Skip to main content

Note to Self: Injuries can be a sign you're over-doing it.

My apologies for the lack of posts! The foot/ankle is still being a jerk, so I haven't been dancing, and therefore have had nothing to report (except for complaints about being antsy).

I went back to the podiatrist today for a check up to see how/if the injection had helped anything. The pain on the inside part of my ankle has disappeared (hurray!), but a pinchy feeling is still occurring on the outside, sort of back near my heel. It doesn't hurt too badly if I just prop my foot up, but as soon as I put weight on it (a la relevé), it gets all grumpy.

The doc felt around and pushed that area a bit, and I definitely had pain. Turns out that it was my joint (the subtalar joint, to be exact). That made me a little panicky at first, but apparently it's just another inflammation thing (yay synovial fluid!) I likely had BOTH tendinitis AND the subtalar issue, thanks to my crazy dance schedule this past spring. Good times. I got another steroid injection (different side of my ankle this time), and so far it feels tons better (I'm numb and only an two hours in, but YAY).

If it continues to feel better, I can return to dance classes next week when the studio re-opens. I'll have to take it easy--limited relevé, no jumping or leaping. But at least I'll be back!

The bad news is that when the doctor was telling me what not to do (i.e. jumping) he noted that a lot of problems with that joint come from impact. Our studio does not have sprung floors, so I'm sure the combination of that PLUS my drastic increase in dance was not helping matters. (I feel like this combo is also to blame for the shin splints I got last year).

I'm thinking of cutting back a bit when things start up again; at the height of my craziness last spring, I was taking 7+ classes a week, and had drastically increased my time en pointe because of our spring show. Even my mom thought I was over-doing it. I'm thinking of cutting back a bit, but adding in some pilates to work on my strength and alignment. 

Anyone else out there do pilates? Has it helped your dancing? I'm looking into some reformer classes (which I have never done before), and any input or advice would be appreciated!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Elevé Dancewear

Last week, Poets & Pirouettes reviewed a custom leotard she ordered from Lone Reed Designs , and sparked my interest in trying an independent designer the next time I want a custom leotard.  We started having a conversation about my experience ordering from Elev é Dancewear , and I realized, "Duh, Jackie! You have a blog now! You should review and talk about those leotards in detail there instead of hijacking the comments section of this post!"  (Sorry m'dear!)  Also, I've determined that P&P and I could be horrible enablers for each other (in the best possible way). (As an aside, you should go follow her blog , she is an amazing writer and fabulous to boot). Now, let's get down to business and talk about Elev é . 

A Week With ArtÉmotion

At the beginning of June, I traveled to Salt Lake City for the  artÉmotion Adult Ballet Summer Intensive , and it was THE BEST THING EVER. The classes were amazing, the teachers were amazing, the other dancers were amazing...I could go on and on. Plus Salt Lake City had some pretty amazing weather (sunny and hot all week, which I love). To sum up (I'll go into greater detail below), I HIGHLY recommend it and would do it again. In a heartbeat. With exclamation points!!  Side note: my ankle did fine, and I wasn't nearly as sore as I expected. More details on the program below for those that are curious.

Getting Older Sucks & Other Updates

I'm sure my fellow adult dancers can commiserate. What's the most frustrating, as someone who grew up dancing, is that I can't do things I used to be able to do. I was always a jumper growing up (especially grand allegro) and now I feel like I can't even get off the floor. Petit allegro is miserable for similar reasons, but also because I cannot get my brain and body to sync. I know the exercise beforehand and can mark it just fine, but once I actually start jumping my body just won't GO. I'm not sure how much of this is still weakness from not being able to dance for awhile and how much is...well...age. Ugh. Weirdly, though, I can do triple pirouettes now and never got those as a teen, so maybe its all in my head. Anyhoodle--updates! Ankle is definitely better--I finally finished PT last month! My flexibility still doesn't quite match on that side, so plies can be a little weird (especially in jumps...hmm). Its happiest when I'm using it-