Injury Prevention and Anatomy for Dancers

Injury Prevention and Anatomy for DancersGoal: To develop an anatomical understanding of your body to prevent injuries12 Body Placement Rules for Ballet TechniqueHead erect straight on top of spine, ears over shoulders chin upDiaphragm lifted (breathing muscles in rib cageSpine held straight up and lengthened (cervical, thoracic, lumbar and sacral)Shoulders squarely over hipEyes forward and focusedPelvis centered with the hips placed directly over the feet

7. Abdomen (lower abdominal muscles) tightened and lifted

8.Gluteal muscles contracted to pull down tailbone

9. Thighs (quadriceps and hamstrings) pulled up with knees straight

10. Feet must bear weight primarily over the metatarsals (long thin bones in the foot).

11. Turn out from hip joints (ball and socket joint)

12. SMILE

Have you ever had an injury?What where you told to do to heal it?Is it still bothering you?Why is learning about this important?4 Warning Signs of an injury Pain that gets progressively worse during class, rehearsal, work out, etc.Pain that comes after your class, rehearsal, or work out and comes back the next day after less movement is done.Pain that appears when executing certain movements (e.g. during arabesque or landing a jump). No real sense of pain but a definite restriction of movement.6 Most common dance injuriesAchilles Tendonitis and Shin SplintsAnkle SprainStress FracturePatellofemoral SyndromeLow Back DisordersAnterior Shoulder Impingement

Soreness vs. PainPain is a complicated process in which our nervous system communicates important information to us. Pain warns us to pay attention to our bodies.Acute pain typically gets our immediate attention, like the dancer who comes down from a leap incorrectly and sprains his/her ankle. Chronic pain can be more challenging to define and to separate from soreness especially for dancers, as they appear to have a higher pain tolerance than much of the general population.Soreness vs. PainSoreness can be caused by overworking the muscles without the proper warm-up for that movement patterning.Depending on your individual body type and structure, some movements will suit you better and feel natural, while other movements challenge your physicality.What you are actually feeling are small tears in the muscles and connective tissue caused by overly forceful stretching, movements that you are not accustomed to, or a combination of the two.What to do? Proper nutrition is essential for the body to repair itself easily and quickly, even from small muscle tears. Protein and good carbohydrates (such as vegetables) should be well represented in the diet. Grains and sweets should be minimized.Proper hydration is important. A general rule for hydration is to drink one quart of water daily for every 50 pounds of body weight. This does not mean soda, juice, coffee, tea, or sports drinks. The body can only utilize about a cup of water an hour, and will flush the rest through the kidneys. Sipping water, all day long, is the best way to stay properly hydrated. Generally, thirst means dehydration. What to do?Warm up muscles with movement, such as brisk walking, easy jogging, or marching in place, prior to stretching gently. This approach will help to dissipate any waste products, such as lactic acid, while conditioning the muscles and preparing them for class or rehearsal. Its amazing how many times I see dancers walk into rehearsal without a proper warm-up. Taking class in the morning will not count as a warm-up if your rehearsal isnt until late afternoon.

WHAT IS A BODY JOINT?WHAT IS SYNOVIAL FLUID?WHAT TWO JOINTS DO WE USE TO CREATE THESE SHAPES?Joints are areas where bones are linked together. They have varying degrees of mobility.Synovial Fluid lubricates the joint and provides nutrients to the joint tissues.Shoulder Joint: Ball and Socket which has great mobility in all directions.Elbow Joint: Hinge which has limited mobility basically flexion and extension (up and down).

The Hip Ball and Socket JointMainly used for turn-out.Plays an important roll in extension.What is extension in dance?What is turn out?What is the illiopsoas muscle and how does it relate to the hip socket and turn out?Watch VideoThe Hip: 180 Degrees of Mobility

Iliopsoas Muscle

Tibial Torsion?Tibia: often referred to as the shin bone it is the third strongest bone in your body.

Reading: Injury InterventionFor each injury summarize what the risk factors are and how to treat the injury.

We will discussMuscles of the Arm and Shoulder and BackBiceps BrachiiTriceps BrachiiDeltoidsTrapezious

Latisimus DorsiRhomboidMuscles of the Anterior (Front) TrunkRectus AbdominusPectoralisObliquesGluteals

Muscles of the LegsGastrocnemiusAnterior TiblialusHamstringsQuadriceps

Muscles of the Pelvis Illiopsoas MajorBonesSpine Sections: Cervical, Thoracic, Lumbar, SacralPelvisFemurTibiaFibulaMetatarsalsPatella