Thread: dancers with physical limitations

I have fallen in love with belly dance and am now at the Intermediate level. I have no idea what I would do if I couldn't dance. But I just read something about the dancer's legs needing to be aligned or a cumulative injury could result. My legs are different lengths. I was born with this problem, they are naturally misaligned by about 1/2 inch to an inch (I don't remember exactly).

Now I have this scary vision in my head of having to put lifts on every pair of dance shoes I wear. I suppose I could use inserts if it would reduce the misalignment by at least a half inch. Actually, really big inserts could be worn with flexible dance shoes pretty easily. ,f::

First off, BREATHE!!!! Sounds as though you have already started moving into "OH MY G*D! OH MY G*D! OH MY G*D!"

Second off, you might want to talk to both your Dr and your teacher. Yes, alignment is very important. Yes, being out of alignment can cause problems. But being aware that you have a predisposition can help you to adjust some of the movements to compensate. As well as getting the proper shoes. (I know ne dancers who trains in shoes due to an injury to her foot. But she performs barefooted.)

Communication is the key here.

{{{HUGS}}}

PS: A friend of mine blew out her knee years ago when she was hit by a car. She does the most amazing glute and tension shimmies you have ever seen.

{{{HUGS}}}

Have no fear, Grasshopper. I have a permanent gimpy left leg. Limpy and I can't bend it to the side at all. And I have osteoarthritis. Yet I dance. My left leg is about a half-inch shorter - but after my orthoped pointed out that many "ordinary" people have that big a difference, I tossed my lifted shoes - have been that way for about the last 20 y.

What I have had to do is completely blow off certain moves [debke hopping on the L], and when in class - for some hip work, I have to alternate sides more frequently than other people. Like when doing hip lifts - if the drill is doing it for 2 min, I'll go back and forth so my hip doesn't get tired and painful. And I stop and stretch in the middle of a drill if I need to.

Definitely make your instructor aware, and monitor yourself. The beauty of this dance is that if you can't do one particular move on a side - so what - you find a lovely variant.

Funnily, while I limp a bit when I walk, and when learning a move, I don't appear to limp when I"m just DANCING. I think it's b/c I change moves alot.

Be cautious and a bit slower than others, and use try to muscles instead of slamming a move through with your bones. And keep your tummy sucked in.

Thank you, that really helps a lot! My first step is going to be telling my instructor about it.

I'm one of those dancers with physical limitations.

I was born with a severe form of club foot. Club foot takes many different forms, but in my case, the right foot was rotated inward 90 degrees so that the toes were pointed towards the left foot; there were also other rotations of the foot. In addition to that, I'm missing a significant amount of nerve activity below the knee, which caused a lack of development of the bones of the lower leg (which causes my leg to be at least 1" shorter than the other) and the calf muscles, leading to a very weak lower leg. I was also born without an ankle. And, to top it off, I have to buy two different shoe sizes -- one is a 5 and one is an 8. (Nordstrom allows anyone with a size-and-a-half difference to pay for only one pair. Woo-hoo!)

Well, thanks to the fact that I was born in a large city in a first world country, my foot was rotated back to a normal position using casting (beginning at 3 days old) and surgery (beginnning at age 2), and an ankle was carved out of my own bones in a procedure called a "triple arthrodesis" at the age of 9 that usually is performed at age 12 or 13, but I needed it sooner.

So one could say I have alignment problems, I suppose.

I'm starting to feel it now but, then again, just about anybody who's participated regularly in any physical activity for 30 years is probably going to start "feeling it" at some point.

I dance regularly, teach classes and workshops. I just have to do a lot of compensating when I dance, and there are things I simply don't do (floor work, for example) because I can't. When I take classes and workshops I inform the teacher/workshop instructor that I will be doing some things differently or not exactly as taught because I can't do them any other way. Never has been a problem.

I am the poster child for just how "body friendly" is our beautiful belly dance.

So get out there and dance, I say!

Deborah

I have a number of students who think they have one leg shorter than another. A surprising percentage.

(this probably isn't your situation, but I'm putting it here for anyone who opens the thread).

