Dancer's feet are notoriously disformed and full of problems due to the nature of this art. Dancers often have bunions, hammertoes, nail injury, heel pain and sprains in their feet and ankles. This will be a biweekly update and go-to guide on dancing and how we as dancers can take care of our feet.
The most common cause of heel pain in dancers is plantar fasciitis. This occurs when the tough collagen fibers in the long flat ligament on the bottom of the foot get overused or strained and develops small tears, which cause it to become inflamed. The pain from plantar fasciitis is most noticeable with the first steps taken in the morning or after having sat for a long period of time. The pain ranges from dull to intense and increases over a period of months. If left untreated plantar fasciitis will worsen.
Risk factors for plantar fasciitis include the following:
Foot arch problems either high or low
Tight Achilles tendon
Shoes with little or no arch support and soft sides
Sudden weight gain or obesity
In order to diagnose plantar fasciitis, Dr. Boucher will perform a physical examination of your feet. This may reveal high or low arches, tenderness on the foot’s bottom, some swelling and stiffness in the arch. Occasionally the doctor will require x-rays just to rule other possible problems.
Thankfully, there are many steps that can be taken to alleviate the pain of plantar fasciitis and combinations are usually successful at reducing the pain, but it does take time. Combinations of the following may be used:
Use night splint to stretch the plantar fascia and allow it healing time
If pain relief is not achieved, Dr. Boucher may recommend a month in a boot cast, custom foot orthotics or steroid shots. Non-surgical attempts usually prove successful by decreasing pain level, but it can take up to two years to completely resolve. There are rare instances where surgery may be required, but there are risks involved with surgery. Dr. Boucher will discuss your personal situation with you. Call her at (203) 238-3668. Many options are available don’t forget to check out Our Doctor Store on our website.
Many of us have been glued to the television for season 14 of Dancing with the Stars (DWTS) and seen the injuries. There is a little bit of dancer in the athlete, and a lot of athleticism in the dancer. For the purpose of this discussion, they are one and the same. The injuries remain the same. Whether it’s a running back dancing his way downfield, maneuvering his footwork to avoid oncoming tacklers. Or the ballet dancer leaping across the stage, delighting and wowing the audience. They are both prone to injuries that can alter or stop their careers.
Last month there were a couple of injuries worth noting. William Levy sustained an injury to his right ankle during rehearsal. The results of an MRI done the following day showed a torn ligament, and his doctor advised immediate rest, or risk doing permanent damage if he continued to dance on the injured ankle. But the Cuban heart throb danced on performing an Argentine tango that had judges passing out some pretty high praise. Sherri Shepard mysteriously lost a shoe and sustained an ankle injury that left her unable to dance up to her full potential. This proves that the ankles just aren’t safe on the dance floor.
Whether you are ball room dancing or ballet dancing, the leaps turns, spins and shuffles are hard on the feet and ankles, and very little support for the difficult moves is provided by the shoes. In the ballroom, the typical shoe has a somewhat high heel, is strappy and light, and has the dancer moving on the balls of her feet. Unfortunately, there is no cushioning or support for the lateral movement, jumping and sliding a dancer is required to do. Ballet slippers are worse. There is virtually no support, a little cushioning but no toe protection. Considering the moves a ballet dancer makes on stage, and the rigorous hours spent training, physical exhaustion and stress, it is little wonder injuries occur. Just ask Maria Menounos who is reportedly nursing stress factors.
If you have an ankle or foot injury regardless of the origin, call Dr. Boucher at (203) 238-3668. Central Connecticut Foot Care Center is the go to place for all dance injuries foot or ankle related. Expertise in Podiatry and interest and background in dance make Dr. Boucher just the right person to keep you on your toes.
I love getting e-mails from people in the dance community, asking questions, looking for me to help them promote a product or service, or just looking to chat about dance! I got an e-mail this morning from Ryan Beck, a dancer and choreographer, who has performed around the world and with some of today's biggest names. He has co-started a project with Jason Ray Brown called Every BODY Can Dance, a project which I think many of us can relate to.
