Because feet are such an important part of a dancers life, she should learn how to look after them and also know what can go wrong with them and how to prevent injury. Here are some of the more common general foot ailments.
1. Corns and Calluses
Corns and Calluses are caused from misalignment of the bones. This can cause friction, which causes dead skin to pile up thus causing corns or calluses. Once you have calluses or corns, it is extremely difficult to get rid of them. The only way is to keep pressure off that point entirely, which is often impossible. If you do get corns or calluses you will need to visit your podiatrist to get them attended to every two to three months, or as soon as you feel discomfort. Leaving it too long will cause the corns or calluses to enlarge and then they can get really uncomfortable.
2. Bunions
Bunions are caused from ill fitting footwear, but can also be hereditary. The bursa sac becomes irritated and inflamed due to spreading of the foot, pronation, supination or various imbalances in the foot. The bone actually protrudes outwards making a bump on the side of the foot.
3. Hammertoes
Hammertoes are caused by muscle imbalances where joints of one or more toes point downwards, while the closer joints bend upwards. This makes your toe resemble a hook.
4. Plantar Neuroma
This happens when a nerve is pinched between the metatarsal heads and is bruised. If you have a plantar neuronal, you will feel like you got an electric shock followed by a burning numbness in the ball of your foot on repeated impact.
5. Heel Pain
Pain in the heel is often caused by chronic inflamation of the plantar fascia which is the ligament between the heel and forefoot. Heel pain could also be caused by a bony spur that develops because of excessive heel rotation, heel pounding or tight stretched plantar muscles.
The above problems usually underline a bigger problem. Some of the things that are detrimental to your feet are:
1. Working on hard surfaces
2. Improper or ill fitting footwear
3. Aging and gravity are one of the greatest cause of structural malfunction of the musculoskeletal system.
If your foot posture is incorrect, the entire body structure will be incorrect, which can in turn lead to painful knees, hips, back, neck and even shoulder distress.
The best way to work on the above problems is to do strengthening exercises to keep your feet supple and the muscles strong. Have some supports made for your shoes, and this will help you to walk correctly.
It is very important to take good care of your feet, as they need to last you a lifetime.
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Michel Maling enjoys teaching Dancing in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Click here for more Ballet Food.
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