In most cases, they were told about the longer leg by a chiropractor.

There was a study done in which people went to a variety of chiropractors and didn't tell the chiros they were performing a study. A ludicrous percentage of those people were told they had one leg longer than the other -- and in many cases, some chiros would tell them that their LEFT leg was longer, some would tell them that their RIGHT leg was longer!

In no cases did any chiro ever tell them that they were fine, nothing was wrong with them, and they didn't require treatement.

Anyhooooo -- I have a couple of students with this issue (for real) and they don't have a lot of trouble. One of them just bends one knee a little more.

My mom had polio as a child and it left 1 leg about 2-2 1/2 inches shorter than the other and she took dance for a while without a problem. Some classes she would dance barefoot and others she would use her shoes. It just depended on how she was feeling that day and what we were doing.

I have had RA since I was 5. One fused wrist (sucks for cane) and 2 bad knees and 2 bad hips. My dream is to do a deep knee plie' (sp) so fast you will wonder if you really saw that...and a full slow layback...one can dream!

Originally Posted by Lauren_

I have a couple of students with this issue (for real) and they don't have a lot of trouble. One of them just bends one knee a little more.

Actually, very few of us are perfectly symmetrical and, from what I've read, it seems that lots and lots of folks have at least some difference in leg length -- but usually only a 1/4" - 1/2" or so.

A slightly greater bend in one knee is a perfect way to even out one's hips; I use that technique fairly frequently. Because of the severely limited range of motion in my right ankle, as soon as I bend the right knee at all, the heel starts coming off the floor. What's a girl to do? A girl bends her knee and her heel comes off the floor, that's what! For me to do those floaty traveling steps across the floor, I go up on a relatively high demi on the right foot (has the short leg) and stay in a low demi on the left. I works.

I've also found that, although I can do about 98% of movements on each hip/side/whatever, some moves don't look as good on one side or the other, or I have a hard time balancing on the right foot. I practice and drill for both sides, but I usually choose to not perform that movment on the "bad" side. Besides, too much symmetry in dance is boring, right??? ..g.:

Deborah

Deborah, after reading your posts... I will never complain about my foot again! Your story is really inspiring.

My left foot blew out after I gave up my standard shift (which I drove exclusively for 25 years). The arch (what arch there was) just died and my foot turned in and changed the whole configuration of my ankle. My chiro tells me that losing some weight will help, and I've been doing exercises to strengthen my ankle and foot. I babied it for a couple of years and it got pretty weak, I guess.

I will think about your example whenever I'm having a bad foot day. Like you say, you just do what you have to do and work around the discomfort and immobility...

thanks for posting your story! ..g.:

Well, I'm glad I'm not alone.

I also haven't given you all the information about my condition.

I was born with a rare condition in which I was born with too many blood vessels in my right leg. Because of that, it was growing at twice the rate of the other leg. At the age of 13, I had surgery to remove the growth plates so the leg would stop growing and my left leg could catch up during my growth spurt. Because of the surgery, the tendons that hold my right leg together are weakened and therefore cause the 2 bones (top of the knee and below the knee) to come out of alignment at times. I have done a pretty good job preventing that from happening (I am very careful not to position my right leg to the side too much). I am now 33, and because of a lifetime of this problem, my knee now makes terrible grinding sounds when I kneel (particularly when doing pleas) and when I'm going up or down the stairs. It sounds somewhat like a series of quick snaps. I even had it checked out by a physical therapist and he said it's just sounds.

Does anyone experience aching in their hips after doing hip movements? Is this normal or something I should be concerned about?

Originally Posted by smuse33

Does anyone experience aching in their hips after doing hip movements? Is this normal or something I should be concerned about?

Yes, it's "normal" for me. My left hip always aches after repeated sharp hip movements. I often stop during practice to stretch through the abductor/adductors. After a 2 hour workshop, I always know that soreness will happen the next day. After having consulted with my orthoped MD, he says that it's ok - as long as I don't run or jump. Ibuprofen helps. Stretching & strength training helps ENORMOUSLY for pain management. I spent my teen years in constant, low - medium grade pain unless starting weight lifting. I limped so badly that strangers would literally stop and ask me if I needed help.

