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| Celtic Radio Community > Highland Dance > Sore Feet |
| Posted by: Highland Lassie 22-Mar-2005, 02:40 PM |
| Ever since November or December I have had awful pain in my feet. ( i'm a highland dancer) I'm someone that usually likes to practice alot. In highland Dancing You have to stay on the balls of your feet while dancing. So you have to build up your strength in order to stay on the balls of your feet. After a long time you are able to flex your feet farther than most people can. But their is such thing as flexing them to far , while dancing of course. That's what happened to me. (my doctor said anyways) I stretched the ligaments to far and I over used them. Which can be quite uncomfortable for the dancer. Believe me it's very painful! I have actually started to walk on the side of my foot , not intetnially i guess it just happened. Their is nothing to do about it except rest your feet and let them heal. I can still dance as long as my feet don't hurt but my doctor said I have to do shorter practices and I have to somehow not stand on the balls of my feet to high while dancing. That is going to be a little difficult. Is their any other dancers this has happened to? i'd like to hear from you , and see if their is any stretches or anything you can do to help!  Happy Dancing! |
| Posted by: gwenlee 22-Mar-2005, 06:32 PM |
| Vickey: I'm so sorry to hear about your feet. You know I don't highland dance, but I do Scottish Country Dancing and we too have to stay on the balls of our feet. Prior to class our instructor encourages everyone to walk around the room in time to the music, we then do an easy dance for warm up, after that dance we then do stretching. We stand in a circle, doing toe points and some form of leg stretching. Last October I was in a workshop all day then that night I went to a gala and then danced in demos Saturday and Sunday. By the end of the weekend I felt like I had rode my horse for too many hours and my feet and right knee were killing me. My doctor put me on motrin and rest. Looking back I know I had ignored my body's message to slow down. You may have to rest for a while and slowly start again and work up to longer sessions. Take care of yourself and take care of those feet you only have one set. |
| Posted by: Highland Lassie 23-Mar-2005, 03:20 PM |
| My feet sure need rest. lets hope not for too long. I have to get prepared for competition season! |
| Posted by: gwenlee 23-Mar-2005, 04:22 PM |
| Vickey-When does competition start? I know when my daughter ran in college she had to miss a few meets she ignored the doctors orders and since then she has had problems with her feet. I can't help but think if she had rested as instructed she wouldn't have the problems she has. My other daughter that dances with me started having problems with her feet. We thought that maybe her dancing shoes were not the right fit, but they are ok. So tomorrow we are going to see the doctor about them. So rest I know you are anxious to compete but take care of those feet! |
| Posted by: Irish Stepper 23-Mar-2005, 11:31 PM |
I had that same problem last year on my right foot. Even with walking, it would hurt every time I'd bend my toes. Luckily it happend right before Christmas break, so I made sure not to dance AT ALL during those 2 weeks. Do your normal stretches for your legs to keep them flexible, but try not to dance. A 2 week break does wonders for healing your legs and feet.  |
| Posted by: Highland Lassie 25-Mar-2005, 10:55 AM |
| My feet are feeling better. im almost postitve that I will be attending dance class this week. It's been about two weeks. My next competition is in July After dance camp. Although my Sister is starting april 3rd. I get to just sit back , relax and watch some dancing for a change. I guess I should be more careful dancing and make sure I dont over use them. |
| Posted by: Irish Stepper 25-Mar-2005, 02:06 PM |
Well you've got plenty of time before your next competition. For the next month or so, don't go on high toes during that time. Keep your heels closer to the floor for practice. Then gradually work back up to it. This is an injury that will keep coming back to haunt you if you don't take care of it the first time. Good Luck! |
| Posted by: Highland Lassie 31-Mar-2005, 04:07 PM |
| I went to dance class last night. I rested my feet for two weeks and then went back. My feet were fine the first half of class but towards the second half they started to hurt. Then my right foot started to burn badly and hurt alot too. So then I stopped dancing for the remainder of class. I don't know if I can go to dance camp if my feet are still like this a month from now. (the dead line is april 30th) hopefully they are because I love dance camp , and it really helps me. |
| Posted by: Irish Stepper 31-Mar-2005, 04:56 PM |