If you've ever thought "I'd love to dance but I don't have the right body for it" and given up on your dream of dancing, then you need to check this project out. For those of you who've read this blog and know my story, you know that I was told I could never dance because I was too tall- no shoes would fit me, no leotards either (although now thinking back, I would have made a great Balanchine ballerina [Balanchine was known for loving very tall ballerinas]). At the age of 16 I threw caution to the wind and followed my heart.
Ryan and Jason are firm believers that every one can truly dance, no matter what body type or anatomy they have. They are looking to study the body's anatomy first, and then develop a technique that will fit you personally. It's a stand out idea. Ryan likens those who try one style and find that their body won't work in it like putting a square peg into a circular hole.
Research will begin in October and culminate with a free community workshop at the Manhattan Jewish Community Center in March 2012.
They are looking for pledges to get their project started. Donations fit every pocket, with pledges starting at $1. I hope they are able to make their goal, because this is a project I would love to see come to fruition.
Dancingly, Jenn jenn@centralctfootcare.com
Dr Tina Boucher, Dance Podiatrist
In an April 2011 I received an e-mail about improving your arch, but I think it's an important topic that needs to be reemphasized. Safe products like the AFX will help you maximize what you already have, but if your foot is not designed that way, you will be disappointed. Dancers who become obsessed with how beautiful their feet are are only setting themselves up for disaster, and more importantly, injury. When you put your feet under the couch, have a friend sit on your toes, or hang from the barre putting all your weight on that arch you are likely overstretching the tendons and ligaments in your feet. After doing this for several weeks or months you will lose the stability you need in your feet and ankles. Bad news is ligaments don't heal on their own and take forever to heal.
If you're looking for ways to get a better arch, work harder on using all the muscles in your feet, from ankle, to midfoot, to toes. You can also use the AFX to work your foot safely and properly.
So for those of you who are curious, here is a follow-up to my last blog post on my triumphant (haa!) return to ballet.
Class was as expected, difficult and hard to keep up, especially the allegro and travelling exercises. It wasn't so much that the moves were unknown, it was how fast it went! I can do a pique turn for sure but not at the speed my fellow classmates were going at. They would have run me over! I forget how unflexible I am as well. Compared to the bodies of 15-17 year olds, my 25 year old body might as well be that of a 65 year old! My classmates continue to surprise me with how high they can get their legs, beautiful back bends, and glorious ponches. Ahh, to be young.
With regards to my injured foot, it held up better than I thought it would. We were in soft soled shoes however, and this week we will take class in pointe shoes. I anticipate there will be a difference from soft to pointe in how my foot feels.
It was, besides the feeling completely out of shape, a refreshing and delightful experience. For those of you who dance, you know that feeling- the simple act of moving is what makes it beautiful and honestly, addicting. My new philosophy about working at this level (advanced, pre-professional) is to go full-throttle! I'm going to look ridiculous anyway, so I might as well go all-in.
Dancingly, Jenn jenn@centralctfootcare.com
Dr Tina Boucher, Dance Podiatrist
Tonight is back to ballet!
I ended up in the advanced class, since that was the only class that fit my work schedule. I'm always apprehensive about joining the advanced class, since well, I'm far from advanced. The barre is never bad, or the port a bras and adagio, but when it comes to the allegro, boy, I know when I'm beat (sometimes literally! My beats have always been on the poor side.)
It's been since May when I last donned a pair of pointe shoes, and it was a rough summer. Early June I dropped a heavy glass reed diffuser on my right sandaled foot. The result was a soft tissue injury that still has not healed properly. I was in a soft cast for five days, wore a walking boot (very sexy, I know), and currently wear an ankle compression sleeve. Some days are good, some are not (like when Hurricane Irene blew through CT, I woke up in the night with awful pain.) I will follow up next week with a post on soft tissue injuries.
