Is Your Dancer Ready for Pointe? A Guide for Parents
It seems like one of the biggest things for young dancers growing up is the dream of dancing en pointe. And why not?! You get to have the beautiful shoes, the gorgeous tutus, and the chance to develop a whole new set of skills.
This dream of dancing en pointe is great and a good goal to have, but some dancers or dance parents may be eager to start pointework before their teacher has made the recommendation. It may feel unfair that a dancer doesn’t get to start yet. Or maybe you’re not sure why the teacher is/isn’t giving a recommendation.
The goal of this post is to talk a little bit about what your dancer needs to have, from a medical perspective, to safely dance en pointe. We’ll also be addressing some of the myths around readiness and additional considerations.
Myth #1: You can automatically move to pointe once you reach a certain age.
FACT: Age is only one small part of everything that should be considered. Most recommendations from medical research suggest that the dancer is at least 12 years old – or maybe 11, in certain specific circumstances.
Why is that? A big part of it has to do with development of bones and joints.
We know that the bones of the foot finish developing someting between the late teens to early twenties, but it varies a lot from person to person. Besides that, we are also concerned about the dancer’s growth plates. This is the part of the bone (like the femur, or thigh bone) where a child’s growth happens. These close around 14 years old in females. We want to be closer to that age before starting pointe.
Myth #2: You can progress to pointe once you reach a certain level at your studio.
FACT: The truth is – this is partially true.
It’s not so much about reaching a certain level. This makes sense because different studios or training programs have different definitions of their levels, so it’s hard to compare from program to program.
The biggest recommendation here is actually related to amount of training. Generally, we recommend 3-4 years of ballet-specific training. This means that other dance styles or mixed classes (like a ballet/tap combo class) do not count towards that total. Some recommendations even say that it should be 3-4 years after the age of 8!
Besides the recommendation of 3-4 years, we also recommend 2-3 hours of ballet classes per week.
Myth #3: Once you’re on pointe, there no need to ever go off again, except if you have a major injury.
FACT: Of course injury or pain is an excellent reason to take a break from pointe! But we want to challenge you to think about another time when it may be beneficial.
Consider also taking a temporary break when the dancer is going through a growth spurt. During this time, the muscles and strength, as well as control and coordination, are all trying to catch up with one another. We even know that some muscles need to work up to 40% harder during this time, at least until everything is back on the same track.
During this time, dancers can focus on developing their strength and control again. They can continue working on demi-pointe and can focus on a strengthening program. Once they’re feeling more coordinated again and aren’t experiencing some of the growing pains, it can be safe to work back into their pointe work.
Hopefully this helps dispel some of the most common rumors about when dancers are or aren’t ready for pointe!
Now for some additional considerations:
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What does the research say?
An interesting fact: working on demi-pointe puts up to 4 times your body weight through your foot. Once you’re working on full pointe, it can put up to 12 times your body weight through your foot! That is yet another reason why it’s crucial that dancers are truly ready for pointe and not starting too early.
There are some tests that your dance teachers and/or dance medicine professional can do to assess readiness even more specifically (and we highly recommend this).
Some easy ones to do in the studio are things like the pencil test, airplane test, topple test, and single leg sauté test.
Besides that, it’s also great to have some strength and joint motion test done, which can be done by a dance medical professional. For a very thorough assessment, we also recommend the medical professional look at things like injury history, training habits, general health, nutritional practices, and more.
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Should my dancer get an xray to check their growth plates?
No. You may often hear this recommendation from dance instructors but research actually shows little evidence that this is helpful information. Seeing the growth plate “closed” on the xray does not necessarily mean that the bones are mature.
So if you do get the xrays done, not only is it not the most reliable information, but you’re spending money on it and your dancer is getting exposed to radiation unnecessarily.
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When should we seek out a dance medicine professional?
If your dancer:
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- is complaining of pain for longer than a week, or it is accompanied with swelling, loss of joint motion, numbness, or instability.
- has pain that wakes them up at night, is present at the start of activity, or gets worse with activity.
- seems to be frequently injured or if they seem to take a long time to recover.
- is showing an imbalance in flexibility, strength, or control from side to side.
- is hyperflexible.
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And, of course, seek out a dance medicine professional for things like pointe readiness assessments, annual dancer physicals, injury screenings, fitness programs, and other prevention and wellness services. Find out more about ours here.
Check out our video about it on our YouTube channel!
Back in Step with Steady Nutrition
“Eat less. Eat more. Cut carbs. Add fats. Take away fats. Crash diet. Water weight. Hydrate. Substituting. Try dark chocolate. Pile on the veggies!”
Many of us have heard these words and phrases thrown around when it comes to nutrition. I don’t know about you guys, but all of the conflicting information found online can be really confusing to navigate. There are so many people advocating for fad diets and quick fix solutions on social media, but what do you try and what will really work for you in the long run? How do you find the right way to adjust your lifestyle to consistently maximize nutrition, lose weight, add muscle, sleep better, increase energy and performance, and just feel healthier?
Lets explore some of these topics by addressing what nutrition is and how to consistently get it.
Nutrition: What is it?
Take a second and think about what you know about healthy food choices. What comes to your mind regarding the word nutrition?
Did you picture broccoli and kale? Or apples and grapes? Or maybe memory came up about “healthy dieting”? You probably have a lot of knowledge about what is healthy and what is not. You know your body and what helps you have energy and what makes you feel slow. Or maybe you’ve even grown-up with parents expressing that fruits and vegetables are good, and that sugar and fried food are bad. Let’s keep expanding this idea by diving into the details of nutrition.
Nutrition is simply “the process of obtaining food that is necessary for health and growth.” It is the intake of food that nourishes your body and mind. This process can seem confusing if we don’t even know where to start or what food are good for your body.
Essential Foods for a Healthy Body
Here is a list of 6 food types that are essential to nourish your body and help keep you healthy. Explore these items the next time you are at the grocery store. Maybe even try adding in a few of these examples for a nutritious, balanced plate.
- Vegetables and fruits.
You guessed it. Veggies and fruits are super nutritious foods that contain a lot of natural vitamins
to help your body function, grow, and work to its best ability. There are 13 vitamins are considered essential nutrients that we can only get from eating food, and many of them are found specifically in veggies and fruits. These guys are also high in fiber, which helps keep your gut from getting blocked up and bloated. By incorporating fruits and veggies, you may reduce inflammation in your body, which could even decrease chronic pain levels!
