IADMS Madrid 2001   [back to the Category]

Injury prevention in daily dance practice   [read the french version]

Author :   Rosine Bena, Michael Keropian & al.

Saturday 3 November 2001
9:00 – 10:00 am

Injury prevention in daily dance practice

Rosine Bena, Michael Keropian, Anne Bena, Peninsula Ballet Theatre School, San Mateo, CA, Western Nevada School of Performing Arts, Carson City, NV; USA

Dance related injuries can be traced to four main causes: lack of proper dance education, lack of proper body education and awareness on the part of the dancer, overuse or under-use of certain muscle groups, and poor communication between medical practitioners and those in the dance profession.
The best way to decrease injury is early recognition and to take the proper steps for prevention in daily practice. The dance educator must emphasize correct body awareness in dance practice. The dancer must pay attention to correct body alignment and correct muscle use in execution. Both dancer and dance educator must be conscious of overuse in choreography and what to do to offset the effects. There must be a common means of communication between the medical practitioner who specializes in dealing with dancers and those in the field of dance.
Having been a professional ballet dancer for 27 years and a teacher of dance for 23 years, I have been faced with many injuries related to the profession. Injury healing and prevention lead me to work with physical therapist and Mensendieck teacher, Michael Keropian, and to study with him the Mensendieck System of Functional Exercise. Through our 20 year association and work with dance athletes, we have seen the results of proper body awareness and education. We have used Mensendieck combined with Ballet to produce exercises which can be incorporated into daily practice. These exercises, when properly understood and practiced, lead to injury prevention through body awareness, proper body alignment, and correct muscle use. These exercises are designed to help the dancer enhance technique, develop better methods of step execution, and refine and enhance body line by identifying weaknesses and strengthening the corresponding muscles.
Incorporation of these exercises in daily practice enables the dance educator to become more aware of misalignment and weakness in an individual dancer; enables the dancer to develop a “muscle memory”; helps both the educator and dancer to bring a balance to overused muscles; contributes to creating a common “language” for the medical practitioner and dance specialist, and helps in injury recuperation.
It is our intention to give a short demonstration of a few helpful exercises to practice with the ballet barre. We will present written material, as well as demonstrate, examples of certain weaknesses and the corresponding strengthening exercises. We will include some helpful hints on how to easily spot these weaknesses in the dancer before they cause injury. If a time and space can be arranged, we would like to include a special exercise class for association members so that they might fully understand and appreciate the value of practicing these exercises daily. Participants need not be familiar with dance steps or terminology to participate in this “hands on” class experience.
There are no perfect bodies or muscle functions when dancers first begin to study, except perhaps a few. Sorting out the areas needing work requires a keen eye and muscle testing method to pinpoint the needs of each individual dancer. Ideally, this would be to have a dance educator familiar with proper body alignment and muscle function; a physical therapist familiar with the dance and the demands put on the body, and an easy method of communicating this to the dancer as well as to each other and medical practitioners.
Injury prevention must be included in the daily training of a dancer and it is our intention to show the importance of it for dance educators, dancers, and medical practitioners who specialize in dance and dance injury.