 EN POINTE
RAISE THE BARRE
 PAS DE DEUX
BASIC, BETTER, BEST
MG....TTYL
PAS DE DEUX
LEOTARD FOR BODY TYPE
BEYOND BASICS
|
Taking Care of Myself 101.
By Greg Gillman, ATC, LAT
Injuries are an unfortunate by-product of any physical endeavor. As a Certified Athletic Trainer with 18 years of dance medicine experience, it is my job to care for and, more importantly prevent, as many injuries as possible.
In this first of many articles in the Taking Care Of Myself 101
series, we will learn about proper foot care. I love feet!
Hopefully as a dancer you love your feet, too. Your feet are
your “instrument,” not unlike an instrument for an orchestra
musician. The best part about your instrument is it’s always
with you. However, with that relationship also comes a huge
set of responsibilities. If a musician damages her violin, she
can replace it. Damage to a dancer’s feet does not provide
the same opportunity. That’s why an educated dancer must
be committed to taking care of her feet 24/7/365.
First, (and I usually catch a lot of grief for this) dancers
should never wear flip-flops. This is for two reasons: One,
dancers should cover and protect their feet at all times. The
exception is bathing. You would never expect the violinist
to walk down the street carrying her violin without its case.
We have had incidents where professional dancers have
had career threatening injuries from accidental knife drops
in the kitchen and stepping on exterior landscape edging.
Encased in a shoe, these incidents would have been
minimized. Secondly, flip-flops provide no basic support to
the medial arch and overstress the posterior tibial tendon,
which is critical to medial stability for pointe work. Please
remember, FUNCTION BEFORE FASHION. There will be plenty
of time later in life for “cute shoes.”
Starting at the tip of the toes: you must also
maintain a proper length of toenail. Basic
clippers and a file should be in every dancer’s
bag. The toenail should be long enough that
there is slight growth past the skin. In easy terms,
there should be a small white crescent. Too
long of a nail will lead to either nail “lifting” or
compression back into the nail bed with pointe
work. Too short of a nail will lead to callusing
and blisters at the end of the toe.
Blisters are an unfortunate complication that
arises with friction typically early in the season
or from ill-fitting pointe shoes. (We will devote
another issue to proper pointe shoe fitting in
another issue of Merde™, but suffice it to
say I only recommend fitting by a trained
professional.) How you take care of blisters
makes all of the difference in how well they heal.
If the blister is small, it can often be compressed
with tape to minimize complications. If this
is the case, the area of the blister should be
cleaned, lubricated with a thick petroleum-
based gel, covered, and then re-lubricated
over the covering. I prefer Cramer Skin Lube,
which should also be kept in every dancer’s
bag. If the blister is big and filled with fluid, it is
sometimes advisable to have it drained and
then compressed to avoid a “rip.” A “rip” is an
uncontrolled removal of the skin surface and
usually requires a much longer healing time.
The draining of the blister should be done by a
trained professional such as an athletic trainer,
sports medicine physician, or podiatrist to
minimize the chance of infection.
Taping of toes is also a common practice of
dancers. I’ve seen them use masking tape,
electrical tape, scotch tape, duct tape, as
well as cloth tape. I recommend cloth tape
such as a Johnson and Johnson Zonas tape.
This allows the tape some flexibility, allows for
breathing, and helps control moisture. It should
be a staple in every dancer’s bag as well.
Toe protectors like the Gel Toe Cover are
useful but must be maintained properly. If you
choose to use them, you should have at least
two pairs. This will allow you to let one pair
dry while you use the other. They should also
be cleaned a minimum of once a week with
an antibacterial agent to limit the chance of
fungal growth. They should never be left in
pointe shoes overnight. The same is true for
slippers, which should be removed, cleaned,
and allowed to dry between uses.
Fungal infestations are common but easy to
treat. The primary source of fungal infections
is poor hygiene. Simply letting the soap wash
down over your feet is not enough. Cleansing
the foot by rubbing is a necessity, especially
between the toes.
In the next issue of Merde™, we will learn
about anatomy, foot injuries, and the need to
properly fit pointe shoes. Until then, Merde!
Greg graduated from Texas
A&M in 1984 after working
with the football program
for five years. He is licensed
and certified as an Athletic
Trainer. Since graduation he
has worked with high schools,
professional hockey, and has
served as Head Athletic Trainer
for the Texas Ballet Theater
since 1991. He currently consults
with numerous ballet schools as
well as Metropolitan Classical
Ballet. In 2005, he was selected
as a member of the National
Taskforce on Dancer Health
by DanceUSA, charged with
improving the overall health
and well being of professional
dancers.
Greg’s professional interests
include biomechanical analysis
of throwers and throwing
injuries. He has been helping
restore function and reduce
pain for Bone and Joint Clinic
patients since 1990
PRINTNEXT |