IADMS Miami 2000   [back to the Category]

Techniques for Addressing Tendinitis of the Hip: Stop the Snap, Crackle and Pop!   [read the french version]

Author :   Ruth Solomon

Author: Ruth Solomon, Professor Emeritus, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA and Sports Medicine Division, Harvard Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA

At the 1999 IADMS conference it became clear by way of both presentation and ensuing discussions that initial and continuing educational work needs to be done regarding the etiology of tendinitis about the hip joint, its proper diagnosis, and preventive and rehabilitative strategies. This is a condition most often seen in adolescent dancers, as one seldom reaches the professional level with this chronic problem.

Dancers make heavy demands on the iliopsoas muscle-tendinous unit for both strength and endurance, and are therefore especially prone to hypertrophy of these structures, setting the stage for derangement of the iliopsoas mechanism at the anterior aspect of the hip. “Snapping hip,” the common precursor of this condition, is usually painless in its early stages, and is therefore frequently dismissed as a minor mechanical problem. However, if allowed to persist unchecked this condition can progress to the point of chronic inflammation of the tendon sheath, potentially leading to debilitating pain and ultimately the possible cessation of a dance career (a result described in the presentation at the 1999 conference that gave rise to this proposal).

This workshop will involve movement analysis, pelvic/lumbar alignment, and appropriate femur placement for développé en avant and à la seconde, grand battement, and grand rond de jambe en l’air, as these are the movements during which the dancer most often experiences the phenomenon described as “snapping hip.” The intention of the workshop will be to guide the participants in exploring their individual hip/pelvis/spine anatomy, and the bony structure’s effect on the precise placement of the femoral head in the acetabulum to achieve optimal external rotation, abduction, and extension. In addition, techniques for releasing the iliopsoas and rectus femoris tendons in order to facilitate the above-mentioned movements painlessly, efficiently, and without damage will be taught. Emphasis will be on correcting the technique to eliminate the snapping. We will also discuss the etiology, warning signs, early intervention, and potential treatment of iliopsoas tendinitis. This is a controllable phenomenon if addressed early with careful management, and should not be a determining factor in whether one pursues a career in dance.

This is the abstract of a paper presented at the Tenth Annual Meeting of the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science, held 27-29 October 2000 in Miami, Florida, USA. All rights are reserved by the individual author(s).