A few good rules of thumb to keep in mind:
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- Different colors of fruits and vegetables contain different vitamins. Try for a variety of colors to eat to get all 13 essential vitamins.
- Shoot for dark leafy greens and fruits that are colorful on the inside. They carry more than one vitamin.
- Work toward adding in 5 portions of fruits and veggies a day.
- Consider adding a multivitamin to your diet in the beginning as you are getting used to this new addition. (Consult with your primary care physician to find out if this is a good option for you).
- Healthy Fats.
Yeah, you need fats for body to work well. Your brain functions best with healthy fats because they
help with making your nerve pathways faster. Your body also needs them to absorb minerals and vitamins A, D, E and K (4 out of the 13 essential nutrient vitamins). Fats also make up a large portion of your cells and are important for new cell growth (for healthy skin and nails), blood clotting for when you have an injury, and they supply energy for sustained muscle movement.
Some ideas for healthy fats are “omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids” found in chia seeds, nuts, fish, and olive oil. Try to limit unhealthy trans or hydrogenated fats like butter, processed peanut butter, fatty red meat (burgers and pork) and processed soft cheeses.
- Essential minerals.
These are nutrients you get from food like calcium, iron, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and magnesium. Minerals are important to help your bones grow and allow for your brain to work fast and efficiently to form thoughts. They also help with muscle control, nerve action, and heart and organ health.
You can get these essential minerals by eating fish, a variety of dark vegetables and colorful fruits, beans, seeds, nuts, fish, and grains like rice and cereals.
- Proteins.
Proteins are wonderful nutrients for building muscle and for helping your hair, skin, nails
, and bones. They are made up of “essential amino acids” which are the building blocks of proteins. You need to get all of these amino acids for your body to grow muscles and to repair itself after work outs.
Animal meat contains all essential amino acids. Try for lean meat to control healthy fat intake. Examples of healthy meat include eggs, fish, chicken breast, and lean steak.
You can also get protein and essential amnio acids with eating a combination of plant sources like whole grains, nuts, legumes, and vegetables.
- Carbohydrates.
Yes! Carbohydrates are essential for proper nutrition! Good carbs supply your brain and body with momentum throughout the day. They are the nutrient that burns the fastest to supply you with energy, and they are especially important for fueling your working out and homework brain power. However, don’t go eating that donut quite yet. Carbohydrates that are also full of fiber and have high water content will supply you with immediate energy and also help you feel full longer.
Fruits are a great source of carbohydrates due to their sugar content. Many of them also have fiber which helps you feel satisfied and less hungry for longer bouts of time. Oats, quinoa, and whole grains are also great sources of carbohydrates that supply energy and keep you full.
- Water.
Last, but certainly not least, is water! Hydration is vital for a healthy body, after all, we are made up of roughly 60% water. Dehydration can lead to cramps, nausea, lightheadedness, fainting, and poor performance with athletic activities.
Daily recommendations is to drink half of your body weight in ounces. This means if you weigh 200 pounds, you need to drink 100 ounces of water every day. You can track this with easy and free apps on your phone like: Plant Nanny, My Water Balance, or Daily Water Tracker.
With athletic activity, shoot for drinking 15-20 ounces of water 1-2 hours before you start exercising. Make sure to stay hydrated while you exercise by drinking 8 ounces of water every 15 minutes (it helps with regulating your temperature during activity). Be sure to avoid carbohydrate drinks and large amounts of sugary fruit juice, because these can be counterproductive. At the end of working out, replenish all of the liquid you lost through sweat by drinking at least 8 to 10 ounces of water within 30 minutes after activity.
Check out our Back in Step PT Pinterest for some healthy recipe ideas by Dr. Alyssa Arms, DPT.
Consistency for Long Term Results
You now know all of this information about nutrition. You know what you “should” add into your daily meals. Now what?
The matter of fact is that consistency is difficult to achieve, especially when forming new dietary habits. It also looks different for everyone. What worked for your friend or family member may not work for you. So let’s take a deeper dive into your individual life and explore some factors to help you get started with consistency when it comes to getting proper nutrition.
First off, I would like to take a moment and thank you for showing up for yourself. If you are on this page, it means you are putting your health and nutrition first. It means there is a part of you that may be willing to make a step toward change.
Thoughts to Consider
I want to encourage you to take a moment to reflect on your relationship with food and nutrition and write down your thoughts to these questions:
- What is your goal for your health related to nutrition?
- Do you have any concerns about accomplishing your goal?
- Which concern is the most important and why?
- What do you want to change?
- How do you specifically want your eating habits to be different?
- What has worked for you in the past?
- What has not worked and what did you learn?
- Has there been anything to block you from your goal in the past?
- Why is it important to make a change now?
- How are you ready, willing, and able to change your nutrition habits?
After thinking through these questions, take this moment to come up with one thing than you can add into your daily routine to help you with nutrition. Actually take time right now to think through this.
Choose One Thing
What is that one thing you can do that you are already sort of good at doing anyways? Start small. What is realistic with your work schedule, life responsibilities, and finances? Is it something you can do everyday for 2 weeks in a row? Can you start today?
Here are some examples to consider:
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- Do you classify yourself as a “picky eater”? No worries! Just start with adding more water and taking multivitamin everyday.
- Maybe you have some of the nutrients we talked about in your diet already, but eat irregularly and only when you feel like it. Or maybe you eat when you’re sad, bored, or have something on your mind. Try adding a food log. Journal your food and water intake throughout the day to draw attention to when you eat and what you are eating. Start small with just gaining awareness.
- What if you are good at making a consistent breakfast of eggs and toast. Can you add in a big glass of water and a fruit? Try to make one meal a day consistent with nutrients over the next two weeks.
- Maybe try adding in one new fruit and one new vegetable this week. Google an interesting way to prepare the new food item and give it a shot!
- What if you don’t have time to cook? That’s fine. Consider investing in a slow cooker Crock Pot to make your meal in the morning so that it is ready at the end of the day. Or maybe sign up for a meal delivery kit that has the ingredients and recipes picked out for you already.
- Maybe you are a “snacker” (I know I am). Something that has helped me is prepping fruits, veggies, and healthy granola bars to have in my backpack so that I avoid the temptation of fast-food.
Small Habits for Big Results
The key to making a long-term change in nutritional habit is to build up little skills that are related to your goal. By starting with something small and easily doable with your life routine, you can make changes to implement the big goal for the long run.
