Physicals during the season can be an educating tool for the dancer and the instructor. Having dancers participate in a dance medicine physical has successfully lowered injury numbers. Athletes have to undergo a physical before they can play, why shouldn't dancers? A dance medicine physical should not take the place of a general practitioner's physical but is suited solely to the dancer's needs. This, including a general observation of the anatomy, strength testing, range of motion measurements and functional dance testing. Muscular imbalance, inadequate ligamentous and tendinous strength and inadequate cardiovascular endurance all lead to injury. Why not find out early where the weaknesses are so that the physical conditioning can begin? Properly graded conditioning can positively affect both the soft and bony tissue of the body, thus leading to a stronger dancer. It takes time and preparation to bring dancers into a competitive level of performance without injury. These physicals can be administered on almost any age group. The younger student can benefit from these as well; this is a time when physicals are the most important. It is important for dancers to be strong and aware of their balance skills before going on pointe, these physicals can assist the dancer and instructor in making decisions on the readiness for pointe. They take approximately 20 minutes and are personal and confidential. A series of home exercises are included to correlate with the findings. Again, these are important for injury prevention as well as dancer education.
For more information about the workshops, or to schedule a workshop for your organization, please contact us directly by email at jacqui@dancemedicine.net.
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Other options for workshops are available.
Workshops can be adjusted and tailored to your specific needs.