"Dancer's Tendinitis"

Some injuries are so commonly seen in dancers – especially when compared to their incidence in non-dancers – that they earn a dance-specific nickname: Dancer’s Fracture, Dancer’s Tendinitis, Dancer’s Hip.

Dancer’s Tendinitis refers to Flexor Hallucis Longus tendinopathy (That’s quite a mouthful! No wonder it’s referred to as dancer’s tendinitis!).  The Flexor Hallucis Longus (FHL) muscle is located in the lower leg and its tendon runs down into the foot, attaching to the bottom of the big toe. As the name implies, it is responsible for flexing (pointing) the big toe. Tendinopathy simply means “an injury or disease related to a tendon,” making it a good term to use when discussing tendon-related conditions without worrying about what specific aspect of the tendon is injured (the actual tendon vs. the sheath of connective tissue surrounding it) or for how long it’s been injured (tendinitis vs. tendinosis – acute vs. chronic).

Shoulder Injuries in the Performing Arts: Dislocations

With the video and witness reports circulating about Mark Ballas's injury during DWTS rehearsal, this is a good time to review the differences between the most common acute shoulder injuries.  This is the first in a series on shoulder injuries in the performing arts.

This series of articles will address fairly damaging acute shoulder injuries.  Unless otherwise noted, these injuries are substantial enough that they should not be self-treated until after you've seen a medical professional who has instructed you to do so.  These traumatic shoulder injuries should be treated as emergencies, since there is a high risk of significant complications if they are improperly or incompletely cared for (these complications can include nerve damage, internal bleeding, and nonunion fractures).  Some of the injuries discussed in this series can be caused by falls or collisions, but these articles will focus on other mechanisms of injury.

Performer’s Perspective: The Two-Year Injury Saga that Nearly Ended All of My Activities

Laura Mertz

Violinist

Age at time of injury: 14-16 years old

Site of injury: shoulders and upper back

Laura is a performing arts medicine specialist and the owner of Behind the Scenes Medical Consulting. Her first experience with debilitating playing-related pain came as a 16-year-old violinist. Here, she details her injury and how she eventually overcame it – with the help of the friendly person working at KC Strings on the day she came in to correct her playing ergonomics.

Four Ways You Can Improve Your Health and Performance by Sleeping

Did you know that sleep is a critical component to maintaining your weight, staying healthy, and preventing injuries? Not only does sleep help you avoid overuse or fatigue-related injuries, it also gives your performance a boost by allowing your body to recover more completely from the previous day’s activities. There are many factors that go into getting enough and the right kind of sleep.

Pain on the Bottom of Your Foot: Plantar Fasciitis

Fascia is connective tissue that runs throughout the entire body, connecting, surrounding, and supporting muscles, tendons, and nerves. It also separates the skin and subcutaneous fat (body fat that’s just under the skin) from the underlying muscles and other soft tissues. Like all other connective tissue in the body, the fascia can develop adhesions, become inflamed, tear, or be subjected to some other kind of injury. Due to its interconnected nature, movement restrictions, tightness, or pain in the fascia in one region of the body can affect other parts of the body.

One place in the body that is particularly susceptible to irritation, chronic inflammation, dysfunction, and pain is the plantar fascia, located on the soles of the feet. Plantar fascia runs from the bottom of the heel to the ball of the foot. This fascia supports the foot’s main arch and stabilizes the foot during pushing-off (like during running and jumping). When this tissue becomes inflamed, the condition is called plantar fasciitis.

Exercising Doesn't Have to Hurt! Dealing with Muscle Soreness

Anyone who has exercised or participated in physical activity likely has experienced soreness associated with these activities at one point. Colloquially, “soreness” may be rather vague and used to describe a variety of sensations and conditions. So the physical fitness and medical fields use the term delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) to describe the residual muscular pain or discomfort following unusual or excessive muscle use. As the name indicates, the soreness usually sets in anywhere from 1-5 days after exercise.

Stress Fractures

A stress fracture is a bone injury that occurs at a spot in the bone that is exposed to high or repetitive forces. These forces either come from external sources (like impact with the ground when you walk, run, or jump) or from internal sources (like muscles/tendons pulling on the bone). Specific spots of bones may be more susceptible to stress fractures than others due to mechanics/form while performing specific tasks or due to cyclical weaknesses that occur naturally as a part of the bone’s remodeling process.