Remember that there is no failure, only feedback. If your one habit is not consistently working for you, change it up! Focus on a habit to reflect your strengths of what you are already doing well. See if your friend or family member would be willing to check in with you every week to keep you accountable to your habit. If you choose to start with logging your daily food choices or energy levels, you can track your progress overtime as you slowly implement a new habit every 2 weeks to work toward your goal. Be sure to celebrate your successes as you go 😊
So, where do you see yourself going from here?
Next Steps
Thank you for taking this information and self-assessment journey toward improving your nutritional habits. We talked about the essential nutrients of vitamins, minerals, fats, proteins, carbohydrates, and water. We’ve given you some food examples to try and a plan for starting your consistency of nutritional habits. Chose one thing to work on over the next two weeks to approach your healthy food goal.
You are strong, capable, and have just taken the first step toward your goal by reading this today.
If you have any questions, or would like to talk with somebody about a more individualized plan toward health, fitness, nutrition, or physical activity, Back in Step Physical Therapy is here for you! Please contact Back in Step PT to schedule an online or in-person consultation today. Make sure to check out our other blogs and follow us on Instagram and for additional tips and tricks from Dr. Alyssa Arms, DPT.
Guest Blog by Haley Tirado, SPT
Haley Tirado is a second year Student Physical Therapist who attends the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. She completed a work study focused on physical therapy reasearch with the medically complex and total joint replacement patient populations. Haley currently works as an intern for Back in Step Physical Therapy.
Resources
Nutrition and Physical Therapy: A Powerful Combination
Precision Nutrition- Nutrition Coaching Course
How to do Motivational Interviewing: A guidebook
Healthy Ways for Working from Home: Fitness
Welcome back to our blog series focused on healthy ways for working from home! We’ve explored many topics together so far, from posture and desk set up, to rejuvenating break ideas for the body and mind. Feel free to check out blog one and two for helpful tips and tricks on reducing muscle pain and increasing focus while working from home. Today we’ll discuss preventing discomfort and enhancing concentration through establishing an easy foundation for fitness at home.
Fitness
Fitness? More like fit-ness whole pizza in my mouth.
Yeah, we have all heard the word fitness and have felt convicted to exercise, but are often confused on how to approach doing so, especially while being stuck at home. The gyms nearby may be closed, or possibly inaccessible due to work schedules conflicting with limited business hours. You could go on a walk or a jog outside, but the weather may not allow for it.
So why even try when it doesn’t seem to line up for you?
Know that you are not alone. A recent international survey indicates that despite the recommendations to stay physically active, there has been a significant decline in exercise levels during the “stay at home” period of COVID-19. Globally, people are sitting a lot, eating extra-frequently, and consuming more unhealthy food compared to before the pandemic (nothing like mac and cheese to pep up a boring afternoon). We are all in this struggle together, and we need to fight to decrease inactive behavior, promote health, and further our fitness.
Its Effect on Whole-Body Health
Studies on fitness show that physical activity can improve your health and fight against the negative effects of diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure. Exercise also improves mental health, which many of us are struggling with due to social isolation. It is important to boost your fitness for optimal brain power and for bettering thought processes while working from home.
Your body is composed of several muscle groups that contribute to your functioning while you work. You may not notice it, but there are a lot of muscles working to help your body sit and stand with good posture. By adding in physical activity and exercise into your daily at-home routine, you can build up muscle strength and endurance to counter the painful effects of prolonged bad posture while working from home. It’ll also improve the blood flow to your brain to help your concentration!
Fitness = Physical Activity + Exercise
For our purposes, we’ll discuss two different parts of fitness: physical activity and exercise. Physical activity is when we use several large muscle groups to move the body around at moderate to high intensities. This can include hobbies like dancing or even heavy household chores, like vacuuming or mowing the yard. Exercise, on the other hand, is the strengthening of more specific muscle groups in the body. Examples may include different exercises you see at the gym and/or running for building up your heart muscle. Keep reading for some guidelines on physical activity and ideas for exercises at home!
Physical Activity Recommendations
When in doubt, move more and sit less! Start small if you need to. Feel free to get creative with your fitness and find things that you like to do at home that keep you on your feet. I personally enjoy doing yoga and completing household projects, like organizing and decorating. According to an article on fitness from Public Health Reports, physical activity should be performed every day, or at least every other day, to increase your health.
Here are the recommendations on weekly physical activity based on age:
Children age 6 to 17
Kids and teens need at least 60 minutes a day of moderate to vigorous activity. This should include 3 days of strengthening exercises to help with muscle and bone growth (read more below for ideas on how to strengthen from home.)
Adults age 18 to 65
Adults need 30 minutes of moderate intensity activity 5 days per week, or 20 minutes of vigorous activity 3 days a week. This can also be in a combination or moderate and vigorous intensity throughout the week. The 30-minute daily total of moderate intensity can also be achieved in small bouts of 10-minute continuous activity.
How do you find out what is moderate versus high intensity for you? Check out our YouTube video!
Fitness Through Exercise
Now how do you actually build muscle from home without a gym? This is your opportunity to think outside of the box with items around your house and get creative with your fitness. Here are some ideas to try based on strength, endurance, and cardiovascular fitness.
Muscle Strength
Your muscles are made up of different types of muscle fibers. Strengthening specifically focuses of building your “fast-twitch” fibers for fast muscle power. We use these muscle fibers to perform many of the typical gym exercises that one might think of. The goal for strengthening is to only be able to complete 8 to 12 repetitions of an exercise before you’re tired and your form is messed up.
Try this exercise for strong arms:
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- To strengthen your arms with biceps curls, you’ll want to find a bag of books in your house that is heavy enough to challenge you.
- Stand in front of a mirror and complete 8-12 reps of slow and controlled biceps curls. If you can go onto 13 reps without a challenge, then add more books.
- If you can only do 8-12 reps before you notice that you body starts trying to fatigue and compensate elsewhere (your shoulder hikes up or your posture starts leaning), then that is your maximum.
- Once you find your max, take a rest break, and try for another set.
- Keep completing sets of your 8-12 reps until you notice you cannot do them anymore because of losing form due to muscle fatigue setting in.
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Muscle Endurance
To build up fitness through muscle endurance, you’ll want to challenge the “slow-twitch” muscle fibers. This is so that your muscles don’t get tired while you do things like repetitive motions, holding still postures, and walking further distances. Many strengthening exercises can be turned into muscle endurance exercises by changing how many times you do the exercise! It all depends on your fitness goal and what you need to be able to do in your everyday life. The idea of muscle endurance is to be able to do 15-20 repetitions of an exercise before you’re tired and your form gets messed up.
