Dancers Letter Reflection: To Bryttni Pugh

Within the short period of time you have been dancing, you have achieved much more

than you may have imagined. Generally dancers start young and build on certain dance styles as

they are growing into a professional dancer. Even though you started young, you did not

continue; instead, you took a break from dance until you were the age of fourteen. From ages

fifteen to seventeen you danced at Piedmont School of Music and Dance, where you encountered

the best training you could receive before college. Your muscles became stronger, your

technique was developing, and your passion for dance emerged. However, you may not have

thought that you would have experienced pain throughout different aspects of the body: the

spine, pelvis and hips, legs, knees, and ankles and feet. Although it is obvious that a dancer will

experience pain in the following regions, he or she will need to understand the anatomy and how

to prevent injury in order to properly execute the movements in any style of dance.

The vertebral column, also known as the spine, reaches from the skull to coccyx and

consists of a spinal cord, intervertebral disc, and vertebrae. The vertebrae form the five

curvatures of the spinal column cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacrum, and coccyx. In the lumbar

and sacrum curvatures, you tend to experience discomfort called lumbosacral strain. The strain is

usually caused by excessive stretching, extreme and forceful movement, and exertion

(Clippinger, 2007). For school work you sit at the computer or desk, crouching over. After a

decent period of time when you try to sit upright, pain stems from your lower back. In an attempt

to diminish the pain, you forcefully bend backward and crack the many joints along the lower

regions of the spine. An upright position in dance, ballet in particular, is crucial and involves

using proper alignment of the vertebral column. Nevertheless, certain movements like combr

and arabesque need the dancers thoracic region to curve backward. Throughout ballet class, you
have managed to understand the difference between executing the movements correctly and

incorrectly. There is no doubt that you noticed the aching discomfort in the lumbar and sacrum

curvatures when you did not properly articulate the spinal column. Fortunately, there are

stretches for your vertebral column that will improve the spinal joints in order to reduce pain

such as the prone single-arm spine arch, side reach, double knee to chest, and sitting forward

reach as stated in the book, Dance Anatomy and Kinesiology.

The pelvic girdle has two sides called the os coxae consisting of the ilium, the pubis, and,

most importantly to you, the ischium. The ischium is also known as the hip bone and is the key

to achieving turn-out and flexibility. Whenever you rotate your femur inward your hips, it moves

the iliopsoas tendon and a snapping sound occurs. This is referred to as internal snapping hip, a

part of the snapping hip syndrome. Occasionally, you hear a popping sound coming from the

opposite movement rotating your greater trochanter outward called external snapping hip

(Clippinger, 2007). The internal snapping hip is more likely to happen when you dvelopp or go

into your splits, and the lateral tilts you are working on in Horton technique require proper

alignment of the pelvic girdle. Due to your diminished flexibility within your hip flexors and

your lack of perfect turn-out, please continue to stretch properly. Lunges, splits, and the frog or

butterfly stretches will help you to improve your hip rotation in order to increase your turn-out.

Additionally, the continuation to execute the ballet movements that require you to align your

pelvis, turn-out, or rotate the greater trochanter and femur will help increase your flexibility,

whether it be dynamic or static; dynamic flexibility is when you are in motion, and static

flexibility is the ability to maintain certain positions.

You may notice that as you are working on your turn-out, lifting the femur, and

extending the tibia in dvelopp, you are engaging your hamstrings and calf muscles. The
hamstrings extend from the pelvis, and the calf muscle is composed of gastrocnemius and soleus

muscles; both sets of muscles require a great deal of strength to help a dancer balance

(Clippinger, 2007). The attitude position in ballet is a prime example of this. Even though you

have not encountered any injuries to these muscles or bones, you have encountered an aching

pain. Luckily, the pain you felt and will continue to feel in class is good pain; you should let

yourself know that they hurt because you worked hard, making the muscles stronger. If you

continue to put in that amount of effort, as well as practicing at home, then you will be able to

gain strength and balance longer.

The knee comprises the femur, patella, and tibia. As the older dancer you are, you should

focus more on the patella and patellofemoral joints. The patella is above the knee joint, and the

articulation of the knees flexion and extension is the patellofemoral joint. These aspects of the

knee should be of high importance to you because you were diagnosed with patellofemoral pain

syndrome. The syndrome is described as pain located at the front of the knee (Clippinger, 2007).

Although you do not see this syndrome as an injury because of your tolerance to the discomfort,

the feelings of weakness or the grinding/gliding feeling in the patella is not a good sign. Plis and

sitting or walking for a long time may increase the discomfort. You need to be aware that the

pain in your patella could increase if you do not properly take care of it. Stretches such as quad

sets, leg raises, and squats will be beneficial to your knee extensors and flexors.

The ankle and foot (including the tarsals, metatarsals, phalanges, tibia, and fibula) are key

components to a dancer (Clippinger, 2007). He or she always articulates the ankles and balls of

the feet to balance and jump. Fortunately for you, you have not encountered any serious injuries

in these regions; the ankle sprains you have had as a child were not from dance. Due to your low

jump height and wobbly ankles, it is evident that you only need to find ways to increase your
strength. Relevs, heel raises, are the most important exercises for improving the ankles and feet;

you can do them at barre, center, or on the stairs. Not only will this help you strengthen these

select aspects of the body, but it will strengthen your calves, quads, and hamstrings. Gradually,

you will improve movements, such as glissades and chapps, and maintain your turn-out.

The aspects of the body vertebral column, pelvic girdle and hips, components in the

legs, patella, ankles and feet are significant to be knowledgeable of as a dancer. Correct

alignment can be established through the spine and pelvis; balance and jumps can be established

through the powerful muscles in the legs (hamstrings, quads, and calves), knees, ankles and feet.

By being involved with ballet and other styles of dance, you need to keep the information

brought forth to you in mind about proper stretching to prevent injuries. You will eventually

become a much stronger dancer while taking care of your body.

 References

Clippinger, K. (2007). Dance anatomy and kinesiology. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Goals

and Course.