next,” Papoutsakis explains.

“If someone comes in complaining about their foot, it could be that their hip or back is off, or one of their gluts might be really tight,” Mulesa says, adding it’s important to look for the root of the injury, not just at the site of pain.

Another very interesting section of the article is the discussion concerning the emotional impact that injury has on an athlete and what measures are taken to this end by the team.  Since difficulty accepting and coping with injury is blamed for slowing down the healing process, Papoutsakis suggests newly injured dancers see a sport psychologist and also that they “stay connected” to the dance community, so to speak.

“Whatever they do, it’s really important to stay in a dance mind-set,” Papoutsakis says. “If they just sit around, depression can set in and have a negative impact on the healing process.”

To stay involved, Papoutsakis recommends dancers watch rehearsals and focus on what they want to do when they are healthy again. “They can also focus on cross-training, working out any healthy limbs and their core muscles,” he says.

The article ends by touching on the subjects of chronic injury and prevention, reporting, not surprisingly, that chronic injuries are the most difficult to treat.

“Many dancers with chronic injuries have a specific routine they have to do every single day in order to maintain their musculature and stay relatively pain free,” he says, suggesting dancers use exercise balls, yoga mats or therabands on the sidelines of a rehearsal or before and after class.

“Pilates is a great option for core stability,” he adds.

“We encourage dancers to come in for regular treatment, massage or physiotherapy so they don’t get to the point where their bodies flare up,” Mulesa says.

“Massage allows the dancers to move better and have a larger range of motion. Their muscles can fire with more power if they’ve had the trigger points worked out.”

Read the original article here.

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