Try this exercise for leg muscle endurance:
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- To strengthen your leg muscle endurance, you’ll want to find a mirror to stand in front of while you do squats.
- You should be able to do 15 to 20 repetitions before you notice your form starting to compensate (your trunk leans to one side, your knees go forward or move together, or your back starts to arch).
- You can make squats easier by using a chair to sit and then stand, or more difficult by holding a book to your chest to add some weight.
- Once you find your max of 15-20 reps, take a rest break, and try for another set.
- Keep completing sets of your 15-20 reps until you notice you cannot do them anymore because of your form messing up due to muscle fatigue setting in.
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Cardiovascular Fitness
Cardiovascular fitness is the strengthening of your heart to improve blood flow to your muscles. If your heart is pumping blood efficiently, the muscles that hold your body upright while sitting will get enough oxygen and may not get tired as easily while you work from home. The workday may feel less fatiguing when your brain is getting enough nutrients from a healthy beating heart. Great blood flow also helps your working muscles to fight against exhaustion while exercising!
To get your heart to build up strength and endurance, your lungs will have to work harder. You may feel out of breath at first, but this is normal! Increasing your pulse rate during cardiovascular exercise means that your heart muscle needs more oxygen from your lungs.
Simply put: as your heart beats faster, you will breath harder, challenging the lungs and chest muscles. Breathing will become easier as you strengthen this system by doing moderate to vigorous exercise.
Here are some ideas cardiovascular exercise at home:
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- Walking longer distances at an increased pace
- Jogging or running outside
- Go for a bike ride
- Swimming if you have access to a pool
- Dancing around the house (by yourself or with a friend)
- Shooting hoops (with a mask on)
- Jumping rope
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Check out our YouTube videos on exercises to try at home for different muscle groups:
Upper and Lower Back Exercises
Bringing It All Together: Healthy Ways for Working from Home
You made it through the three-part blog journey. Congratulations! We’ve addressed several tips and tricks to help your body stay rejuvenated and pain free while working from home. You have found your best seated posture and sprinkled your workday with rejuvenating mind and body breaks. With a guideline for physical activity and several exercises to try at home, you’re now ready to conquer daily tasks with improved concentration and decreased pain. We’d love to help you with a more tailored and individual approach if you have further questions about healthy ways for working from home. Please contact Back in Step PT to schedule an online or in-person consultation today! Make sure to check out our other blogs and follow us on Instagram and Facebook for additional tips and tricks from Dr. Alyssa Arms, DPT.
Check out our Work from Home Kit!
Guest Blog by Haley Tirado, SPT
Haley Tirado is a second year Student Physical Therapist who attends the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. She completed a work study focused on physical therapy research with the medically complex and total joint replacement patient populations. Haley currently works as an intern for Back in Step Physical Therapy.
Article References
- Effects of COVID-19 Home Confinement on Eating Behaviour and Physical Activity: Results of the ECLB-COVID19 International Online Survey
- Physical exercise as therapy to fight against the mental and physical consequences of COVID-19 quarantine: Special focus in older people
- Health Benefits of Exercise
- Physical activity and exercise to achieve health-related physical fitness components.
- World Health Organization
- Physical activity and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): Specific recommendations for home-based physical training
Dancers’ Great Superpower
Dancers are very aware of their bodies! They absolutely need this awareness for a routine either in class, rehearsal, or on stage. However, dancers tend to ignore their injuries due to the very real fear of not being able to keep doing what they love. Dancers should use their “hyperawareness of their bodies” superpower for good to ultimately prevent future, harmful dance injuries! How are they able to do this?
Well, we’ll tell you!
Through education of common dance injuries, importance of dance injury prevention, and importance of seeing a dance medicine physical therapist (PT) when experiencing symptoms of these common dance related injuries, dancers can use their superpower to keep them happy and healthy and doing what they love!
Dancers are the most hardworking and dedicated athletes out there! However, this hardworking and dedicated nature is what often leads to dance related injuries. These injuries could be overuse injuries or acute injuries, resulting in dancers having to sit out for rehearsals and performances. We have a list of five of the most common dance related injuries and their signs/symptoms to look out for.
Hip Impingement 1,2
What is Hip Impingement?
Hip impingement is when the bones of the hip joint become close together due to repetitive motions dancers do in class. You have two bones that make up your hip joint: the acetabulum and head of the femur.
As the hip joint moves when doing big movements, such as grand battements, your two bones collide more with one another. This places more pressure on the hip joint and can lead to hip pain.
Superpower Sense for the signs and symptoms of hip impingement
Pain in the following positions:
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- Hip flexion (i.e. when you do a battement)
- Internal rotation (i.e. when you turn in)
- Passé
- Developpé a la seconde
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Patellofemoral pain syndrome 1,3
What is patellofemoral pain syndrome?
Patellofemoral pain syndrome, also known as “runner’s knee,” is a common knee injury leading to pain under and around the patella or “kneecap.” There are unknown causes of patellofemoral pain syndrome, but we do know that it can be due to muscle imbalance. Muscle imbalance means that one muscle surrounding the knee joint is overworking while another is underworking.
Are you a dancer who thinks they have patellofemoral pain syndrome? Well we can help! Check out this link to our Pain in the Plié program that can help dancers manage their knee pain.
Superpower Sense for the signs and symptoms of patellofemoral pain syndrome
Pain in the front or around the knee in the following positions:
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- Jumping
- Pliés
- Going up stairs
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Ankle impingement 1,4
What is ankle impingement?
Your ankle joint is made up of two major bones: distal tibia and talus. There are many different structures that surrounds this ankle joint, such as muscle, tendons, and ligaments.
Ankle impingement is pain in either the front or back of the ankle due to these surrounding structures getting compressed. This compression happens in dancers because dancers have to move their ankles through extreme motions during class, rehearsal, and performances. Maximally flexing or pointing your foot or going onto relevé on pointe throughout class can put dancers at risk of developing ankle impingement.
Superpower Sense for signs and symptoms of ankle impingement
Pain in the front of the ankle with the following positions:
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- Plié
- Landing from any type of jumping movement
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Pain in the back of the ankle with the following positions:
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- Tendu
- Relevé
- Any position where the foot is maximally pointed
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Achilles tendonitis 1
What is Achilles tendonitis?
