I am replying to the mailing list, as well as directly,
because I thought the subject might be of interest to
others as well.
Dancing causes us to attempt to use our bodies in ways
that are not encountered in ordinary activity. While the
complaint I will concentrate on is the ankles, others
may have problems with sore feet, knees, hips, lower back,
shoulders, even forearms. At the end of this note, I'll go
into specifics for the ankles.
About dance shoes -- Dance shoes perform several interesting
functions. The sole of a dance shoe is made of a material
that provides somewhat more traction on a wood surface
than hard leather, but not nearly as much traction as
a rubber soled shoe. Yes, Dance shoes help. Here are
some of the reasons why.
Some traction is needed when moving to allow you to stop
the movement of your foot -- thus allowing your body to
get/stay over your foot. I've certainly had the experience
of my lead foot just sliding on the floor in front of me,
and it can be pretty exciting. I don't do the splits
very well.
Having some limits on traction is especially important
when turning. If your foot does not rotate on the floor,
your ankles, knees, and hips must make up the turn. This
can easily cause pain in those joints.
For women, High Heels (or even moderately high heels) cause
you to use you foot differently, and to place your weight
over the foot in a different location. The woman's technically
correct woman's footwork is designed to be done in heels.
Women not wearing heels might consider doing the man's
footwork on equivalent steps instead.
The higher the heel is, the stronger the ankle is needed
to dance. If you feel you must wear high heels, I strongly
recommend the lowest high heels you can find. 1 1/2" heels
are available.
Now -- back to the specifics of ankles.
The ankle joint performs
an extension/compression (point/unpoint your toe)
a rotation (draw circles with your toes)
a "tip" (point the bottom of your foot left/right)
Dancing uses ALL of these movements (in conjunction with
the movements of other joints, of course).
To have stronger ankles, it is necessary to exercise all
of the basic movements. I recommend doing them individually,
as this gives you the greatest control.
If you are going to a physical therapist, ask them for
the appropriate exercises for you! They can give you
expert individualized advice. Be sure to show them
typical dance steps you do, so they know how you are
attempting to use your ankle.
That said, there are some basic exercises.
The rotation:
Lay down or sit down somewhere so that your legs are
supported, but your feet are free to move. I like to
do this laying face up on the bed with my feet off the
end. Pick a foot. Draw slow, big, clock-wise circles
with the big toe of that foot, without moving the
attached leg. Do several. It probably won't take very
many for your ankle muscles to notice. Now do just
as many in the counter-clock-wise direction. Switch
feet, and do both directions there too.
The "tip":
Get in a position much like for the Rotation. I find it
easiest to do both feet at once for some reason. With
the feet at a right angle to the lower leg (that is, not
pointed, nor unpointed) slowly try to turn the bottoms
of your feet towards each other -- without moving your
legs or pointing your toes. Then turn the bottoms of
your feet away from each other -- again no pointing of
the toes or moving the legs. Repeat. You will quickly
notice that the muscles tire.
The compression:
Stand. Pick BOTH toes and forefoot off the floor of both
feet. You are now standing only on your heels. Slowly
walk around, not letting your toes or forefoot touch the
ground. Yep, walk on your heels. Don't go to far, or
you will really have sore muscles in the outside of your
shin tomorrow.
The extension and compression:
WARNING -- It is easy to hurt yourself with this one.
PLEASE DO NOT USE AN OBJECT THICKER THAN AN INCH until
you know what you are doing.
Pick a sturdy object to stand on that is about an inch
thick. An old C-U phone book works just fine. Stand
on the object with the balls of your feet on the object,
and your heels hanging over the edge. This is a dance
exercise, so stand straight and tall. Slowly lower
your heels toward the floor. This is the compression part.
once you have reached either the limit of your ankle
compression (you can't go down any further) or your
heel is on the floor, slowly raise your heels off the floor,
and keep going up... up.... getting your heels as high
off the floor as you can. This is the extension part.
Repeat -- SLOWLY.
Hope this helps. If you have more questions, come
see me at a Regent dance on Friday.
=== bruce leasure
> -----Original Message-----
> From: University of Illinois -- Dancing Illini
> [mailto:DANCING-DISCUSS-L@POSTOFFICE.CSO.UIUC.EDU]On Behalf Of A. Sheraz
> Sent: Tuesday, 06 July 1999 8:27 PM
> To: DANCING-DISCUSS-L@POSTOFFICE.CSO.UIUC.EDU
> Subject: Tendonitis ?
>
>
> I read about this dancer who overcame "debilitating tendonitis" and it
> reminded me of the problems I am having with my ankles (and their
> tendons). Yesterday I was informed that I might have torn my tendons
> (ligaments? whatever) of my ankles and could use some ankle support and
> need to build muscles around the ankle. How do dancers build muscles
> around their ankles? I have the ankle support and therapy thing on the
> side. How do dancers strengthen/ exercize their ankles ? Do the shoes
> help? Any advice on the shoes?
>
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