What dancer hasn’t had an injury? I was speaking with a dance collegue today and we got to talking about how age impacts the body, and about the importance of warming up. So true. Still, no matter how careful we are, injuries still happen from time to time…
The Harkness Center For Dance Injuries is a great resource, and although it is not by any means a substitute for professional diagnosis or treatment, it still provides useful information. For example, do you know what a “Dancers Fracture” is? Or what about “Jumper’s Knee“?
Here are some interesting facts from the site…
+ The knee is the largest joint in the body
+ The Achilles tendon is able to withstand forces equal to (or greater than) 1,000 pounds
+ Together, the wrist and hand have 27 bones, as well as ligaments, tendons and muscles
Find those facts interesting? Check out the site for more info…it’s very educational.
This topic is near and dear to my heart and was the subject of my master’s thesis in Kinesiology. My website has injury fact sheets and resources for dancers all based on scholarly research. I agree also that Harkness is a great resource.
Thanks for this!