I spent almost an hour on Monday night sewing my ribbons and elastics on my new pointe shoes, which I'd had since Easter. Since I'm so tall (5'10") and have a rather large foot for a ballet dancer (9-9 1/2), getting a new pair of pointe shoes was hard. The combination I needed for my Gaynor Mindens does not exists (Gaynor sizing runs large, so I needed an 11 combination) so I had to settle for the closest thing. And no way was I going to get a traditional pointe shoe. After my ribbons and elastics were sewn and I had put on my padding, I went to our kitchen to try them out. And there was pain. Pain, which I'm hoping is coming from the fact that they are new pointe shoes and not pain from my injury. I also forgot that while Gaynor Mindens don't need the "breaking in" that a traditional pointe shoe does, they still need to form to your foot.
Tonight will be a test in several ways: see how much strength my feet and ankles have lost over the summer, see if that injury will cause a problem, and see if I can keep up!
Dancingly, Jenn jenn@centralctfootcare.com
Dr Tina Boucher, Dance Podiatrist
Matt from Progressive Health Innovations Inc. got in contact with me several months ago about a product his company produces which is helpful for dancers. The product, AFX, or Ankle Foot MaXimizer, is a foot and ankle strengthener. Its unique design has a variety of resistance bands which allow a post-op patient or a high performing dancer balanced stretching.
Progressive Health Innovations is all about customer-focused innovation. The company was founded in 2005 by three Canadians looking to create a product that would help people suffering with foot pain: Dr. Jordan Myers, Matthew Ferguson, and Rick Hall. Dr. Myers, a chiropractor who saw that many of his patients needed foot adjustments. Dr. Myers soon realized that simply adjusting the foot and relieving the pain was not the complete answer to this foot dilemma. Strengthening the foot so the problem would not recur was the ultimate solution.
Unfortunately, when Dr. Myers went looking for a product to serve this purpose, he could find nothing except rubber bands and products so great they could not only cure your foot pain but cure cancer too! He needed a product that would allow patients to arch their foot and engage instrinsic muscles. With a plan in mind, Dr. Myers called long-time friend Rick Hall (MSc in Kinesiology) and Matt Ferguson, my contact, who had been working as the Medical Device Technology Manager at Simon Fraser University. And magic happened! With the three minds working together they created a product that would serve their initial goal: help those suffering with foot pain (very Three Musketeer-ish to me! All for one. Three people with individual strengths coming together to make one ultimate company.) Their design principles was that it had to be a complete strengthening product through all ranges of motion, allow for stretching, and so easy you could do it while you were watching tv. The team wanted to create the best foot and ankle strengthening product on the market.
So what they came up with was the AFX, a device that does exactly what they set out to do. Matt sent me the AFX to try, and I can see how this would help dancers especially. In one of the last dance classes I had this past season, we tried several "products" designed to increase your arch, help your turnout, maintain balance, etc. What antiques they are! The product for turnout are bulky, heavy shoes you strap on to sneakers and then do the exercises. The device to increase your arch was painful even to look at! You put your foot in this tube of sorts and while someone held it down, you pushed with your foot.
The AFX is something you can throw in your dance bag and take with you everywhere. It is highly portable, light-weight, and relatively easy to put together. There are different levels of resistence you can chose to work from, depending on your level of strength. I would suggest this to dancers who are at the professional level, students in dance schools, or those just looking to build strength. I had an injury this past summer in my right foot, and I know the AFX will help me build the strength I lost all the time I was in a walking cast.
I'll be creating some videos next week with exercises for dancers with the AFX, and I hope you check them out! Check on our Facebook or Twitter pages for more updates on the videos! And of course, make sure you try out the AFX.
Dancingly,
Jenn jenn@centralctfootcare.com
Dr. Tina Boucher, Dance Podiatrist
