How to Prevent Ankle Injuries in Dance

Hard On the Ankles

Ankle injuries are one of the most common types of dance injuries. The ankle can be injured when a dancer's foot rolls, turns or twists beyond its normal range of motion, thus stretching and damaging the ligaments that hold the ankle bones and joint in place. Ankle injury may also occur when the foot is planted on a surface unevenly at a force beyond that which occurs with stepping, as is often the case in dance. This can cause the ligaments to stretch beyond their normal range in an abnormal position. Severe sprain results when ligaments are stretched so far that they actually tear. Dancing need not always result in ankle injury, however, as long as proper precautions are taken.

Things You'll Need

• Flat, smooth dance surface
• well-fitting, appropriate footwear
• ankle brace(s) or wrap(s)

Instructions

1. Always warm up before you start to dance. Proper warm-up exercises can gently stretch the ligaments and prepare them for the greater stretching that is to come.

2. Pay close attention to the surface on which you dance. You want to make sure you dance on a flat, smooth surface and that there are no cracks, bumps or "potholes" on which you might land.

3. Make sure your shoes are well-fitting and, if possible, provide you with necessary support. Also make sure that your shoes are appropriate to the type of dance you are doing.

4. Wrap your ankle(s) before you start to dance if you are recuperating from a prior injury and cannot get needed support from your footwear alone. You can use an ankle brace or an ace bandage.

5. Pay attention to your body. If you start to feel pain, you may need to slow down or even stop. Dancing through your pain may make you feel like a trooper, but if your goal is to have longevity in your dance career or hobby, then you need to take care of your body and particularly your ankles.

Tips & Warnings

• If you do not allow sufficient time to recuperate from an injury, you may be inviting re-injury, thus turning an acute (one time) condition into a chronic one