Avoiding Occupational Injuries as an Exotic Dancer Part 2

If you’ve managed to pad your dance space floor; use thigh-high boots to their ultimate, comforting advantage; and minimize the frequency with which you take your routine to the floor, there are still several other simple ways for you to improve your health as a dancer and ensure that your joints will still be functioning well in the years to come.

4. Wear thick soles at work and flats on your days off.
What most customers will never realize is that those stunning 6-inch heels don’t have to put a dancer en pointe to give an attractive effect. Every pair of shoes you buy should have thick soles to help minimize the damaging effects of working hard while wearing high heels. According to several clinical studies conducted over the past decade, wearing high heels can contribute to knee osteoarthritis. This degenerative joint disease is marked by the wearing-down of knee cartilage and is extremely painful. Lest you think your knees alone are in danger, consistently wearing high heels can also expose you to corns, calluses, hammertoes, arthritis, sprained ankles, debilitating leg cramps, and chronic back pain.
When you ensure that your shoes have a thick sole or platform, you reduce the angle at which your foot rests. In other words, if you’re wearing a 6-inch heel with a 3-foot sole, you experience the same effects as if you were only wearing a 3-inch heel. On your days and evenings off, try to wear flats as much as possible. This tactic will help you minimize foot pain on a daily basis and will protect you from the long-term effects of working in high heels.

5. Stretch before and after you work and between sets.
No other athlete would begin a rigorous training program without special attention to properly stretching her muscles. Yet exotic dancers, who often spend 6 to 8 hours doing aerobics, gymnastics, and even “dynamic tension”-type muscle building on poles and bars, will often do no physical preparation in the form of stretching. Especially in novice dancers, this is one of the biggest mistakes we can make. Not stretching exposes dancers to serious muscle and tendon injuries, including sprains and tears, and painful leg and back cramps.

Before you begin to work, take ten to fifteen minutes to stretch. Breathing deeply and moving slowly, go through some yoga poses. Spend 30 seconds in each stretch, and don’t bounce or force yourself into any position. YogaJournal.com ha a great glossary of poses organized by anatomical focus and therapeutic applications. If you’re not into yogic stretching, any kind of stretching that is helpful to traditional dancers or gymnasts will be appropriate for you, as well.
Whenever possible, spend a few minutes between sets working on muscle groups that may be giving you particular trouble (soreness or cramps); and never forget to stretch immediately after work for ten or fifteen minutes.
In addition to preparing and conditioning your muscles for a hard evening’s work, taking the time to stretch, breathe, and take care of your body will also help you to be more centered, focused, and relaxed during your performances.