Any dancer knows the unique physical and artistic demands of dance, and how often those demands can lead to injuries. Non-dancers may not realize it or think about it, but dancing is very physically demanding and can lead to many injuries in the back, hips, knees, ankles, and feet.
Dancing is a full-body sport and art, meaning it demands muscular strengthening and flexibility from shoulders down to the feet. Such a specialized activity requires a particular training program, as well as specialty rehabilitation when a dancer gets injured. With the demand of class, training, and performances and competitions, dancers oftentimes don’t have the luxury of sitting out completely. This is why physical therapy offers the perfect solution.
1. Total Assessment
Physical therapy doesn’t just focus on the injury, but on the total health of the dancer. Assessment includes injury rehabilitation as well as injury prevention. Because dancing is so specialized and unique in that it uses the whole body, a program with a whole-body focus and caters to those demands is essential. This type of program is important to not only recovery, but also prevention. This means not only becoming injury-free, but also determining the cause of the problem so that it doesn’t happen again.
2. Restore And Improve Range Of Motion
Dancers are well aware of the necessity of having a full body range of motion. Any impediment to motion cannot only lead to injury, but can also affect dancing technique and overall performance. During rehabilitation, physical therapy aims at improving range of motion while strengthening to restore and improve a dancer’s full motion and body function.
3. Physical Therapy Helps Strengthen And Condition
Since dance requires full body movement and a high rate of physical exertion, it’s important to both strengthen and condition. However, it’s even more important to do this properly to avoid and prevent injury. Particularly since dancing requires both flexibility, and muscle control and strength, it’s essential that dancers have the proper training and recovery programs. Physical therapy focuses on total body and health. Moreover, it gives a unique advantage over other types of rehabilitation.
4. It Offers In-Depth Analysis
Once a dancer recovers from an injury, it’s paramount to prevent it. This means reviewing technique and body form, determining where weaknesses lie. Knowing about the injury, how it happened, and what caused it is essential to prevention. Physical therapy offers that unique skill set for dancers, as physical therapists study how the body moves. They also point out bad technique that could lead or has caused an injury.
OSR Physical Therapy And Dance Rehab Program
OSR customizes the dance rehab program to each dancer’s needs – whether it’s complete injury rehabilitation or injury prevention. We offer a specialty rehabilitation that includes a sprung dance floor so that you can continue dancing while recovering. We also offer an anti-gravity treadmill so that you don’t lose your cardio. With flexible scheduling hours and consideration of performance and competition schedules, we will create a program specifically for you so that you can get back to dancing.
