Eastern Foot Care is able to conduct Pre Pointe Assessments with a program tailored to your dance school
Our experienced Dance Podiatrist – Sarah Bowling – is a lifetime dancer and dance school owner providing her with a special insight into the dancer. To contact Sarah to discuss your individual requirements please contact our Knox clinic here
Pre Pointe Assessment:
These appointments are designed specifically for ballet dancers who have been working towards Pointe shoes. Often the ballet teacher will suggest to the student to see a Podiatrist to have their ‘feet checked’ before purchasing Pointe shoes.
The pre pointe assessment will examine all facets of the dancer including:
- strength
- turnout
- flexibility
- skeletal maturity
- experience
- long term and short term goals
- previous injuries or medical conditions
This information facilitates appropriate advice and a plan of stretching and strengthening exercises combined with liaison with the ballet teacher to prevent injuries and maintain a long dance career.
Dance Injuries
Common Dance injuries
Injuries to the feet and ankles in dancers are very common due to the repetitive stress placed on the muscles and joints from jumping, turning, balancing and conforming to extreme end range of motion positions. Injuries can hold a dancer back or even ruin a career which it is why it is important to seek the care from a professional with proper knowledge and training who can evaluate dance injuries, management and rehabilitation.
Some common dance related injuries that dancers see Sarah at the clinic include:
- Stress Fractures- particularly of the Sesamoid bones
- Lateral Ankle Sprains
- Achillies Tendonitis
- Posterior Ankle Impingement
- Bunions
- Mortons Neuroma
- Severs Disease
- Shin Splints
- Knee/ Hip Problems and many more
Dance Injury Treatment
When a dancer presents with an injury it is essential to identify the pathology, cause and related factors in a timely manner.
Following diagnosis an individual treatment plan suited to each dancer, incorporating the dance teachers involvement, that will rehabilitate the condition and get the dancer back into class.
Eastern Foot Care provides a wide variety of treatment options all available within our clinic. A full list of sports podiatry treatments is found here