Performance Pilates & Rehab

Injuries can be frustrating! However, you do not have to deal with them on your own. Dance specialists are here to help you.

What questions or answers would you add to this discussion?

Looking for a last minute costume idea? Dress up as your favorite Dance Medicine professional. What else should be included?

Treating the site of pain IS important. We are humans and getting out of pain is important to move our best. But pain is simply your body telling you there is a problem. It does not tell you what, or where, the problem is.

The most valuable lesson I have learned as a practitioner is to not chase pain. Always be working to find the driver and be willing to go on the full journey.

Have you ever had an unexpected area driving your pain symptoms?

We couldn't be happier to help the dancers of Capital Dance Project stay healthy during their season.

Our shows wouldn’t be possible without the support of our sponsors. founded by former Sacramento dancer Leah Bueno, has donated their time by offering our dancers physical therapy so they can stay strong and healthy for the duration of our rehearsals and performance ✨Thank you!! 💫
Photo by .chae

Your time as a dancer is precious. So make sure you are planning your week to maximize the time you can spend in the studio.

Working with a dance specialist means working with someone who has been there and wants you to dance as much as possible. However, sometimes we need to sneak away from the studio to spend MORE time in it.

I have seen dancers delay treatment for simple injuries only to spend a year in rehab later on. I don’t want that to happen to you!

What is your biggest roadblock in seeking care for a dance injury or pain symptoms?👇

Injuries at Summer Programs are unfortunately very common. Dance injuries are usually OK until they are NOT and sometimes they creep up at the worst times.

If you find yourself injured at a summer program make sure you seek support. Often there is a lot you can do to still have a great experience.

What would you add to help dancers navigate this tough time?

This dancer came to see me because she wanted to work on her hip mobility. She felt as though one hip was limited in turnout and extensions and she had tried stretching & strengthening it for years.

During her initial evaluation I suspected that she had a labral tear. This was confirmed by her doctor. Her limited mobility was not due to short muscles but the tear in her labrum. This was why stretching was not working for her.

Always wanting to take a conservative approach first we worked on the traditional rehab exercises for labral tears, but we also spent a lot of time working on how she stood in life. Like a lot of mobile people she defaulted to her comfy swayback posture outside of the studio. This was pushing her femur forward and not helping the situation.

After a few diligent weeks, and some helpful reminders from mom, her mobility and pain decreased and we were able to start working towards her goals.

It is important to remember that we are humans first and how we move outside the studio matters!

What does your posture look like outside of the studio?

Learning joint control at the end range is key for hypermobile dancers. But, it is not easy!

I approach working with our most bendy dancers in a few ways 👇

1) Get them to trust that I am not going to take their superpowers away.

✨I have no problem with very mobile joints. As long as you learn to control them. Dancers, especially ballet dancers, are often afraid that health professionals are going to take away their lines. THIS DOES NOT HAVE TO BE THE CASE. It is possible to have a beautiful and safe leg line, backbend, and leg extension.

2) Use hypermobility hacks when needed but do not rely on them.

✨Props, taping techniques, hard shoes, etc. can be a great tools to teach you to not go too far. But they should be used as training wheels. Understand from the beginning the goal is to someday take them away

This dancer is using ‘s taping technique over her leggings to give her visual cues. This helps her self-assess her knee joint but the option to overly hyperextend is still there.

3) Get every on the same page.

✨It is important that teachers and parents understand the importance of joint control in hypermobile athletes. Team work makes the dream work!

Are you having trouble controling one or more joints? If so, what are you currently doing?

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES!

When this dancer came to work with me a year ago she felt frustrated with her feet. She had started ballet "late" and thought that there was nothing she could do to improve her feet.

Today I received this photo as she prepares for theater week as a trainee for a professional company.

DANCERS Your feet are always changing. It is never too late to see mobility gains. You just need the right tools.

Do you have an injury that will not go away? It may be time to STOP CHASING PAIN and take a look at the big picture.

Hyperextended knees are a popular aesthetic in ballet, but this line of the leg may affect more than your knees.

This stance can be the root cause of...
✨Pain in the Back of the ankle
✨Pain in the front of the hip
✨Back pain
✨Neck pain
and more...

What are some ways you train a neutral knee?

Performance Pilates & Rehab updated their phone number.

SACRAMENTO DANCERS👇

Performance Pilates & Rehab will be hosting a Healthy Dancer Day on March 12TH!

We are excited to have Josephine Lee founder of The Pointe Shop and DanseMedica back to work her magic. Leah will also be offering FREE consultations.

FORM, FUNCTION & FIT are all important parts of creating a healthy dancer. I can not wait to collaborate with this incredible team.

Sign up https://calendly.com/d/cnw-4j8-sk5/sacramento-ca-fitting?month=2022-03

I have seen many dancers over the years who have been dealing with chronic hip pain for far too long!

This type of condition often gets better with rest. However, pain symptoms typically come back when dancers return to dance. This is because the root problem was not corrected.

For every bit of mobility we gain it is important to have an equal amount of strength and control. One without the other may not be an issue today, but it will catch up to you eventually. And...little problems can turn into big problems the longer they go on.

If you have any pinching or pain get evaluated. The little things should never be ignored!

As a former Dance Educator, I know how hard it is to make the perfect schedule for young dancers. And…before I knew anything about Dance Medicine & Science I remember fighting for more training hours for my students.