The Achilles tendon is the tendon of the calf muscle that attaches to the heel bone, or the calcaneus. The calf muscle is responsible for pointing the foot, a controlled relevé, and “quiet” landing from a leap.
Achilles tendonitis is a common overuse injury in dancers where the Achilles tendon, or calf tendon, becomes inflamed and irritated. This could be due to excessive training or using the incorrect muscles when dancing. To learn more about preventing Achilles tendonitis and other related injuries, check out this link to our previous blog post on the hot topic of stretching before dancing.
Superpower Sense for signs and symptoms of Achilles tendonitis
Pain in the back of the ankle, just above the heel that may feel better after warm up, but worse with the following:
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- Pointe work
- Jumping
- Pointing the foot
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Stress Fracture 5
What is stress fracture?
A stress fracture means that there is a small fracture within a bone because of an increased stress to the body. Stress fractures are commonly associated with increased intensity or volume of training workload, such as several, 8 hour (or longer) rehearsals leading up to a big performance or competition. In dancers, these stress fractures occur in the bones throughout the legs, ankles, and feet. The most common stress fracture for dancers are the in metatarsals, or the long bones in the middle of the feet.
Superpower Sense for signs and symptoms of stress fracture
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- Pain during dancing but subsides with rest
- Pain gradually worsening over time when continuing to put weight through the painful area
- Swelling and tenderness around the painful area
Go Out and Conquer that Stage!
Now that you’re familiar with some of the most common dance related injuries, it is time to put your superpower to the test!
Make sure to keep an eye out for the signs and symptoms of these injuries so that you can take good care of your body. Don’t let that injury linger or think that the injury will just disappear. Seeing a dance specialist PT will help you manage your pain sooner and help you understand more ways you can protect your body from injury now and in the future. So, start using that superpower of understanding your body to keep on killing it in today’s and future classes, rehearsals, and performances!
Give us a call at Back in Step Physical Therapy to get started on your journey to wellness with a dance medicine specialist.
Also check our our Dancer’s Kit!
Guest Blog by Marissa Holliday, SPT
Marissa Holliday is a second year Student Physical Therapist at the University of Colorado-Anschutz Medical Campus. Marissa has a background in various styles of dance (jazz, contemporary, lyrical, tap, ballet, and hip hop) and is no stranger to dance injuries. She currently works as an intern for Back in Step Physical Therapy, and is excited to learn more from Dr. Alyssa Arms on working with this amazing dancer population as a future physical therapist.
References
- Krysten Malcolm DPT. 7 Common Dance Injuries (and How to Prevent Them). neurotour. https://www.neurotour.com/blog/7-common-dance-injuries. Accessed November 28, 2020.
- Hip Impingement. Johns Hopkins Medicine. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/hip-impingement. Accessed November 28, 2020.
- Paul Ingraham • updated Nov 14 2020. What Works for Patellofemoral Pain? What Doesn’t? Why? www.PainScience.com. https://www.painscience.com/tutorials/patellofemoral-pain-syndrome.php. Published November 14, 2020. Accessed November 28, 2020.
- Ankle Impingement. Physiopedia. https://www.physio-pedia.com/Ankle_Impingement. Accessed November 28, 2020.
- Stress Fractures. Physiopedia. https://physio-pedia.com/Stress_Fractures?utm_source=physiopedia. Accessed November 28, 2020.
Healthy Ways for Working from Home: Breaks
Part 1 of this three-part series focused on setting up an ergonomic office space built around your unique best posture while working from home. Check out this post here for healthy tips on workspace set up and intentional movements to try while you work. This next part of this series will focus on practical and healthy ways to minimize pain by incorporating breaks throughout your workday.
Take Breaks
Before the pandemic and the shift to working from home, you may have had mandatory breaks incorporated into your workday. Now that you’re in charge of scheduling, it may be tempting to power through work duties without breaks, but this can lead to body discomfort and burn out.
As a grad student, I’ll be the first to admit that it’s difficult to take active and healthy breaks while I am in the middle of online classes and assignments. I typically find myself crawling over to the couch to lay down and stretch my back while I indulge in an episode of my favorite TV show. I don’t know about you, but I never feel truly pain free, refreshed, or motivated to get back to work after a break like that. Let’s take a look at some ideas for rejuvenating breaks that will help your body and mind while working from home.
…For Your Body
So, why take breaks? Studies show that sustained sitting can actually cause increased levels of pain, fatigue, and muscle stiffness in your back.1,2,3 Though the thought of taking breaks to move and change positions seems simple, it can be difficult to do without an environmental cue to remind you. Naturally occurring breaks could have looked like visiting a friend at a different desk, walking further to the restrooms, or maybe grabbing a cup of coffee on your way to fax a document. Now that you are working from home, start thinking of some ideas to incorporate these natural actions into your day. A great trick is to adapt your environment and add in some tasks that require you to get moving!
A randomized controlled trail study in 2018 looked at the actual plausibility of taking active breaks during the 8-hour day for a group of office workers.1 The article concluded that people were more successful adding in movement if it was related to a specific job task. For example, people used phone calls as a reminder to stand up. They were also more likely to take breaks for walking if it could be incorporated into their daily routine, like going to the fax machine, printer, or even the restroom. Internal cueing (listening to the body) was another trick that these office workers used to remind themselves take breaks to stretch and move.
Experiment!
How could you set up your home office to encourage breaks for walking? What cues could you use to remind you to stand up more and sit less? One idea is to use your lunch break for a walk around the neighborhood or do a little yoga session!
Muscle Rolling
An additional idea for a body break is to incorporate some stretching and muscle rolling movements during your lunch or 15-minute breaks. Muscle rolling is a great way to self-massage your spine and trap muscles, which typically get stiff and uncomfortable during lengthy bouts of working. A recently published article by Kett et al2 supports muscle rolling breaks to manage painful effects of sustained sitting.
They found that 8 minutes of muscle rolling with a ball or bar was effective at improving symptoms in the back. This is because a slumped posture can cause muscle pain by increasing tone (contraction state) of muscles.2 The stiffness is caused by the tissue itself due to micro trauma of the stretched-out ligaments, disks, and capsules combined with muscle spasms that restrict blood flow.2 The muscle roller helps by breaking up the connections between stiff muscle cells, allowing for increased temperature to bring blood flow back into the spastic muscle. This technique can be used as one of your short active breaks to decrease muscle stiffness and promote relaxation!
