Dancers frequently have pain and dysfunction in many different joints. This is due to the demands placed on their body which require extremes of flexibility, control, coordination, strength and endurance. Many dancers are hyper-flexible as this helps them to move their bodies into the extremes of range that they require for some forms of dance. Dancers who are hyper-flexible often have better lines and so are more sought after in classical ballet. If their muscles are not strong and coordinated enough to support their hyper-flexible joints, a dancer can get pain without any specific incident.
Conversely, if a dancer’s joints are not flexible enough, they may become injured trying to reaqch the required positions during dance. Tension around a dancer’s pelvis from strength imbalances may cause pain and difficulty achieving full range of movement. This is sometimes referred to as the pelvis being out or rotated. Physiotherapy for dancers involves improving muscle strength and coordination, muscle balance exercises, balance (proprioceptive) work, deep tissue massage, myofascial release, joint mobilisations and muscle energy techniques. Dancers usually recover quickly as they are very body aware and learn to move in a different, pain-free way faster than the average person. If you are a dancer with injuries, book an appointment with e-physiotherapy Edinburgh
