Ballet is by far one of the most beautiful dances. A ballet dancer's body naturally gets a lot of attention - everything has to look perfect to make the performance on stage perfect. One body part that is often neglected by ballet dancers are...their feet! Hidden behind the protective layer of ballet shoes, ballet dancer's feet tell a horrible story.
Most dancers will whine about some sort of foot harm or the other at some point within their training, and professional ballet dancers will most likely be harassed with chronic foot injuries, some of them so serious that they can end a great dancer’s career.
Overuse of the extrinsics and weakness in the intrinsic foot muscles will also lead to the toes' clawing especially “en pointe”. Here is the largest cause behind the foul blisters which are commonly seen in photographs of professional ballet dancers. Especially hallux limitus is very common, but also plantar fasciitis is one of the foot conditions ballet dancers might suffer at one point in their life.
It is very important for ballet dancers in particular to not neglect their feet, to listen to the signals their body is sending out. Especially if you are not looking for a grand career in ballet dancing your foot health comes first – unless you want to suffer from life-long foot problems.
Most dancers will whine about some sort of foot harm or the other at some point within their training, and professional ballet dancers will most likely be harassed with chronic foot injuries, some of them so serious that they can end a great dancer’s career.
Overuse of the extrinsics and weakness in the intrinsic foot muscles will also lead to the toes' clawing especially “en pointe”. Here is the largest cause behind the foul blisters which are commonly seen in photographs of professional ballet dancers. Especially hallux limitus is very common, but also plantar fasciitis is one of the foot conditions ballet dancers might suffer at one point in their life.
It is very important for ballet dancers in particular to not neglect their feet, to listen to the signals their body is sending out. Especially if you are not looking for a grand career in ballet dancing your foot health comes first – unless you want to suffer from life-long foot problems.