Check out our YouTube videos for how to muscle roll with a foam roller:
…For Your Mind
Intuition and uncomfortable body signals may indicate to us to stand up or move around, but mind breaks are just as important as body breaks. A beneficial place to start is to find out what you like to do that is peaceful and relaxing. For example, I enjoy playing my ukulele or calling a family member during my lunch break while working from home. Prioritizing psychosocial health is not only important for helping with the day, but it also plays a role in managing pain. A recently published article in 2020 looked at the relationship between chronic pain and depression levels.3 They concluded that managing your mind and social health can minimize depression, which actually has a significant effect lowering chronic neck and lower back pain and vice versa.
Here are some mindful ideas to try during your breaks:
- Check out our Work from Home Kit!
- Try some exercises for relaxation, stress release, and grounding. Check out our YouTube video on some techniques to try.
- Eat a healthy snack or create your favorite meal. Follow us on our Pinterest and Instagram for some of Dr. Alyssa’s favorite healthy recipes.
- Do something creative. Play your favorite music, dance like nobody is watching, or give painting a go!
- Prioritize your social health. Video chat a loved one or maybe even write a letter to someone you have been meaning to reach out to.
- For more ideas, please check out our blog on mindfulness here.
In our first blog we talked about ways to set up your home office to minimize joint pain and unnecessary muscle activation. We now have gone over some tips for healthy body and mind break ideas to minimize pain while you are working from home. Our next blog will focus on your overall health and overcoming health obstacles while working from home. If you have additional questions, Back in Step Physical Therapy is here for you! Please contact us to schedule an online or in-clinic consultation.
Follow our social media platforms for additional health tips:
Guest Blog by Haley Tirado, SPT
Haley Tirado is a second year Student Physical Therapist who attends the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. She is a student worker who participates in conducting physical therapy research studies with the RESTORE Research Team at UC Anschutz. Haley currently works as an intern for Back in Step Physical Therapy.
References:
1. Stephens SK, Eakin EG, Clark BK, Winker EAH, Owen N, LaMontagne AD, Moodie M, Lawler SP, Dunstan DW. What strategies do desk-based workers choose to reduce sitting time and how well do they work? Findings from a cluster randomised controlled trial. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. 2018, 15:98. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-018-0731-z.
2. Kett AR & Sichting F. Sedentary behaviour at work increases muscle stiffness of the back: Why roller massage has potential as an active break intervention. Applied Ergonomics. Jan 2020, Vol 82: 102947. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2019.102947.
3. Angst F, Benz T, Lehmann S, Wagner S, Simmen BR, Sandor PS, Gengenbacher M, Angst J. Extended overview of the longitudinal pain-depression association: A comparison of six cohorts treated for specific chronic pain conditions. Journal of Affective Disorders. 1 Aug 2020, Vol 273: 508-516. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.05.044.
Healthy Ways for Working from Home: Posture
Working from Home
Nothing could have prepared us for the unprecedented times of a global pandemic. Many people are working from home for the first time and are having to manage daily stressors from an isolated environment. Personally, I have found it tricky to balance my work life, down time, and navigating my family’s needs all in the same small space every day! Out of all the challenges we face with this new socially distanced lifestyle, one stressor we shouldn’t have to worry about is pain caused by increased time on technology.
So how can you keep your body healthy and decrease muscle and joint pain while working from home during a pandemic?
Set yourself up for success.
Promoting health while working from home looks a little different for each person based on the availability of your surroundings. Some people are glad to have an office space while others have to get creative with tables and kitchen countertops.
Let’s start by taking a look at the designated working space that you have created at your home. It may be easy to dismiss this step in the rush of a busy morning routine, but once you have poured yourself a cup of coffee, take a moment to observe your work environment and its effect on your body. Set yourself up for success so that you can endure hours of work without feeling the negative effects on your arms, neck, or back.
It is important to build your work environment around your body’s best posture. Go ahead and take a moment to find your relaxed upright posture both while you are seated and while you are standing. According to an article in the Journal of Orthopedic Sports Physical Therapy, everyone’s “correct” posture will look different, and it is important to observe your own habitual posture and what it feels like to change it up.1
Check out this video to help you find your best posture: https://youtu.be/QJ7WRUGtziA
Once you are in your own unique upright posture, observe the height of your desk and chair. Refer to the image below for alignment ideas when tailoring your working environment to your body. Remember that everyone’s best relaxed posture varies. You may not sit exactly like the person in the image and that is OKAY! The purpose of this visual is to provide you with options for your legs, arms, head, and neck to be properly aligned with your desk and computer, and to minimize unnecessary compensatory muscle firing and uncomfortable pressures on your spinal column joints.
Experiment!
Try using books to prop up your laptop so that it is higher and closer to you. Having your laptop at eye level helps by placing less strain on your neck muscles and eyes. You might also consider getting a detachable keyboard and mouse and positioning them so that your wrists are straight and relaxed, your elbows are at 90-degrees, and your shoulders are in a comfortable resting position. Experiment with adjusting your chair by adding a pillow under your rear so that your hips and knees are at a 90-degree angle in your best seated posture. If you are using a high countertop, switch up your environment by standing rather than using a bar stool.
Perfect posture 100% of the time is unattainable, so remember that the most important thing is to set yourself up for success, tailored to your own upright, relaxed posture. According to the same article mentioned previously, movement is key to avoid pain in sustained sitting or standing.1 Change up your posture frequently and try adding in some intentional movements!
Here are some different exercises to try while you are working throughout the day: https://youtu.be/gAEoL7x1Ojg
Check in: Where are we at?
We have talked about ways to set up your home office to minimize joint pain and unnecessary muscle activation. Our next blog will bring some tips for healthy break ideas to minimize pain while you are working from home. If you have additional questions, Back in Step Physical Therapy is here for you! Please contact usContact to schedule an online or in-clinic consultation.
Follow our social media platforms for additional health tips: Facebook, Instagram
Check out our Work from Home Kit!
Guest Blog by Haley Tirado, SPT
Haley Tirado is a second year Student Physical Therapist who attends the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. She is a student worker who participates in conducting physical therapy research studies with the RESTORE Research Team at UC Anschutz. Haley currently works as an intern for Back in Step Physical Therapy.
