Care for Dancing Feet
Tips for Relieving Pain, Maintaining Your Metatarsals
Follow these common sense rules for keeping on your toes throughout auditions, rehearsals, performances, and those fabulous cast parties after the show.
So you think you can dance even though your feet hurt? Well, maybe. But unless you’re competing for fame and fortune on So You Think You Can Dance or Dancing with the Stars, there’s probably no reason to suffer for your art with pinched toes, tingling nerves, aching arches, and throbbing heels. Pamper your dancer’s feet with a little common sense and preventive medicine.
The Right Shoes
- Wear the right shoe for the right activity. Invest a little extra money to make sure you buy comfortable, well-made shoes that support your feet and ankles for your regular daily activities such as walking, shopping, or running errands.
- Obviously different types of dancing require different types of shoes (or in some cases, no shoes at all). If your old dancing shoes are barely fit for walking, throw them away and get new ones. Don’t dance in shoes that are past their prime.
- Avoid walking barefoot outside. Although it may be tempting to feel the soft grass beneath your feet, it’s actually tempting fate. Underneath an apparently well-manicured lawn or a groomed sandy beach can be hidden debris that can lodge in your foot and cramp your dance style. In summer, the searing sun can heat sand and sidewalks to dangerous temperatures that can burn the soles of your feet.
- Wear comfortable, well-cushioned shoes for long walks. Save the heels and sandals for parties and dates. If you want to keep dancing, don’t wear high heels with pointed toes no matter how cute the shoes are or how much you paid for them.
The Right Activity
- Keep in shape from the knees down. It’s also a good idea to keep the rest of your body in shape, too, of course, but be sure to exercise your feet and legs every day. Maintain a healthy diet, and walk as often as you can. Always warm up before dancing, and stretch afterward.
- Pamper your feet after a hard day’s work. Massage your feet or bribe someone else to do it for you. If you’re on your feet all day, stay off them during the night. Whether you’re reading, socializing, or relaxing in front of the television set watching the newest dance reality series, try to elevate your feet above your heart to relieve swelling. Clean your feet before going to bed, using pumice or a scrub to take off dry skin.
The Right Doctor
- Make an appointment with a doctor if you have an injury or pain that won’t go away. Sprains and other injuries need to be examined, x-rayed, and treated by a podiatrist or orthopedic surgeon. Dancing on a sore foot or a weak ankle will only make them worse.
- Sometimes an injection, orthopedic shoe (or insert), or series of stretches can relieve your symptoms without surgery. Typically a surgical procedure is only necessary to permanently correct structural problems with the feet. Don’t be too eager to have surgery unless every other option has been exhausted. If you have corns, bunions, or hammertoes that don’t hurt, then focus on preventive care instead. Painless problems before surgery can become painful after surgery. Relieving pain should always be the deciding factor in surgically correcting a foot problem.
Foot pain can take the pleasure out of dancing. By taking care of your lower extremities, you can prolong the enjoyment and delay the pain. For more tips on maintaining good health, read 12 Surprising Facts About Coffee and Aphrodisiacs to Spice Up Your Life.
The copyright of the article Care for Dancing Feet in Ballet/Jazz/Tap Dance is owned by Leslie Halpern. Permission to republish Care for Dancing Feet must be granted by the author in writing.