✨It never occurred to me that this could be hindering their abilities!✨

Sports medicine is working hard to dial back single-sport specialization in young athletes because they know this can affect their health and ability to have a long career. This is a newer concept in the dance world. However, it is a conversation I think we need to have!

Do you think dancers train too much? If so, how can we healthily support our dancers' goals?

Performance Pilates & Rehab updated their address.

Dancers exhibit a high risk of overuse injuries. An Injury Risk Assessment will identify muscular imbalances, hypo/hypermobility, and dysfunctional movement patterns that could lead to an injury in the future.

For example, a stuck ankle will take away a dancer's ability to jump properly and compensation patterns will emerge. Catching these issues early on and correcting them with a personalized program is an effective way to reduce injury risk.

Different screens are available for dancers ranging from those at the professional level to recreational dancers.

What does an Injury Risk Assessment involve?
✨We will spend 1 Hour together performing movement tests to assess where the dancer demonstrates potential problems
✨Towards the end of the assessment I will prescribe specific exercises that address these issues, making sure the dancer understands the areas of concern and the proper ex*****on of the corrective exercises.
✨We will also talk about a plan moving forward

Let's talk about how you can reach your goals safely

www.performancepilatesrehab.com

Ankle Sprains can sometimes be like a sleeping tiger. 🐅 They seem harmless when they are sleeping, but remember they can pounce at any moment. It is important not to underestimate them.

Keeping up with your rehab treatments after you have been cleared to dance can go a long way to limiting further complications and reoccurrences.

Ankles that do not spring back to full function have been tied to additional conditions including SI joint dysfunction and knee and hip conditions.

Have you ever had any old ankle sprain sneak up on you?

The sign of a stress fracture, or a stress reaction (precursor to a stress fracture), can be a scary diagnosis for dancers. However, if we understand why this common injury occurs we can greatly reduce our risk.

Why Do Dancers Get Stress Fractures? A Stress Fracture can be a scary diagnoses. But, understanding why they are common in dancers can help you reduce your future risk.*This video is meant to be...

IT IS A MYTH THAT YOU CAN NOT CHANGE YOUR FOOT SHAPE✨

I see so many dancers with flexible flat feet who think that there is nothing they can do. In my experience this is one of the easiest foot types to change because you just need some strength to support all that “bone spreading” 👈NOT A REAL TERM 😉

If you forced your turnout at an early age you may have developed this foot type. The good news is YOU CAN GO ON POINTE!

What kind of feet do you think you have? Flexible, Ridged, high arch, no arch? Feet are like snowflakes they are all different and beautiful!

DANCE EDUCATORS AND MOVEMENT PROFESSIONALS👉 Have you looked at your dancers move without shoes?

Even the sharpest eye can miss subtle things that dancers do inside their shoes. Taking the shoes off every so often could tell you a lot about your dancers and could help you spot a potential injury.

Do you think it is helpful to take the shoes off?

When you have an injury it is easy to focus on the site of pain. However, when it comes to the knee, it is important to find the root cause of dysfunction.

The criminals are often the hips and the ankles. With any patellofemoral pain take a look at what is happening up and down the chain.

THIS IS USUALLY WHERE YOU CAN FIND YOUR CRIMINAL.

What do you think is hard about correcting alignment in the leg?

WHAT IS AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO PHYSICAL REHAB?👇

A client came in to see me with knee and lower back pain. During her session, I noticed a significant difference between the mobility and structure of her left foot vs her right.

As a young dancer, she was told to do extra Thera-Band exercises to improve her “bad foot”. Unfortunately, this caused compression in the back of her ankle and prevented her from developing her arch properly.

To make up for her limited range of motion she was pushing and twisting her pelvis to get onto her left box. THIS WAS THE ROOT OF HER KNEE AND BACK PAIN!

An integrated approach takes a look at the whole body and addresses the driver of disfunction vs just treating the site of pain.

Have you ever had an injury that needed a closer look?👇

ITIS THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN! WHO IS READY FOR NUTCRACKER?

Nutcracker Season is always hard on the body. However, this year more than ever it is important to make sure you are taking care of yourself.

Added rehearsals and performances can leave the you body vulnerable to injuries. Especially if this is your first big run after lock down.

HERE ARE SOME TIPS TO ENSURE YOUR SURVIVAL 😉

✨Warm Up Every Time You Dance
✨Spend Extra Time On Recovery
✨Seek Support If Something Hurts

What do you think is important to make it through this season?

CAN WE TALK ABOUT THE DREADED SENTENCE “YOU SHOULD STOP DANCING” 🙇‍♀️

Far too often dancers are told to stop dancing when an injury occurs without any guidance on how to keep the rest of their body in shape, how to return to the studio after healing, and what to do to ensure that the injury does not return.

Rest for an area that needs to heal is important. But most dance injuries are over-use/chronic injuries. If stopping dancing is the ONLY part of your treatment plan you run the risk of the injury coming back.

Here are some key rules to ensure a successful return to the studio after an injury

▫️Seek help from a dance specialist. They understand what you do and will be able to guide you through what is appropriate or not during the healing phase

▫️Get a proper diagnosis. Knowing vs guessing means not wasting time treating a condition that does not exist.

▫️Use a relative rest plan. If your foot needs to heal that does not mean the rest of your body is broken. Work with someone who is trained to understand injuries. They will know how to keep you in shape without aggravating your condition.

▫️Figure out what caused the injury in the first place and work to correct any imbalances or movement patterns.

Have you ever been told to stop dance without any support to get back to the studio?👇