Foot Problems in Ballet Dancers
Dancing might be tough on the foot. A huge amount of load is put on the foot during the actions of ballet and the demands on the feet are certainly significant. At the elite level all these demands will be nearly 8 or so hours per day and all which is performed in lightweight unsupportive footwear. The research evidence is that ballet performers have more foot issues in comparison to the general population. All ballet dancers will likely have their foot care routines which they do to strengthen the foot muscles and look after their feet as well as toe nails. You will need a number of years to succeed in ballet and the last thing that they want to happen is for anything to go bad due to a foot condition.
In an episode of the podiatry related live show, PodChatLive, they had a detailed look at the foot problems in ballet and also the loads placed on the feet. The two experts that the hosts questioned were Catherine Crabb and Sarah Carter who are both teachers in Podiatry with the University of Western Australia in Perth. Prior to their podiatry careers Sarah and Catherine were ballet dancers at a very high level which means this merged activities and comprehension of both podiatry and dancing means that they are both in a position to speak about this subject. They highlighted whether the common concern of hypermobility is required to become a professional dancer and their answer might have pleasantly surprised plenty of people. They reviewed the most frequent injuries affecting ballerinas and since 85% of dancing injuries are typically in the lower leg, it certainly indicates the importance of podiatry. Furthermore they compared the variances between female and male ballet dancers and the unique injuries noticed. Furthermore they discussed the significance of the ballet slipper and the ridiculous things dancers do to them, along with the desire for a proper ‘pointe assessment’ along with what it could contain.