Injury Prevention
In order to stay competitive, you need to stay healthy. Every year, so many dancers are plagued with injuries of all sorts, from minor blisters to stress fractures and twisted ankles. The best way to deal with injuries is never to get them in the first place! Read below to find out how to prevent some of the most common dance injuries. Note: I am by no means a liscensed doctor or anything of the sort. All tips below are simply things that I haved learned from experience :-D
Pulled Muscles The best and only way to prevent a pulled muscle is to properly warm up, and most importantly, STRETCH before you begin to dance. You'll probably want to get your muscles warmed up a bit before you stretch, so do some light jogging or simply jump up and down for a minute. Don't do any strenuous exercise or moves which require great flexibility (i.e. glides, kicks, or clicks) before you are thouroughly stretched out. If you're uncertain about what types of stretches to do, visit The Connors Website for some helpful tips.
Blisters Sometimes, blisters are an inevitable part of dance, like those times when you have to break in a new pair of shoes. But at other times, you might be getting blisters for no apparent reason. Before you go broke buying out your local drugstore's supply of blister band-aids, consider these points. First, do your shoes fit you properly? If your shoes are too big, they will rub against your foot in all sorts of uncomfortable places. You might need to buy a smaller size shoe, or wear two pairs of socks. Which brings me to my second point - check out your socks. Are there seams across the toes that rub once you put your shoe on? You might want to invest in some seamless poodle socks - check out Irish Dancing Magazine for information on where to buy them.
Heel Pain and Achilles Tendon Pain Pain in your heels and Achilles tendon area is usually caused by one of two things: floors without "bounce" such as concrete, and unsupportive shoes. The only way to solve the floor problem is to find another place to practice. For the second problem, you can get cushy insoles to slip into your shoes which will give you some support and cushioning. If you want even more, consider buying a pair of Hullachan Pro Irish dance shoes. They are specifically designed to cushion your feet, and come in all different widths from extra narrow to extra wide.
Shin Splints These often occur if you dance too hard too often, or if you are dancing on a surface without any bounce, like concrete. Make sure to take at least one or two days off of dance every week so you don't wear yourself out. If you absolutely can't stand the thought of not dancing, try doing a lower intensity workout, or cross train by swimming, biking, running, etc. When you are practicing, be informed about the type of surface you are dancing on. The concrete floor of your basement is not a good place to dance.
Twisted (Sprained) Ankles To prevent these, be sure that your are stretched and warmed up properly. You might also want to do some extra ankle strengthening exercises. An excellent way to increase ankle strength is to do some resistance band exercises. The Dancer's Dozen is a book of such exercises that comes with two bands of different strengths. It's great to do while watching TV!
If there is a specific injury that you want prevention tips for, drop me an email at treble_reel@yahoo.com and I'll work on it!
Another way to prevent blisters is to buy some moleskin from your local drugstore. Use scissors to cut it to your desired size, and place it on your foot where you are most likely to develop a blister. (One side is sticky so it should stay all day long.) Works like a charm!