Dancer's Knee
Dancing Smart Newsletter
July 15, 2005
Announcements:
I'm trying to upgrade my computer skills with this newsletter. Bear with me over the next few weeks as I explore some new looks!
The sixth annual Dance Teacher Conference is around the corner. It is held in NYC August 6-8th. There is the first annual Pilates Style Conference is being held at the same time, in the same hotel. If you are interested in attending you can register at http://www.dance-teacher.com/. Looking forward to having some of you in either or both of my workshops!
Question of the week
My daughter is 11 and she has "dancers knee"--there is inflammation under her knee cap--we saw a sports medicine doctor and he said to go to PT-when we went his quote was "she has ok calf definition for a dancer" and he wants to strengthen her butt, her calves and her thighs-my concern is bulking her up and her losing her flexibility-which I have seen happen-have you experienced this? What would you suggest?? She's very active in dance (approx. 7 hrs wk/ and her teacher has said her concern about this and has said that she has made great strides this year) I hope I gave you enough info. If you could please just let me know your opinion on this that would be greatly appreciated!! Thank you!! Michele
Deb's Answer:
Michele, "dancer's knee" can mean many different things. Having inflammation under the kneecap makes me suspect a tendonitis situation, perhaps created by overusing the quadriceps muscles. A female who is 11 has generally begun her adolescent growth spurts, which we know can strongly influence the knees. Generally at growth spurts the dancer temporarily loses flexibility as the bones are growing faster than what the muscles can stretch.
If your daughter has a loosey-goosey alignment with hyperextended then it may be quite appropriate to suggest she do some strengthening and strengthen, not bulk up her muscles. If she feels like she is struggling at all with her flexibility, then I would have her focus on releasing and gently stretching the quadriceps muscles and other hip flexors such as the iliopsoas muscle.
Her first goal is to decrease the inflammation and try to figure out why inflammation was created at the knee. Ask her when she feels discomfort or the pain at her knees. Is it while she is jumping? When she pushes off or when she lands from a leap? Going down stairs? Having her define when it hurts and informing the teacher so she can evaluate her movement dynamics is key.
Dancer's are often able to continue training and taking class if they will pull back from the movements that are creating pain temporarily in order to give the time for the injury to heal and time to change inefficient movement patterns. Too often, dancers don't tell their teacher something hurts out of fear of the consequences, or because they believe that a certain amount of pain goes along with being a dancer. Rubbish I say to that myth!
If your daughter is following her physical therapists instructions and is feeling better and stronger in her dancer, that is excellent! If her knees are less tender and painful, that's great! If her knee isn't feeling better, though, try increasing her stretching and decreasing some of the strength work. I would strongly suggest that she do ballwork on a regular basis. I suggest that to all my dancers as it is a wonderful aid to decreasing tension. (Ballwork: Releasing Muscular Tension, my DVD on this very topic can be found at www.thebodyseries.com)
Note on using the 'flutterkick' to strengthen hamstrings
I am reading your theory on increasing turnout through your "Tune up your turnout" book. I am planning to include your suggested exercises in my ballet class, but have a question regarding flutter kicks to strengthen hamstrings. Should this be done turned out or in a neutral position?
Thank you for your time, Lisa
You'll want to do the flutter kicks in both parallel and in turnout. Make sure when doing the flutterkicks in turnout that the legs don't open to a wide V. You want to keep the feet in line with the hips and the front of the pelvis (pubic bone) gently pressing on the floor
On with the dance!
Deborah