Foot Cramps – Tight Hamstrings
Dancing Smart Newsletter
March 11, 2005
Right on to the first question of the week.
My 15 year old daughter is complaining that her feet are cramping up when dancing in her pointe shoes and sometimes in just her slippers. She has tried different shoes, but I really think it's a muscular problem. Does the Irene Dowd book cover this problem? Any suggestions?
Thanks, Joann
Two points for a mother's intuition! Cramping up in the arch of your feet usually has to do with weak intrinsic muscles. These are the layers of muscles that begin and end on the foot itself. There are other foot muscles that go from the calf to the tips of the toes. These are called the extrinsic foot muscles.
There are some very good exercises for the feet in Irene's book, Taking Root to Fly. Chapter 4 is In Honor of the Foot. We realize when getting a foot rub how good it feels to lessen the tension of the feet. In Chinese medicine they believe that the foot holds all the points in the body and in reflexology they work with deep pressure on the feet/ankles and calf muscles.
For a young dancer whose body just went through or is going through major changes, the feet often bear the brunt of the changes. Dancers begin to grip and hold onto the floor with their toes with great intensity. They forget that the toes are used for balancing and when in first position should not have weight on them. The weight of the body should rest evenly between the pads of the big toe, little toe and heel. Of course, when rising to relevé the toes should stay long to increase the base to balance on.
If I watch a dancer rise to relevé and see their toes gripping and pressing against their soft slipper I know that either their shoes are too small, or their extrinsic muscles are overly tight with the intrinsic muscles weaker. I'll have them take their soft slippers off and watch them point their foot. I'll direct them to extend the ankle, and then slowly stretch the toes into their pointe. As they are elongating their toes they should try to keep them separated from each other and long, no bending. This may cramp their arches, and if so, have them reach down and massage their foot.
As they are strengthening the muscles of their arch, they may cramp, but if they continue to watch how they are using their feet those muscles will strengthen. Their feet will cramp less and less, and they will develop a beautiful foot.
One more note on gripping toes and cramping arches. Sometimes it is caused by the dancer standing in more turn out than what they have up at the hip. What happens is they are turned out at the feet and have to pronate the feet in order to put their toes out to the side. Now they are pronated and they work very hard at lifting their arch, which asks for both the extrinsic and the intrinsic foot muscles to be working overtime. It's like being at war in your feet – or the equivalent of using a bull dozer to move a pea.
When you are standing with the weight evenly balanced between the three points, the muscles don't need to work to hold you in that position, but will contract and release as you ask the foot/ankle to move. If a dancer is activating umpteen muscles just to stand, their muscles will tire more quickly. Remember, our skeleton carries our weight and our muscles move the bones. The more we can work from anatomical alignment then the more efficiently we can move.
Onto another 'mom' question
My daughter has very tight hamstrings especially in the AM. If she stretches before she goes to bed, they are even tighter in the AM. Is there anything else she can do to resolve this? Julie
I may be way off base here, Julie, but I will tell you what my intuition says. I don't know the age of your daughter and if she is going through a growth spurt, which we know can complicate everything! It's the first thing in the morning tightness that I want to respond to.
Often times you experience problems from and in the lower back area in the hamstrings, and hamstring problems will show up in the lower back area. If your daughter is sleeping on her stomach or in a position that her lower back is arching and staying in that shortened position during the night that could contribute to the tighter hamstrings in the morning.
Have her try iliopsoas stretching before she goes to bed, when she wakes up in the morning, and at any other point in the day she thinks of it. To stretch the iliopsoas you want to be in some variation of the runners lunge. Let's say you're stretching the right iliopsoas muscle. You would have the right leg behind you in a runner's lunge, standing lunge or sitting lunge. (someday I'm going to learn how to insert photos into this newsletter)
When she is in the lunge she wants to feel the stretch across the front of the right hip area when she is stretching the right iliopsoas with the right leg behind. She'll feel the stretch more towards the groin than the outside of the hip. (sorry about all the rights ~ just want to make sure she's feeling the stretch in the 'correct' place!)
Let me know if that helps at all. Consistent stretching for a few weeks should be enough to see if the problem was from a tight iliopsoas that was shortening even more during the night. If it does help, she will also be improving her arabesque line and her ability to stand up with a pelvis in neutral, giving her the long line that dancers are working for.
Until next week,
On with the dance!
Deborah