Common Dancing Injuries and How Physical Therapy Can Help

Tips to Help Dancers Recover Successfully From Injury

Dancing is a wonderful thing to do. It’s not only a fantastic art form, and a great way to express stories through motion and movement, but dance has many health benefits, too. Dancing is a fantastic way to exercise and manage your weight. It improves your heart and lung health, increases your muscle tone and strength, and improves your stamina. It’s terrific for coordination, agility, and flexibility, too.

There’s only one problem with dancing as a professional or amateur. It’s dangerous. But as a dancer, you’d know this. If you’re in doubt, take a look at these statistics from research published in the Journal of Dance, Medicine, & Science (JDMC), available to read in the National Library of Medicine:

• 82% of dancers have experienced between one and seven injuries

• On average, it takes between 18 days (female dancers) and 21 days (male dancers) to return to full dancing after an injury

• Of the injuries that were considered work-related, fewer than 12% were covered by Workers’ Compensation Insurance

Whether professional or amateur, you’ll want to return to dancing as soon as possible after an injury. It’s what you love to do. Better still, you’d prefer not to get injured in the first place.

Let’s look at some of the most common dance injuries, how to treat them, and how to prevent dance injuries.

Common dancing injuries and how they are caused

The JDMC research found that the most common injuries to dancers are foot and ankle (40%), followed by lower back (17%), and knee injuries (16%). You’ve been there, right? Whatever the injury, it’s going to be painful. And it’s the science behind the injury that explains why.

Foot and ankle injuries

• Trigger toe

Are you experiencing pain under your foot and on the inside of your ankle? Does this pain occur when you’re pointing your big toe?

Sounds like trigger toe, which is an overuse injury that causes damage to the muscle you use when you’re pointing the big toe.

• Ankle impingement

If you are feeling pain at the front or back of your ankle when landing and twisting your feet, it’s likely to be ankle impingement ─ the squeezing of tissues in the ankle.

• Achilles tendonitis

Injuries to your ankle often affect the Achilles, resulting in Achilles tendonitis because of overuse, improper technique, or excessive practice. You’ll find the pain just above the heel comes on gradually and is often worse when pointing and jumping.

Knee injuries 

• Patellofemoral pain syndrome

Patellofemoral pain syndrome (runner’s knee) is caused by a combination of issues, predominantly muscle imbalance, and weak quads. It’s an injury that occurs because of repetitive forces on the patella, and you could find you feel pain to the front of the knee when jumping and twisting, and even when walking up and downstairs.

Hip injuries

•  Snapping hip syndrome

Does your hip snap or click during dance movements? It may not be painful when you first experience this, but over time the pain will build as the iliotibial band (IT band) tightens and your hip becomes weaker.

• Hip impingement

If you are feeling pain in your hips during movement that included flexion and internal rotation, this is caused by hip impingement injury. It’s a common injury for dancers, because of the imbalance between external and internal rotation movement. However, it can also be caused by stress fractures, muscle strains, arthritis, and sacroiliac joint dysfunction.

• Labral tears

Labral tears happen over time, and are caused by the twisting and rotating performed. This results in pain in the hip when crossing your legs, or during flexion and both external and internal knee rotation.

• Hip flexor tendonitis

Hip flexor tendonitis is caused by excessive rotation and leg extension over time, or it could be caused by a single fall or bad landing. Pain can occur in spasms or over longer periods. Hip flexor tendonitis will often develop into lifelong problems.

• Hip bursitis

The bursa is located on the side of your hip and may become inflamed because of a fall or hit to the hip. This results in a great deal of pain down the thigh to the knee. You may experience pain while using stairs, getting up from a chair, while driving, or even while you are asleep.

• Sacroiliac joint dysfunction

Pain in the lower back is experienced in more than one-in-10 dance injuries and is most likely caused by sacroiliac (SI) dysfunction. SI may be caused by overuse or a single trauma to the lower back.

Stress fractures:

• Metatarsals, tibia, sesamoids, and lumbar spine

Often seen in dancers, a stress fracture can occur as the result of the repetitive impact on the foot while dancing. The pressure on the bones weakens them until they break, especially if you don’t allow enough time for healing. 

It can take days or even weeks for a stress fracture to manifest itself ─ but you will certainly know about it. You’ll feel the pain building after dancing or other activity, accompanied by tenderness and swelling.