References:
- Slater D, Korakakis V, O’Sullivan P, Nolan D, O’Sullivan K. “Sit up straight”: Time to re-evaluate. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2019; 49(8):562-564. doi:10.2519/jospt.2019.0610. https://www.jospt.org/doi/pdf/10.2519/jospt.2019.0610
- Hein JT. Posture: Align yourself for good health. Mayo Clinic. Published December 14, 2016. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/posture-align-yourself-for-good-health/art-20269950
Warm Up like the Australian Ballet!
Trying to get your splits closer to the floor or your battements higher? Are you told to sit in front of the TV and stretch for long periods of time? It turns out that this may not be the best way to improve flexibility and performance while also preventing injury. The Australian Ballet agrees, and here’s why.
Static stretching may not always help and can cause harm.
Dancers in the Australian Ballet were experiencing a lot of calf tears. Their physical therapists (PTs) wondered why this was the case. After changing their warm-up routine, the PTs found the culprit of these injuries to be static calf stretching.
What is static stretching? It’s when you hold a single position over a period of time, like this dancer sitting in her middle splits. For many years, it was thought that this was the best way to improve flexibility. But now that is changing. Besides, how often would you stay in a middle split while performing, auditioning, or competing?
The Australian Ballet used to do static calf stretching on a slanted board during warm-up for rehearsal or performances. Now, they’ve given their dancers a more dynamic form of calf stretching during warm-up. Because of this change, there was a significant decrease in calf tears within their company!
Strengthening muscle groups in a functional way is the key to success for dancers.
Dancers need a lot of strength when performing. This especially applies to something called “eccentric movements”. During an eccentric movement, the muscle is engaged but lengthening at the same time. For example, when a dancer performs a grand jeté, they use eccentric control of their calf when they land. Or when a dancer comes down from a relevé en pointe, they need good eccentric control to do it.
One way that the Australian Ballet works on this is by having thier dancers perform 24 one-leg heel raises at the end of each barre session, every day. As a result, they have seen a big decrease in ankle and calf injuries. These dancers may do thousands of single leg heel raises throughout a rehearsal or stage performance. By doing this set of heel raises at the end of barre, dancers’ muscles are primed for correctly using this motion throughout their rehearsal or performance. This ultimately decreases dancers’ risk for future injury.
Dancers must have the strength to perform powerful movements.
Besides switching from static stretches to more dynamic movement, the Australian Ballet also added a focus on strengthening deep core stabilizers and key power muscle groups. This has helped the dancers get their battements higher with more ease and prevent future injuries.
The deep core stabilizers protect the spine and provide stability of the torso. By activating these muscles, dancers won’t overcompensate with other muscle groups. Dancers can better protect their joints, muscles, and ligaments through using these deep muscles. Strengthening of the key muscle groups also gives dancers the power they need to do their amazing battements, turn sequences, and grand jetés.
Static stretching of these muscles for long periods of time can actually lead to them becoming inactive and less effective! We wouldn’t want dancers jumping into a rehearsal or performance with inactive muscles, since it could lead to significant injuries. So before dancing, dancers in the Australian Ballet activate their deep core and key power muscles. We call this “muscle priming”. Muscle priming wakes up key muscles that dancers need to give a beautiful performance while keeping them injury-free.
Our Recommendation
The dancers from companies like the Australian Ballet have seen the benefits of changing their warm-up routines, getting rid of static stretching and adding in muscle priming activities. And we agree with this concept! Dancers should do muscle activation exercises instead of static stretching or foam rolling before class, rehearsal, and a performance.
So next time you think about sitting in front of the TV in your middle splits, think again! Remember the importance of dynamic stretching, functional strengthening, and strengthening of certain muscle groups to ultimately improve your performance and keep you safe!
For more information on stretching, check out this link to our previous blog post. And if you’re looking for help to make these positive changes for yourself or your dance students, contact us. We love working with our dance community to keep everyone happy and healthy!
Also check our our Dancer’s Kit!
Click this link to check out the full article on why the Australian Ballet stopped stretching.
Guest blog by Marissa Holliday, student physical therapist.
ACL Injuries in Young Athletes
When I was growing up, it was common for kids in my class to play different sports throughout the year. It was unusual to have someone who played year-round or played at multiple levels at once (like the school team plus club-level plus something else). You played your sport for that season, and then moved on to the next one when the time came. I don’t remember any of my friends dealing with things like ACL injuries or hip labral tears, for example.
Things are different now.
Kids, especially teens, are beginning to specialize in a sport at a much younger age and are practicing more intensely than was the norm in the past. Children are expected to choose their sport earlier and practice is no longer just a seasonal thing.
As a result, we are starting to see changes in the types of injuries that young athletes are dealing with. We are even noticing that certain injuries that were mostly seen in adults are now being seen in kids. We are even seeing injuries that used to be seen mostly in professional athletes!
This early specialization and more intense practice means that children are causing more repetitive stress and trauma to their bodies during a time that they are more vulnerable anyways. During puberty, the body is playing a game of catch-up. The bones are rapidly growing and changing, while the muscles, ligaments, and tendons are trying to keep up. At the same time, the brain and nervous system have to figure out how to coordinate and move the body that is ever changing.
One study found that risk patterns for injury differed for girls versus boys. Once the volume of training was accounted for, no one sport stood out as being more risky for girls. Any specialization for girls, however, increased the risk of injury by 30%. This was not true for boys – specialization in general was not problematic, but baseball, gymnastics, and cheerleading significantly increased their risk.
One type of injury that has shown a lot of change is ACL tears.
The ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) serves as one source of stability for the knee joint, connecting the femur (thigh bone) and tibia (shin bone).
Historically, teen girls have always had a higher risk of ACL injuries, but now we see that the rate of injury has been drastically climbing. Girls don’t develop power in the same way as boys during their growth periods. Besides that, differences in bony alignment between males and females also contribute to the risk of injury, as well as hormonal fluctuations.
Young athletes usually get ACL injuries through non-contact scenarios, like pivoting or landing from a jump. Some sports that may see this more often are soccer, tennis, volleyball, football, and skiing.
And these injuries are on the rise…
Here are some crazy statistics:
- According to an article in the Daily Mail, one clinic in Philadelphia has seen a 400% increase in ACL surgeries in teens over the past 10 years, and one clinic in Australia has seen a 148% increase during the same time frame.
- A group in Australia analyzed data on 320 children who were hospitalized for ACL injuries between 2005 and 2015.
- A whopping 96.9% of them were between the ages of 10 and 14 and more than half of them were boys.
