Heat or Ice?

Let me preface this post by saying "I am not a doctor." I don't pretend to know medicine in any way, shape or form. I can ONLY speak from personal experience and/or anecdotally. I read a lot. I study a lot. But whatever I say cannot and should not be construed as medical advice.

That being said, I want to talk about heat and ice.

Maisie Williams dancing (photo courtesy Geekmundo.net)

"A Dance of Fire and Ice," my homage to Game of Thrones' writer, George RR Martin

If you are a dancer, heat and ice are your best friends. They are the cheapest and easiest and most organic forms of pain control. I'm a big fan of Advil and use it as necessary but my go-to will always be heat and ice.

Generally speaking, ice is used immediately after an acute injury or activity while heat is used before activity and 24 hours after an acute injury. There are times when you can use either heat or ice, depending upon which is preferable to you and those times are with "itises" - tendonitis, arthritis, etc. - or with pinched nerves.

Some examples:

--You twist your ankle coming down from a jump. You use ice immediately.
--You sleep "funny" and wake up with a stiff neck in the morning. Get out the heating pad.
--Your ankle is crunchy and range of motion is limited due to Achilles tendonitis. Use what feels good, typically heat before activity and ice after.

Other non-medical treatments I like for pain control and anti-inflammation:

1. Arnica in gel or cream form (some also take this orally which works like Advil) after an injury to control bruising and inflammation
2. Ben-Gay and other menthol-based analgesic creams before exercise
3. Capsaicin patches that have an adhesive backing and can be trimmed to fit the area needed, before exercise
4. Instant cold packs for after an injury, can be used as an emergency ice pack because they are "chemical" ice

Put the above 4 items in your dance bag and you'll be ready for anything! (Temporarily, of course, until you can get yourself to a doctor!)

Happy dancing~

Rest, Recuperate and Readjust: stretching and injuries

An injury is the body's message that you need to rest and recuperate. Most people know the common acronym: RICE (rest, ice, compression and elevation). To which I add an -A (Advil or Aleve for inflammation reduction). Others add a P- for prevention.

Prevention to me relates to the third R of my R&R: Readjust.

First of all, let's make sure you have rested properly and are ready to get back into dance slowly after an injury.  This is an opportunity to work properly, beginning with the barre:

--Close your eyes and feel your weight on both feet. Prepare with 2 hands facing the barre rather than one hand at a time, if it's too difficult to stand with just one.
--Breathe deeply, be aware of when you are inhaling and exhaling on movement (e.g. exhale as you degage or battement away from you, inhale as you recover from a plie).
--Focus on turnout happening from the top of your legs, knees going over the second toe of your foot.
--Pull your arches up when you stand on both feet. Pull your knees up on both legs always.
--Feel the breath opening your back. Your back is a T formed by the spine and the arms. Energy goes through the entire T.
--Hips are lifted, glutes are loose not clenched. Remember you must relax before you can contract.

Whenever I have an injury (whether it's an ongoing -itis like tendonitis in my knee or ankle or acute like a fall or sprain from a turn or jump) I take extra time to warm up slowly, to stretch properly, and to focus on my alignment first and foremost.  Only once I am properly aligned do I approach movement off the barre.

I love this article with some tips on stretching exercises for ballet dancers. I also love this article from OSU about 14 common dance injuries and what to do for them. Injuries can be opportunities for improvement. Take the time to fix what's wrong and then you will be able to prevent injuries in the future and be a lot happier in the present.

Happy safe dancing~

Why do a floor barre?

About two months ago, one of my students whom I work with en pointe became injured.  She couldn't releve or do a traditional ballet class but was reluctant to merely rest until she'd healed.  She (and I) didn't want to lose her strength or flexibility that comes from consistent technique class.  So I suggested we do floor barre for a while. Since I wasn't entirely sure how to construct one, I reviewed notes I'd gotten from Nichelle Strzepek of Dance Advantage (one of my very favorite dance web sites) and started with that. Using some of Nichelle's guidelines and suggested exercises, I built my own floor barre class.

And then....I became addicted to it!  Seriously.  Well, maybe not quite so seriously.  Part of it was the novelty of a new type of class (which always fires up my creative energy) but another part was how engaged certain muscles were.  For instance, I talk a LOT about the importance of inner thigh work, why we must engage the tops of the legs for turnout and lift, for pirouettes and adagio and more.  But it's not always easy to identify those incredibly necessary muscles. With a floor barre, you cannot cheat very easily.  And without the distraction of epaulement and port de bras, there is nothing else to focus on but using your abdominal muscles and inner thighs to rotate and lift the legs.  Genius!

A proper floor barre will mimic much of the same exercises we do in a traditional class.  But it will also include core work: situps and crunches to work the obliques, pushups or yoga-type positions for the upper body (which almost never gets worked in ballet class).  My class also incorporates lots of static stretching for increased flexibility.

Perhaps the best part of the class is the end!  When you leave, you really do feel a sense of euphoria because nearly every part of your body has been engaged at some point. You've also, hopefully, pushed yourself a little beyond what you normally might do.  There's something about the anonymity of laying on your back with no one else to see you and no mirror in which to see yourself that allows you to push farther.  Maybe it's the lack of pretense, the lack of performance involved, that lets you simply work the muscles properly and get in touch with your center.

A floor barre will never take the place of a traditional class but it's of great benefit to just about every type of student and I heartily recommend it.  For anyone interested in trying class with me, I teach a stretch/floor barre on Thursdays from 5:30-6:30PM at Le Studio.  I'll be there, for sure, even if you don't show up!  That's how addicted I am!

Cheers, happy dancing and stretching and super special thanks to Nichelle!

Technique Talk: Injuries

The best way to avoid injury is to always work carefully. When you're tired or sick or something cramped or is sore, tread very lightly in class. Those are signs you need to focus on proper alignment, on releve-ing and plie-ing gently and within your own body placement.

But sometimes, none of that is present and you feel great about dance, great about your body, and you're all warmed-up and want to jump higher and longer and not rest and - wham! You're on your butt on the marley.

Recently two of my students were injured, not at the same time or even in the same month but rather doing the same thing: grand allegro. This is the last big jump of the class, when you're the warmest you'll be all class but also you're most tired, muscle-wise. Even if you feel like you have all the energy in the world, your muscles are about to give up. Be most careful now!

In both instances, the dancers were very enthusiastic and energetic about the allegro and they wanted to try it "one more time!" before ending the class. They each slipped, tripped, and twisted. Quickly they got off the floor and raised their feet and we got them ice as they rested. I gave them Advil for the swelling and advised them to rest a while and not hurry home until they were ready. I also taped one student's ankle before she drove a half-hour home so her foot would be in a more stable position.

The quick action helped both of them and they were able to come back very soon after their injuries, albeit more cautiously and wisely!

REST
ICE
COMPRESSION
ELEVATION
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY

RICE-A. Remember it. Use it. Be an exuberant yet wise dancer and you will dance a lot longer!