How to prevent dance injuries

There is no 100% failsafe strategy to prevent dance injuries. When you are moving, you are at risk of injury ─ just as you are at risk of being hit by a car each time you cross the road. 

But just as you employ techniques to reduce your risk as a pedestrian, there are several tactics you can use to reduce your risk of an injury in dance.

• Lead a healthy lifestyle

A healthy lifestyle is essential for a dancer. It helps to reduce the risk of injury, maintain energy levels, and avoid overtraining. You should eat well, stay hydrated, rest often, and avoid overtraining.

• Do cross-training exercises 

Cross-training is an effective way to reduce the risk of injury when dancing by building whole-body resilience. However, it is crucial that you perform each exercise correctly so that it accomplishes its goals, and you avoid the risk of injury by mis-training.

• Wear proper shoes and attire

It is important to wear comfortable shoes before you start dancing. Shoes that are made for the job and that provide the correct support to your feet, ankles, knees, hips, and back. You should also wear clothes that are appropriate for the type of dance that you are doing. 

• Always warm-up

People who like to dance should always warm-up before they start dancing. It can be a tedious process, but it is important to do so. A good warm-up routine includes stretching, breathing, and other movements that increase blood flow to the muscles, joints, and skin.

• Address injuries promptly

Should you experience an injury, you should always address it immediately. Seek advice from a doctor or physical therapist ─ leaving an injury untended will lead to worse damage, more pain, and extended periods where dance may be impossible.

How to treat dance injuries

When treating dance injuries, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Different injuries require different treatments. The best advice we can give is to ensure that you consult with a professional who has experience in treating dance injuries, and who understands which exercises and therapy will best prepare you to return to dance and cope with the demands that dance movement places on your body.

How can physical therapy help dancers recover from injuries?

To recover from an injury, dancers must have a comprehensive plan of care. Physical therapists help dancers maintain strength, motor control, range of motion, and technique. 

Techniques that physical therapists employ include:

• Exercises to improve strength and motor control

• Education to correct training technique

• Modalities to decrease inflammation

• Stretching

• Muscle strengthening exercises

The most effective physical therapy delivers progressive rehab programs that train and prepare the whole body for the unique demands of dance.

Common advice from a physical therapist

We suspect that you may have heard any of the following advice from your physical therapist (because it’s what most PTs offer):

• RICE

For traumatic injuries like ankle sprains, the standard advice is to rest, ice, compress, and elevate: RICE.

• Keep the weight off your feet

Particularly for stress fractures, stay off your feet. If you can’t, then use equipment like crutches, leg braces, and walking boots to limit the weight on your feet.

• Employ strengthening exercises

Use strengthening and conditioning exercises, such as isometric knee exercises, to improve and maintain strength.

As a last resort, you may be advised to have surgery.

The Reload difference – Long-term solutions

While all the above advice has value, it doesn’t go far enough. If you are employing only the above techniques, you risk treating your injury for the short term. After a few weeks, you could be back to square one.

For example, there is a growing body of evidence that suggests RICE does not aid healing as previously thought, and, in some cases, could hinder it. Even the sports doctor who gave us the acronym ─ Dr. Gabe Mirkin ─ has written that ice delays healing.

Other experience has found that movement, not rest, aids long-term recovery. Generally, it is better to return to movement sooner – the trick is to move at a tolerable intensity and build upon this. We find that our clients can achieve this much faster than they think possible.

While limiting the weight on your feet can be a necessary first step (and may be used intermittently, too), it shouldn’t be used as a blanket treatment. We always design treatment on a case-by-case basis – every person’s body and injury are unique to them.

Finally, our staff includes experienced former dancers. Therefore, we understand the lifestyle of a dancer, and how dance impacts the body. This means we are perfectly placed to equip you with the knowledge and tools to foster long-term sustainability. 

We’re not a short-term help center – we deliver the resources to deliver outcomes that last. Working with you, we design a comprehensive and customized rehab program that will get you back to dancing with confidence.

It all starts with a comprehensive 90-minute body evaluation. Many of our clients who are dancers take advantage of this evaluation bi-annually. Other clients benefit from it before they start a new physical venture, to ensure they are fully prepared.

Do you want to treat your dance issues and prevent further complications? Book an appointment to start your road to a long-term pain-free life with a comprehensive 90-minute body evaluation.