Are Bunions in Dancers Avoidable?

One of the things I have been most concerned about as a ballet dancer are bunions. It seems like so many dancers, across disciplines, get bunions and suffer greatly from them. Last year at my dance studio our best dancer had bunion surgery and she was only a senior in high school. Her podiatrist had to put pins in her big toe joint. She was off her feet for many weeks, in therapy, and cautious on her foot when she got back to class.


One of my ballet teachers talked to us last year about bunions and preventing them. She had us stand in arabesque sideways to the mirror and look at how our foot was shaped. Many had "curled" their big toe under and the majority of the weight of their foot was resting on their big toe joint. This is a sure sign of things to come.


Take a look at your own foot in the mirror in arabesque. Where is the weight resting? Now point your foot in tendu devant. Is your big toe joint sticking out? If so, then you might be going down the bunion road.


I mentioned in my previous blog about the perfect ballet foot. Gaining this perfect foot, or "winging" it can also lead to bunion problems. In order to create the perfect line some dancers will move their big toe joint instead of keeping it in line with the rest of your inner foot. When we "wing" our feet, it creates more pressure on the big toe joint, leading to inflammation. Dance students should focus on healthy alignment, while trying not to sickle the foot.


Heredity is a factor dancers cannot overcome. If a relative of yours has bunions then you may get them as well. However, dancers in particular need to recognize the need for proper footwear. Narrow toe boxes in not only your pointe shoes, but your street shoes as well should be avoided. Narrow toe boxes may look better, but in reality you are squishing your toes together and setting yourself up for disaster.


For those dancers who have bunions but the problem is not serious enough to warrant surgery, they may want to consider orthotics for your shoes. If there is a biomechanical problem with your feet, orthotics will help alleviate those issues. There are also semi-custom orthotics that are available for your ballet shoes. A podiatrist would have access to these items.

Shaping the Foot: An Impossibility

I wish I had beautiful feet. But alas, I do not. Relatively flat footed, with a long, narrow, and thin foot, there is little I can do to change the basic shape of my foot. There are some dancers in my class who astound me with how lovely their feet and arches are.



When I first started ballet, I sickled my foot, which means that I let the foot "collapse" inwards. In tendu the foot went in at an angle. I never noticed until my first teacher pointed it out to me. It was a rookie mistake.



Both of my ballet teachers have made shaping the foot a priority this year. We are at the level where we will be graduating from ballet slippers to pointe shoes, and making the foot appear as part of a long leg line is more crucial than ever. Having a "dead fish" at the end of our leg is something none of us want. They keep bringing in pictures from Dance magazine and Pointe magazine, telling us how it is possible to create a shape like they have. I had received my copy in the mail that same day and had walked up the driveway saying "How does she do that?"



If you notice in the picture above, from the top of her thighs to the point of her foot is a straight line (well, fairly straight; her leg does go in slightly at the knee). The foot is perfectly turned out so we see all of the heel and inside of her shoes. We tried this in class that day. Let me tell you, it is not as easy as it looks. Almost all of us got horrible foot cramps, but a select few came close to that picture.

For those of us who have to work extra hard to create that shape, we have a lot of painful work ahead. Some things to keep in mind are:

• When in tendu a la second, make sure that you have your heel turned out. By this I mean that from your toes to your heel should be a straight line. If you stand on a line with your foot in tendu, there should be an imaginary straight line.
• When in tendu devant, think of pushing your heel forward. This motion forces your toes back and creates the line desired.
• When in tendu derriere, your toes should be pointing upwards, like in the picture to the left.

To do this at home, try working with a Theraband to create strength. When you are sitting on the couch, stretch your legs out in a stretched releve and try to touch your toes to the couch.
It is important to remember however, that your foot has only a certain range of motion and it will only go so far. You can't break your foot doing these suggestions, but it will hurt.
Dancingly,
Jenn
Central CT Foot Care Center
Dr. Tina Boucher, DPM
www.centralctfootcare.com
jenn@centralctfootcare.com