- Sports activities accounted for 57% of the injuries, with 52% of the girls and 35% of the boys that were specifically playing ball sports.
- In total the rate of injury went from 2.74 injuries per 100,000 kids to 6.79 per 100,000!
Surgery is often the solution after experiencing a tear, especially if the athlete wants to continue playing in the future. Part of the problem with needing surgery after a tear is the risk that comes along with it. Physicians are often recommending to0 hold off on surgery as long as possible, in an attempt to let the bones continue growing and therefore preventing injury to the growth plate. And whether or not surgery is done, some evidence suggests that people may have a higher risk of developing osteoarthritis in that knee in the future.
So what’s the solution?
One thing that many experts agree on is changing up what the child is doing. Play more than one sport. Allow for breaks and changes in activity. Change it up to let muscles work differently. Even unstructured play can be helpful!
Make sure that all equipment is well fit and well maintained. This means ensuring proper fit of your student athlete’s shoes. They may be growing rapidly, but it’s worth getting new shoes when they need them, rather than waiting until they’re done growing, for example. Kids also need to use the proper equipment and make sure that it’s in good shape.
Be aware of the surfaces that the student is playing on. Artificial turf requires different responses from natural grass. A sprung floor provides less stress on the joints than traditional hardwood floors for dancers, but also requires a different technique for safe use.
Girls, in particular, also need more attention to make sure that their muscles are developing to appropriately support the ways they move in their sport of choice. Particularly for those in sports that require landing from jumps or pivoting and cutting need additional guidance.
Well-rounded training is also crucial. Kids’ programs should include prevention training, specifically neuromuscular training. Cross-training is important, as is working on balance and endurance. A fatigued athlete is always at a higher risk of injury.
And, most importantly, good ongoing communication between parents, coaches, trainers, and physical therapists play a large role in both prevention and recovery.
Need more info or have questions?
Contact us at Back in Step Physical Therapy to get scheduled for an evaluation. We want to keep your student athlete in peak condition to decrease their overall risk of injury, and, if they’ve already experienced injury, we want to help them return quickly and safely!
Steroid Injections: What You Should Know
Steroid injections have become a common recommendation in the case of pain or injury. They are most often used to treat inflammation, especially when it has become chronic. Just like so many other things in medicine, these injections have potential benefits, as well as potential side-effects. And, recently, there has been new research that may change how often these injections are even recommended in the first place for use in joints.
We thought it would be important to talk a little bit more about it, since this treatment has become so commonplace and new research has come out.
About Steroid Injections – General Info
This treatment is used for pain and inflammation. It is injected to treat the joint, bursa, tendons or ligaments.
The procedure is most often done in a physician’s office and takes just a few minutes. The area is first cleaned and is often numbed with a topical anesthetic (spray or cream). Depending upon what area is being treated, the physician uses ultrasound to determine placement of the needle. The injection itself will either be the corticosteroid alone, or it may be a mixture that also contains a local anesthetic to help numb the treated area for a few hours. It is typical to have some aching in the treated area for 1-3 days.
Most physicians recommend getting an injection no more than 3-4 times per year, if indicated. It’s typically recommended to wait at least 4-6 weeks if another injection is warranted.
Results can vary person to person, and even between body regions for the same person. Some sources state that pain can be reduced for 6 weeks to 6 months. According to what we’ve heard from our own patients over the years, they’ve experienced relief anywhere between 1 week and 1 year.
Injections may not be recommended if you:
- are on blood thinners, as it can cause additional bleeding at the injection site;
- have diabetes, as the medication injected can affect blood sugars;
- are dealing with an active infection, as it can make recovery from the infection more difficult;
- have a joint that is already severely damaged, injections likely won’t be helpful.
After treatment, it is recommended to slowly increase activity. If you’ve gotten good relief, it can be tempting to jump right back into normal activities. However, this can be too much, too fast – so pace yourself!
Potential Side-Effects
In the past, many sources have reported that steroid injections have few side effects and none of them are very common, especially in response to a single injection. Worst-case scenario is that nothing changes and the patient gets no benefit.
Side effects include infection, allergic reactions, allergic reaction, skin discoloration, and tendon rupture. Some people may also experience something called post-injection flare. This flare occurs when the inflamed area is aggravated by a reaction to the injection.
Repeated use in one area can increase the likelihood of side effects. One concern is particular to treatments of tendon or ligament. Over time, repeated treatment can contribute to tissue damage. It can even contribute to tendon rupture. There is also a theory that repeated treatments can result in decreased benefit.
New Research
One research group did a meta-analysis in 2015 regarding knee arthritis, reviewing 27 different research articles on the topic. They determined that the benefits of steroid injections for knee arthritis are inconclusive and unclear.
In 2017, an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) showed some interesting findings. Researchers worked with patients with knee arthritis. One group received the typical steroid injection and another group received an injection of saline. People reported the same result, regardless if they received the steroid or the saline. In addition, they found that more of those that received the steroid injection saw more erosion of the cartilage in the joint after treatment.
A new study published in October of 0291, by the Boston University School of Medicine, suggests that steroid injections can actually speed up destruction of a joint, leading to things like earlier total knee and total hip replacements. They’ve found an increase in problems like stress fractures, joint collapse, and progression of osteoarthritis.
So What Does This Mean?
First of all, research doesn’t quite know what to make of the injections. They may or may not actually help. They potentially have more significant side effects than originally thought.
In either case, one of the most important things to consider if you are thinking about getting steroid injections is that they are meant to treat the symptoms of pain and inflammation. Steroid injections do not “cure” the problem. If the symptoms were caused by injury or overuse, for example, other things will need to be addressed to have long-term results.
A steroid injection should be just one part of a larger treatment plan. Physicians may recommend NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications) or use of a brace. Hopefully, they also recommend physical and/or occupational therapy. The best recommendations, especially in the case of early osteoarthritis, include exercise, weight loss, and lifestyle changes.
Do your research. Ask your physician questions. Ask what your options are. Talk to a physical therapist to learn what can be done. Try exercise and changing your lifestyle.
Physical Therapy as an Option
So how does physical therapy play into all of this?
Your physical therapist will do an evaluation to see what all needs attention. Quite often, those with arthritis benefit from working on strength, balance, and stretches. PTs will also show you different ways to do things that will decrease stress on your body and joints. We have so many options to help, so give us a call! If you have more questions, contact us at Back in Step Physical Therapy.
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