Your Body Almanac

Dancing

Jumps, turns and hours on the balls of your feet.

Dance is a joyful way to build fitness, balance and bone strength. Many styles ask a lot of the feet, ankles and hips through jumps, turns and extreme ranges of motion, and overuse injuries are more common than sudden ones.

01

Ankle sprains

Landing from a jump or turning on a slippery or uneven floor can roll the ankle. Fatigue at the end of a long rehearsal raises the risk.

SourcesSprained ankle (OrthoInfo, AAOS)Foot and ankle conditioning program (OrthoInfo, AAOS)
Practice standing on one legDailyA daily balance drill that trains your ankles, hips and reflexes. Move your ankles through their full rangeDailySimple ankle circles and point-and-flex moves to keep stiff ankles moving. Do calf raisesWeeklyRise onto your toes to strengthen calves and ankles for standing, walking and running.
02

Foot pain and stress fractures

Repeated jumping and time on the balls of the feet load the small foot bones. A sudden jump in hours can lead to stress fractures, while tight calves feed heel and arch pain.

SourcesStress fractures of the foot and ankle (OrthoInfo, AAOS)Foot pain (NHS)
Build up training graduallyWeeklyRaise how often, how long and how hard you train by no more than about 10% a week. Stretch your calvesDailyA wall calf stretch for legs that stand, walk or run all day. Wear supportive shoesAs neededChoose shoes that fit well and suit your activity, and replace them when they wear out. Eat calcium-rich foodsDailyGet two or three calcium sources a day to support your bones, from dairy or from fortified and plant foods.
03

Hip and lower back strain

High kicks, turnout and deep backbends push the hips and lower back toward their limits. Over time, this can irritate the hip joint or strain the lower back.

SourcesFemoroacetabular impingement (OrthoInfo, AAOS)Spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis (OrthoInfo, AAOS)
Do glute bridgesDailyLift your hips off the floor to strengthen the buttock muscles that sitting tends to switch off. Hold a side plankWeeklyProp yourself up on one forearm to strengthen the sides of your trunk and hips. Do dead bugsWeeklyA lying core exercise that trains your trunk to stay steady while your arms and legs move. Stretch your hip flexorsDailyA kneeling lunge stretch for the muscles at the front of your hip, which tighten when you sit for long stretches.
04

Knee pain from jumps and landings

Repeated landings and deep bends load the area around the kneecap. Weak hips that let the knee cave inward make it worse.

SourcesPatellofemoral pain syndrome (OrthoInfo, AAOS)
Do bodyweight squatsWeeklySit back and stand up without weights to strengthen your legs and hips for everyday lifting and stairs. Do glute bridgesDailyLift your hips off the floor to strengthen the buttock muscles that sitting tends to switch off. Stretch your quadsDailyA standing stretch for the front of your thighs.

When to see a professional

See a doctor or physical therapist for pain at one spot on a foot bone, an ankle that keeps giving way, lower back pain that is worse when you arch backward, or hip pain with catching or locking.