Post created by Hailey
When dancing, it is common to have many different types foot injuries due to the demanding nature, especially when wearing pointe shoes during ballet. It is quite common for dancers to have at least minor injuries, which is why the term “Ballerina feet” was created.
The job of a dancer puts heavy stress and strain on their feet. This can be contributed to wearing their stiff, uncomfortable pointe shoes for as long as 12 hours at a time or continuing to dance through their pain. Pointe shoes were created to give extra support for ballet dancers, but this support comes with a price. The most common foot injuries amongst dancers include, blackened toenails, blisters, calluses, ingrown toenails, bruises, fractures toes, torn ligaments, etc. These injuries may appear small and readily fixable, but dancers tend to push themselves beyond their body’s limit, turning these small injuries into major, more permanent ones.
One specific long term injury that is common is broken toes. When dancers break or fracture their toes, they tend to use sports tape for support, then continue to put loads of stress on the broken bone. As a result of the constant stress put on the broken toe, it will never heal properly, as it will always be rebreaking itself when under pressure. This ultimately leads to misalignment of the toe (or bunion for the big toe), which could also cause a shift in balance.
Along with minor injuries possibly turning into major ones, there are other long-term side effects for dancers putting high loads of strain on their feet. When dancing for a long period of time dancers reveal heavy amount of scarring and toenails that never grew back. They often report that once the first injury occurs, they get used to the pain and tend to not notice when something goes wrong, like a losing a toenail.
Overall dancers put their feet under overly high amounts off stress that can cause permanent injuries if not treated and taken care of properly. Injuries can be easily avoided if they know how to identify when to stop and get treated, then continue dancing after they are healed.
Sources:
http://www.tremayneporterpodiatry.com/main/page_secondnav_ballet_injuies_common_ballet_injuries.html
https://www.icytales.com/ballerina-feet-go-through/
https://getballetbox.com/ballet-ruin-feet/
https://www.healthline.com/health/ballerina-feet