Today I decided to cover a topic that is pretty close to me at the moment, as this week I injured my left foot in ballet class while doing a pirouette into attitude. I'm still not completely sure how it happened, but one second I was fine and the next I heard a loud 'pop' sound on the top of my left foot, and I felt a sharp pain. At first, I tried to touch my foot to see if anything had popped out, but as I did this my foot then made another 'pop' sound and I quickly got the message to hobble to the side of the room.
I wasn't sure what was exactly wrong at first and I thought I could just try to massage it out like I normally do and bear with it, but this time was different, as the pain started to increase. The dance teacher then asked me if I was okay once the exercise was over and told me to elevate my leg for at least twenty minutes and I followed suit. One of the other dancers in my class was sweet and brought me an ice pack and changed it out twice during class to put on it while I laid on my back against the side wall. I tried to elevate it at the same time, which was a bit tricky and I used my hand towel to cover the ice pack on top.
As the class continued on, I kept hoping it would just be a slight bump in the road and I would be dancing tomorrow as long as I tried to rest. At first, it didn't seem too serious as I was able to do the Progressing Ballet Technique class afterwards, as it involved mainly the exercise ball and wasn't too focused on using my left foot. However, when it came to modern class, I was only able to do the floor work and a bit of the centre work before I realized it was a bit more serious and I would have to sit out and watch the rest of the class.
After class, I told my dad what had happened, and he wasn't exactly ecstatic to see me hobble towards him and immediately booked a chiropractor appointment that evening for an analysis. Up until this point, I still thought it would be a minor injury and I kept trying to downplay the issue, but my chiropractor wasn't buying it and said I most likely had torn a ligament in my left foot (stage 2) and the 'pop' sound I had heard was over my cuboid bone area. For some reason, hearing this was more painful than experiencing it. When I researched it later, it seems that I would've had to have it popped back in again regardless, so I'm just happy I didn't have to do this knowing what was going to happen! Unfortunately, he said until I could jump on one leg on my left foot with at least 80% of the strength of my right foot he wouldn't recommend me dancing. This was where I started to get more worried, as I knew just based on my current state that this could be weeks or months, which I later confirmed through online searches! At this point, I'm not sure if finding out online has been helpful or painful haha.
Anyways, that night I then emailed the studio that I wouldn't be able to dance for a while and they were very sweet and caring about my foot injury and I continued to follow the R.I.C.E. (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevate) acronym. Unfortunately, that night after sleeping only a few hours I then woke up in immense pain and started crying and calling for help from my parents quietly (they told me I needed to be a bit louder next time, so they gave me a bell to ring). They then came to help me by bringing me an ice pack and advising me to take Advil and Tylenol (my dad called the ER once and apparently they have a different active ingredient so you can take both on and off, as they don't pile up on each other, but please talk to a doctor to confirm this before you do!).
We then started to clue in that it might have been the combination of the heat from sleeping, lack of ice pack (as I thought I'd cooled it enough, apparently not!), and also the straining of the physiotherapy tape that was applied earlier at the chiropractor's. Normally, I think the tape would've been fine, but I think it was the combination of factors that caused my pain. Slowly my pain subsided, and I eventually fell asleep but the next day, my parents and I agreed that I should get an X-ray and/or MRI to double check there wasn't something more serious going on with my foot.
I was a bit hesitant given the COVID situation right now, so my dad decided to call our local ER and they advised us that we could get an X-Ray by getting a requisition from a doctor's appointment. This was an excellent idea and I highly recommend it if you need one, as it saves so much time! So, I then proceeded to book a doctor's video chat appointment that night through the Telus Babylon app, which was super convenient and saves a lot of waiting time. I had used it once before, but it really comes in handy for diagnoses such as this one. Afterwards, I was then able to get an X-ray requisition sent to the closest X-ray location and set up an appointment in the morning for the next day (you can also do a walk-in but with COVID I thought I could save time from being in the waiting room).
