Healing and Enhancing Performance for Dancers In The Dallas Area
Understanding Dance Physical Therapy
Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Associates dance physical therapy is specialized care tailored for dancers and those in the dance community. Dance is a sport that requires extreme flexibility, strength, motor control, and endurance. This high and repetitive demand on the body’s anatomical structures makes dancers prime candidates for overuse injuries. Our program focuses on healing dance-related injuries, enhancing performance, and preventing future injuries.
The Types Of Patients Our Dance Rehab Program Is Designed For:
Our services are ideal for teen, amateur, and professional dancers. We cater to both professional performers and the local Dallas community in general that have experienced dance injuries. Whether you are a dancer, parent, or teacher, being aware of dance-related injuries and how to avoid them is important to the longevity of a dancer’s career.
Key Benefits of Our Dance Physical Therapy
1. Pain Relief and Healing
We often utilized hands-on, manual therapy, massage, and therapeutic exercises, ice and heat therapy.
These treatment techniques are used to reduce pain and inflammation
We often include patient education for effective pain management at home or at the dance studio.
2. Rehabilitating & Training Within The Appropriate Range of Motion
Recovering the necessary movement and flexibility post-injury is important.
Hyper or excessive mobility is common with dancers. Therefore, we often need to help patients limit, control, or stabilize injured joints.
3. Strengthening of Muscles and Joints
Strengthening of muscles surrounding susceptible joints is critical for dancers post injury. This helps the patient return to their pre-injury level of performance as well as helps with the prevention of future injuries.
One study found that implementing a program 3 times a week to target these muscles decreased injury rates by 82% in ballet dancers.
4. Enhanced Mental and Emotional Well-being
Addressing the psychological aspects of dance injuries is also important. When an athlete has to pause their training to allow a joint(s) and muscles to recover, is often stressful.
Setting realistic recovery objectives and coping strategies, helps ease this stress.
5. Injury Awareness & Management
There are many risk factors that dancers are exposed to during their training that cause frequent injuries including muscle/tendon imbalances, muscle fatigue, alignment/technique errors, growth spurts, inadequate recovery time.
Understanding pain, injury prevention, when to self treatment, and when to seek out the attention and support from a dance physical therapy professional is part of the recovery and prevention process as mentioned above.
Injuries in dancers most commonly occur in the lower half of the body including the foot, ankle, knee, hip, and lower back. Some of the most common diagnoses include stress fractures (metatarsals, lumbar spine), hip injuries (acetabular labral tears, snapping hip syndrome), hypermobility/instability (lumbar spine, ankle, foot), ankle injuries (Achilles tendonitis, ankle impingement), and knee injuries (patellar tendinopathy, patellofemoral pain syndrome).
Our Specialized Techniques
- Dance Technique and Gait Analysis: Identifying biomechanical issues contributing to pain and dysfunction.
- Return to Dance/Pointe Programming: Supervised and individualized return to dance or pointe-work post-injury.
- Manual Therapy: Joint mobilization and soft tissue massage.
- Pointe Shoe Fittings: Assessing correct fit when pointe shoes may be contributing to injury.
- Therapeutic Exercise: Custom exercises programs targeting the injured area and surrounding/supporting musculoskeletal system.
- Education: Preventive care and proper dance practices.
Our Dance Rehabilitation Clinics Are Conveniently Located for Patients In The Following Areas:
- Dallas Midtown PTRA – North Dallas, Preston Hollow, Addison, Carrollton, and Farmers Branch
- Town East PTRA – East Dallas, Mesquite, Garland, Sunnyvale, Rowlett, Rockwall
Not Sure If Dance Physical Therapy Is Right For You?
We Offer a Free 15 Minute Consultation: Start with a no-obligation assessment.
FAQs
Q1: What makes dance physical therapy different?
Answer: It’s specifically tailored to the unique needs and injuries of dancers.
Q2: Can dance therapy help with chronic dance injuries?
Answer: Absolutely, it addresses both acute and chronic dance-related injuries.
Q3: Do I need a referral to visit a dance physical therapist?
Answer: No, you can book an appointment directly with us and can be seen without a doctor’s prescription for 10 business days.
Q4: How long does the recovery process take?
Answer: It varies based on the injury and individual, but our goal is efficient and effective recovery.
Q5: Can dance physical therapy improve my performance?
Answer: Yes, it focuses on strength, flexibility, and technique enhancement.
Call One Of Our Three Convenient Locations Today!
- SOUTHWEST CENTER CLINIC(972) 572-5299
- DALLAS MIDTOWN CLINIC(972) 701-0366
- TOWN EAST PTRA(972) 270-2277
Experience dedicated care tailored to your dance-specific needs. Let’s get you back on the dance floor, performing at your best!
References
1. Vera, A. M., Barrera, B. D., Peterson, L. E., Yetter, T. R., Dong, D., Delgado, D. A., McCulloch, P. C., Varner, K. E., & Harris, J. D. (2020). An injury prevention program for professional ballet: A randomized controlled investigation. Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine, 8(7), 232596712093764. https://doi.org/10.1177/2325967120937643
