Weaker Ankle
Dancing Smart Newsletter
April 14, 2006
Announcements
Spring has sprung! I so love the sun (so why am I living in NE Ohio?:) Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend! Make sure to look at your calendars and fill out the registration for the summer workshop before the end of April to get your early bird discount.
Here's the question of the week from Mags.
Question of the Week
I have been on pointe for a bit now and as I have progressed I have noticed my left ankle appears to be much stronger than my right. I also have a tendency to have a slightly bent right knee when on full pointe. I would appreciate any advice you could give me ways to strengthen my weaker ankle. Thank you, Mags
Deb's Answer
When someone tells me that they have a pattern of bending one knee when on relevé, I always suspect a leg length difference. I would encourage you to have this checked out, Mags, by a sports physician or physical therapist. It is quite possible to have uneven growth spurts. The typical pattern is to stand with more weight on the shorter leg side (hence the 'stronger' side)
If you have not finished growing, then check out the evenness of the legs every 6 months, until you have finished growing. My son was a good example of someone who grew unevenly, and I had him using a heel pad one and off for a couple of years. He is not a dancer, but very athletic and plays a lot of tennis, and it helped keep him from spraining his ankles, etc.
If you do have a significant leg length difference, more than a half-inch, it may be useful to put a small heel pad in your soft slippers. Unfortunately, there is no way to build up your foot when on pointe. If you try a heel lift in your left shoe wear it for a few hours and then take it out and see what your body says. If you put a lift in your soft slippers face the mirror and do some slow demi plies. Watch for any difference in how much angle your knees make when you have the heel lift in versus when you don't. You might find that when you don't have a heel lift in that your right heel will lift first as you go from a demi into grande plié. These will be other small cues that your leg length may be influencing your technique.
On with the dance!
Deborah
"Education is the key to injury prevention"
Have a Question?
Email your questions to Deb at AskDeb@thebodyseries.com or visit her online at http://www.thebodyseries.com.
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Deborah Vogel is a dancer, author, and master teacher who conducts workshops across the U.S. for both student and professional dancers. Her numerous articles on dance technique and injury prevention have appeared in Dance Spirit and Dance Teacher magazines. She is the Director of the Institute for Performance Studies and a faculty member at Oberlin College and the OC Conservatory of Music. During her years in NYC she co- founded the Center for Dance Medicine. Deborah makes her home in Oberlin, Ohio.
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