Hip Bursitis
Dancing Smart Newsletter
July 29th, 2005
Announcements
There is a wonderful book and DVD while not directly associated with dance, is very directly associated with health. A few weeks ago I was watching What the Bleep Do We Know!?, a movie that attempts to explain quantum physics in a practical fashion. In it they referred to research done on water. I was very intrigued and bought the DVD Messages from Water that tells about this research. (Messages from Water is also in book form) In a nutshell, they showed that water is influenced by music, thoughts and words & emotions. According to Felicia Busch, a specialist on the nutritional effects of water, an adult body is composed of 50-65% water. Blood is made up of 83% water, bones 22%, and muscles 75% water. I've always known that water is probably the most important nutrient we can take in on a daily basis, but I now have a newfound appreciation for the quality of our water, and how we can influence it! I showed the DVD to a group of dancers ages 10-17 last night at an intensive dance camp where it encouraged a lively and healthy dialogue on food, water, negative self-talk in relationship to their dancing, and more. It was one of those teacher moments that you walk away from saying YES as you sense students shifting their perceptions. Very exciting.
I want to welcome all the new subscribers this week. Please feel free to read the archived newsletters that are on my website,
Onto the question of the week.
Question of the Week:
One of my older students was seeing a chiropractor for her left hip, which seemed to give her pain whenever she kicked her leg, did a heel stretch or a split. After several months of treatment she was losing not only flexibility but also strength and turnout in that hip. I suggested she seek out another chiropractor, one that understands dancers and their bodies. The doctor's response to my student was 'dancing is not normal; it goes against everything the body should do. Try yoga, people have been doing it for thousands of years and it's natural. I m a licensed massage therapist and have slowly been working on her with massage and slow controlled stretches. Believe it or not, she's pain free, her flexibility and turnout are back and she has not gone back to Dr. Quack as she calls her former chiropractor. He never informed her what the problem was but I suspected she had a touch of bursitis. What else can I do for her so this problem does not return?
Thank you very much and keep up the terrific work, it's appreciated! Debbi
Deb's Answer
Congratulations! Sounds like you were able to observe, treat, and decrease your student's painful symptoms! She's lucky that she had you as her teacher. (Somebody should tell Dr. Quack that dance being a part of traditional cultures has been around longer than yoga) I agree with your assessment that she probably had an inflamed bursa in the front of the hip. Let me explain why I think that.
There is a bursa that lies underneath the iliopsoas tendon in the front of the hip. A bursa is a fluid-filled sac that lies between tendons and bones, which reduces friction during movement. When the bursa gets irritated and inflamed you have bursitis.
That bursa is compressed when you are in hip flexion, which would be a battement to the front or in some cases sitting too long. When you do a heel stretch or split with the affected leg behind it also puts pressure on the bursa because of leg going into extension and the hip flexor tendons needing to lengthen. It feels like a no-win situation because your hip hurts when you flex it or extend it.
What you did through the massage and gentle stretching was take the stress off of the muscles that were irritating the bursa. It is possible to irritate the bursa in a one time assault –for example (this is a true story from a client of mine) a dancer was stretching with one knee to her chest and the other leg lengthened. Her teacher came and pushed with effort on the knee that was bent to help stretch her out. This was an assault on the bursa and was the start of her somewhat chronic bursitis. Her bursitis did not heal until she released the hip flexors and gave the bursa time to heal but pulling back temporarily.
Is there anything else that you can give to your student? I think you have covered the bases by releasing the muscular pull whether that is through massage, or self-massage with pinkie balls. You're training the muscle to lengthen by the use of slow, controlled or passive stretching. These are the primary objectives of rehabbing from bursitis and you've done them.
The only aspect left is to watch your student's movement for possible causes of why the bursitis happened in the first place. Does she have a tendency towards tight hip flexors? Does she have a loose-goosey, flexible body that needs to balance the flexibility with stability? How well does she ground her weight through the floor? I see so many dancers gripping their toes as they are standing and then have to use extra effort to lift their legs in the air because they don't understand the concept of pressing down to lift up – or how lengthening the leg is essential for a beautiful battement. Our dancers tend to be goal orientated instead of process orientated, which makes it harder for them to see the small incremental improvements, which is the way the body changes – through slow and consistent changes in muscle patterning. Instead they compare themselves to a picture in their head, or the dancer next to them. It's not bad to have a goal to work towards, but when you don't like what you see in the mirror it decreases their experience of joy and happiness with their dancing. Isn't that why we dance? Because it gives our bodies and souls an experience that makes us feel whole and vibrantly alive? Hmmm obviously the discussion with the dancers about their self-talk is still floating around in my consciousness.
Until next week!
Deborah