Unfortunately, as beautiful as dancing may be outwardly, it can have an ugly side that is all too often only seen behind the scenes. The ugly side is the injuries that are prevalent in dancers of all ages and ability levels. The stresses imposed on the bodies of dancers can be as detrimental overall as those imposed on athletes who compete in contact sports.
Because of the necessity of the dancer to be able to place the body in positions which are typically outside of the normal range of joint motion for the average person, the increased likelihood of injury is all too common.
The Harkness Center for Dance Injuries has a wonderful guide for both patients and for professionals interested in dance medicine. Another good resource for back and hip pain in dancers is from the Sports Injury Bulletin.
Fortunately for performing artists there is help these days. Many artists had to end their careers early because of pain and injury and were forced to deal with health care providers whose only recommendation was to give up what they loved the most and in some cases their profession.
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