Foot and ankle injuries are common among dancers and a frequent cause of missed classes, rehearsals and performances. If you fail to build strength in this vital joint, you may be more vulnerable to injury. Build up your ankle strength with a variety of exercises that target your ankles specifically, and, for greater protection from injury, incorporate such exercises into an overall strengthening routine that includes your core and leg muscles. If you are recovering from an ankle injury, ask your doctor for a thorough assessment of your condition and discuss how best to prevent reinjury when you return to the dance studio.
Balance
Ankle strength and stability are essential for balance in dance. Your ability to strike and hold a pose or complete a series of turns smoothly and safely depends to a large extent on the strength of your ankles and the muscles that support them. If your supporting ankle is weak and wobbles or buckles beneath you when you rise onto demi-pointe or full pointe, your upper body will shift suddenly, causing you to fall off balance. Weak ankles can, and often do, result in poorly executed poses, unstable turns and spins and a generally sloppy appearance onstage.
Jumps
According to the Harkness Center for Dance Injuries, ankle sprains occur often among dancers and frequently are the result of landing poorly from a jump. Insufficient strength -- or pushing yourself beyond the limits of your strength -- can contribute to the likelihood of such an injury. In reality, you build strength in your ankle muscles whenever you practice jumps and leaps in dance class, but targeted, ankle-specific exercises allow you to isolate and focus exclusively on the ankle and its supporting muscles without worrying about tempo, complex choreography or movement in other areas of your body.
Versatility
Like many athletes, dancers engage in fast footwork and execute frequent, sudden changes in body position and foot orientation. To be a successful dancer, you need to move quickly and effortlessly from inverted to everted positions of the foot and extreme plantar flexion to dorsiflexion. These quick changes leave dancers -- similar to basketball, soccer and tennis players -- particularly susceptible to ankle injuries. Keeping your ankles and their supporting muscles strong will help you maintain control and avoid injury during these shifts in body weight.
Sample Exercises
Warm up for 10 minutes by walking or jogging lightly or exercise your ankles after a rigorous dance class when your muscles already are warm and supple. Stand facing a sturdy chair, grasp the back of the chair for support and complete two to four sets of 10 to 12 slow toe rises, lifting your heels deliberately and with a tight core. Sit on the edge of a table with one foot extended off the end of the table and slowly rotate your toes and foot, drawing 10 to 12 large circles in the air before working the second foot. Loop an elastic band around the bottom of one foot and repeatedly point and flex the foot, pushing against the center of the band as you draw the ends toward you. Complete two to four sets of 10 to 12 repetitions before switching to the second side. All exercises should be pain-free.
References
- "Journal of Dance Medicine and Science"; Acute Ankle Sprain in Dancers; J.A. Russell; 2010
- "Clinics in Sports Medicine"; Foot and Ankle Injuries in Dance; J. Macintyre, et al.; April 2000
- Harkness Center for Dance Injuries; The Foot and Ankle; 2011
- "Journal of Dance Medicine and Science"; The Relationship Between Lateral Ankle Sprain and Ankle Tendinitis in Ballet Dancers
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