The key is knowing when to stop pushing it and sit out the rest of the class. That way you can work back up to it. Probably sometime before it was "burning" would have been better.  If dance camp is more than an hour a day, that I would not recommend pushing your feet that far. It won't do any good to injure yourself so badly that you won't be able to compete this season. Good Luck. I've got a competition in WV this saturday. I really have been so sick the past 10 days, that I doubt if I'll do well....that's if I compete at all! I'll have to see how it goes...  |
| Posted by: Highland Lassie 01-Apr-2005, 02:37 PM |
| I hope you do well in your competition! I love competitions , its so much fun. My younger sister has a compettion tommorow in NH. She's sick also , Hopefully she'll be feeling better tommorow. Dance camp is six hours a day for 5 days. I love it their its so much fun. I love it because it's on Route 66. It's called the brahmar School of Highland dance. My brother goes their too , we always have so much fun. Dance camp is at the end of june But the deadline is april 30th. I wish their was a quicker way to heal my feet!! |
| Posted by: Irish Stepper 06-May-2005, 03:44 PM |
| Hey Vicky! I was just wondering how your feet are doing? Did you go ahead and sign up for dance camp? I'm out of dance for awhile and on crutches for the moment. I didn't follow my own advice and pushed too hard. Now I have at least 1 stress fracture, possibly 2, on my right foot.  I'll be seeing a sports medicine orthopedic on Monday. So we'll see what he has to say. There goes my competition for the end of this month! Guess I have no choice but to be good now! |
| Posted by: Dalriada Dancer 23-Jun-2005, 07:22 AM |
| I am so happy that there is alot more of information sharing and health awareness in dance now. "Back in the Day", it was stretch a little, get up and dance. Dancers have access to so much more support now. Doctors are more aware that dance is akin to sport and that simply quitting is not an option! At least for the true of heart dancers. There are better exercises, physical care, and teachers who are in the know - so they train the dancers better. Seldom do you see a dancer performing on pavement or cement anymore! This from a dance teacher who suffers a deterioating miniscus! Hope you feet feel better! |
| Posted by: Highland Lassie 13-Jul-2005, 07:10 PM |
Hi! My feet are feeling better. I went to see a orthopedic , and it turns out that I have Plantar fascitis. I also found out that I have flat feet , and people with flat feet are more lilkey to get plantar fascitis. I have to do aggresive stretching everytime I warm up , and every time I cool down. My feet are feeling so much better now! I did go to dance camp , but I have to say that it wasn't a positive experience. I'm sorry to hear about your feet , let me know how their doing!  |
| Posted by: Dalriada Dancer 21-Jul-2005, 01:07 PM |
| My husband deals with plantar's fasciatis due to his job. Years of therapy at a foot specialist, special inserts for footwear, and proper rest are bringing them back to normal. One of the big helps for this is a rub down of the foot. It's caused by tiny tears in the muscle tissue and the massaging speeds the repair (not to mention, feels great). |
| Posted by: Irish Stepper 21-Jul-2005, 05:14 PM |
| My foot is mostly healed up. I had a sprained 4th metatarsal. It's still a bit sore since I've started dancing again, but I have cushioned the heck out of my shoes! I put gel insoles in my ghillies, AND I'm also wearing ouch pouches. I have a competition this Sunday. After that, I'll be changing schools, so I'll have to do a 6 month suspension from competition. I think I'm going to give myself off a couple weeks after this Sunday. |
| Posted by: Dalriada Dancer 26-Jul-2005, 10:08 PM |
| I broke my third metarsal a few years back and feel for you! I have heard in Irish you have to wait to compete. Thank goodness we can move about in Highland. Everything is standardized and we all do the same. I love choreographies to get creative...and adore watching Irish Step! |
| Posted by: Irish Stepper 29-Jul-2005, 11:06 PM |
| Most of our steps are specific to the school you go to. A good adjudicator can tell who your teacher is by the steps you do. So yeah, we have to do a 6 month "re-styling period" so we can learn the specific steps from the new school. You're not supposed to use your old school steps anymore in competition. It's a daunting task though to go back to the basics and toss 3 years worth of steps out the door and start over. Actually, I'm looking forward to it. I like a challenge and it should be fun. Call me crazy! |
| Posted by: Dalriada Dancer 09-Aug-2005, 08:30 PM |
| Instead of Toss the Feathers, they should call it Toss the Steps! Do the routines vary that greatly? I have to admit, I've only seen snippets of Irish dance here and there. |
| Posted by: Irish Stepper 09-Aug-2005, 09:49 PM |