So pain is normal - IF you've ruled out anything else with your doctor.

Originally Posted by smuse33

Well, I'm glad I'm not alone.

I also haven't given you all the information about my condition.

I was born with a rare condition in which I was born with too many blood vessels in my right leg. Because of that, it was growing at twice the rate of the other leg. At the age of 13, I had surgery to remove the growth plates so the leg would stop growing and my left leg could catch up during my growth spurt. Because of the surgery, the tendons that hold my right leg together are weakened and therefore cause the 2 bones (top of the knee and below the knee) to come out of alignment at times. I have done a pretty good job preventing that from happening (I am very careful not to position my right leg to the side too much). I am now 33, and because of a lifetime of this problem, my knee now makes terrible grinding sounds when I kneel (particularly when doing pleas) and when I'm going up or down the stairs. It sounds somewhat like a series of quick snaps. I even had it checked out by a physical therapist and he said it's just sounds.

Does anyone experience aching in their hips after doing hip movements? Is this normal or something I should be concerned about?

So your leg grew too much and mine grew not enough. Diversity makes the world go 'round, I guess! Looks like you've figured out how to handle your knee problem very well, smuse33 -- kudos to you!

I, too, have hip soreness after teaching or attending class, which I attribute directly to my mis-alignment. However, as Bella_Bella posted, be certain to rule out any other conditions that could be causing it. BD is probably one of the most body-friendly dance forms there is, but we don't want to go blithely on damaging our bodies by not checking out pain -- pain lets us know something is wrong!

Maybe you shouldn't do plies -- or do them more shallowly. There have got to be alternative movements that yield the same or similar result . . .

Deborah

Originally Posted by ghazallah

Deborah, after reading your posts... I will never complain about my foot again!

Pain is pain. Immobility is immobility. Who wants that? I give you full permission to complain if you want to!

I'm fortunate that my pain is mostly stiffness and soreness that dissipates relatively quickly (well, I'm almost always stiff now) . . . I only have pain in my foot right when I dance now because of a recent soft-tissue injury. That's when I limp badly. I limp most of the time, but I've learned how to hide it pretty well, although if I've overused the foot, it shows sometimes . . .

I mostly feel very fortunate that I lived in a time and place that allowed me to get this thing fixed so that I can walk normally -- and belly dance if I want to! (Just an aside: the health insurance company was reluctant to pay for the correction of my club foot -- they said it was "cosmetic" -- I beg to differ. Had it not been corrected, my right foot would still be pointing towards the left and I'd be walking on the outside ankle bone; I've seen people "walking" like this and I think it's anything but "cosmetic." Talk about alignment problems! As it turned out, however, the VERY BIG corporation for which my dad worked stepped in and flexed its corporate muscle. Thank you, Shell Oil.)

Deborah

I have a sucky right knee. Hurts when bent too much. I just watch it carefully and don't do any deep knee bends anymore =( I will tell you a bit of advice Jillina gave me....get those capezio split sole jazz shoes. They look like ugly tennis shoes. I teach every day of the week and I swear those shoes are fabulous and are helping my knees, hips and lower back. I actually get a better workout in class now and don't feel anywhere near as worn out as when I taught barefoot. Who knew!

Originally Posted by eshtabellydance

I have a sucky right knee. Hurts when bent too much. I just watch it carefully and don't do any deep knee bends anymore =( I will tell you a bit of advice Jillina gave me....get those capezio split sole jazz shoes. They look like ugly tennis shoes. I teach every day of the week and I swear those shoes are fabulous and are helping my knees, hips and lower back. I actually get a better workout in class now and don't feel anywhere near as worn out as when I taught barefoot. Who knew!

I reeeeeeaaaly need to invest in those. I know it will help.

Took a workshop a few months ago with Jillina and there were those shoes . . .

Deborah

I swear they are fabulous! It will really change the way you feel wehen you dance. Proper dance footwear - yes yes yes!