| Well there are standard dances in both Hard shoe and soft shoe. The soft shoe ceili dances are usually done with between 4-8 people. These are done "by the book". They're the same in the US as they would be in Britain or Austraila. Same thing goes for some solo Hard shoe dances, called Traditional hard shoe. There are separate categories at competitions for these. It's the Solo Soft shoe and hard shoe competitions that end up being whatever steps you can come up with. These are the ones that the teachers choreograph and teach to their students. |
| Posted by: Copar a'Beannichte 26-Aug-2005, 02:49 AM |
| Dear Highland - and Irish dancers. One of the main problems is that the warming up exercises take up to little time in class and , very important, the awareness of the dancers of their body during these exercises.It is of the utmost importance that you are very concentrated . Another thing is that we often are to cramped and use to many muscles. Try before getting into class to really relax youself and take the relaxed feeling with you into class and the training. Of course we need to work hard and we want to enter competitions and win. But remember the fun of dancing is the very most important. Let's face it we can not win everything and we can not all be the best. Especially when young , the dancers and teachers have to realise that a young body is flexible , heals quickly but can be damaged for a long time, sometimes for life. I am 39 had a classical ballet education and have been in and out of Highland dance training since I was 14. In my country there is no possibility to train every day or a few times a week, in the same city. We have about 5 competitions and a varied amount of demo's and performances a year. This of course results in a lower degree of technical skills but on the other hand we have fewer injuries and the average age of the dancers is older than in the countries where in a few years they go through all the levels and then very often quit. I am not saying this or that is better, but I do want to say, try to spare yourselves a bit and try to enjoy dancing for as long as you can, with or without the medals and trophies. For me dancing is like magic, magic should be used wisely and you should be the master over it. Ofcourse accidents happen, we are only human. It is wonderful to see that there is a forum dedicated to dancing on this site, hope to read a lot from you. And another thing...........where are all the guys in Highland dancing........we need them, no offence to all you wonderful girls  Greetings from the Netherlands, Marc |
| Posted by: talleyrand 26-Aug-2005, 09:16 AM | ||
I'm here just not a formal competitor.  |
| Posted by: Copar a'Beannichte 26-Aug-2005, 09:30 AM |
| Hey there Talleyrand, nice meeting you here. Keep those feet moving!!!!! |
| Posted by: ShintyBoy 15-Jun-2006, 07:18 PM |
| In Highland or Country if you dance with correct technique you should not suffer from pain or injury, however a very small percentage of dancers actually dance with good body technique, Many advance level dancers have bad habits creep into their dancing which ultimately leads to pain to injury. Foot Pain in Scottish dancing either in Highland or Country can be caused by many factors, some have already been covered in this thread already, but in over 10 years of teaching dance I have found that in both younger and older dancers one way to be proactive in preventing the pain in addition to proper warm up and cool down is being aware of properly flexing your heel when you land. In both Highland and Country dancing you dance on the ball of your foot with the heel up, when you land the heel should flex downward at least 2 inches (without touching the floor), this allows the force of impact to be absorbed by the whole leg and foot and not just the lower leg and foot. Dancers who do not flex their heels (this means flexing the ankle) in addition to foot pain, will eventually suffer from shin splints or stress fractures. Another way to check if you are landing correctly is how loud you are when you land, good dancers hardly make a sound whether they are Highland or Country, someone on the road to injury will make a loud thumping sound when they land. The tendency to land in correctly increases as you get tired and should be paid even greater attention to when they occurs. In addition to all of this proper body alignment from the head down to the feet is crucial, the ankles, hips and shoulders should all be lined up, when one dances with the shoulders or the hips in to far in front of the ankles the chances of injury go up exponentially. One needs to keep their head up, the head is the heaviest part of the body and once again having it out of proper alignment with the rest of the body will quickly lead to injuries. Much of what I have said applies to preventing knee injuries as well. In addition to the above, to proactively prevent knee injuries one should make sure you are turning out from the hips and not the knees or ankles. When hopping or jumping make sure the ball of the foot is in alignment with the knee, pigeon toeness or sickling leads to injury. Extreme alignment to the outside is dangerous as well. |