Also, since I couldn't walk and it was becoming challenging to hobble around the house, family friends of ours were extremely kind and lent me some crutches to use while I recover. As prior to this, I had been alternating between hopping, crawling, and crab crawling around the house. However, I did find out that if you end up needing crutches you can buy them at Shoppers Drugmart, Amazon.ca, or Walmart (online). Unfortunately, crutches aren't covered under MSP or Canada's universal health care, so this will be an additional cost if you go to the hospital or not. They generally cost anywhere from $25-$80, with most being around $50.
Strangely enough this is the first time I've had a major dance injury despite all of the years I've been dancing. I suppose it was a bit of luck and the fact that when I have had injuries it's been from doing other activities such as falling on my tailbone while skating, spraining my right ankle jumping on the trampoline, or spraining my elbow trying to learn how to do an aerial cartwheel at a gymnastics place. However, this is the first time I'll have had an injury where I can't dance for such a long time, as the others I could still use my legs, or I only had to sit out for a week. This is not to say that I haven't had the occasional muscle strain here and there, but I have to say it's really strange for me to think of having to use crutches and the possibility of not fully dancing for a few months.
Photography by: (c) Mattie C. Photography 2018
I chose this photo as I thought it was fitting considering my foot injury :)
Takeaway:
This process has definitely made me appreciate my left foot and also recognize how much of the world is built around the concept of able-bodied people. I definitely think there is a market for more chair activities/exercises, as well as accessibility in terms of things I took for granted such as being able to go up and down stairs, taking a shower, preparing meals, and so much more. As a result, I decided to come up with a few tips to help you during your recovery both mentally and physically :)
Recovery/ Rehabilitation Tips:
1. Nutrition
A few things that I've been doing include eating a lot of fruits and vegetables for vitamins and minerals, as well as protein to prevent too much muscle loss and staying hydrated by drinking lots of water. Other tips I read were to include Omega-3's through eating fish and nuts, as well as having vitamin supplements such as Vitamin D, Glucosamine, Magnesium, and Calcium.
2. Seeing a Physiotherapist/Chiropractor for Rehabilitation Exercises
This is a crucial step to speeding up your recovery and also for finding safe exercises to build back muscle mass and strength in your injured area. Also, for injury prevention and for long term health.
3. Sleep & Staying Active (once you are able to and at the advice of your doctor/physiotherapist, etc.)
In addition, it's important to get lots of sleep and stay active once you can use the body parts that aren't injured. For instance, since it's my left foot that's injured, I've been doing exercises such as:
a) Abdominal:
i.e. Crunches, bicycle legs exercise lying on your back, leg drops/lifts on your back, V sit-ups, Russian twists, flutter kicks,
b) Arms:
i.e. Knee push ups
c) Back:
i.e. Superman, Y to W arm in and outs lying on your stomach with your legs raised together
d) Legs:
i.e. Clam shells on both sides, leg raises (both inner and outer thighs), developee on your back to the front and side (I couldn't fully flex or point my left foot, so I just did as much as I could without pain and focused on activating my other muscles).
Note/Caution: Make sure to only do what you are capable of and at the advice of your doctor/physiotherapist/chiropractor/massage therapist, as well as listening to your body. If it hurts, stop immediately and rest. Remember, you can always modify or eliminate parts of exercises. Also, keeping mind that these were some of the exercises I was able to do with my specific foot injury, this will vary depending on your injury and are just a few examples of what you could do if you had a similar injury :)
I've also been incorporating some of the exercises I learned from PBT using the exercise ball to do bridges and a few others. Another option I've been doing is chair dancing. Sounds exotic I know, but it's really just dancing with your upper body doing movements such as port de bras, shoulder rolls, stretches, and different arm positions in ballet. Depending on the video, there have been ones where they also use your feet a bit, but I could only slightly do some of these exercises and modified a bit, as I can't fully flex or point my left foot at the moment.
Here are some videos I've done or will be trying out during my recovery:
This one uses just the upper body and goes through different ballet arm positions.
This one uses both upper and lower body movements, adjust accordingly.
I haven't tried this one yet, but plan on doing it later on :)
4. Stretching (Safely and only to your ability and when you have started to heal! Follow your doctors/physiotherapist/medical expert's advice, as well as yourself)
Another important aspect especially for dancers is stretching. I tried my best to be careful with this and as soon as I felt even a little bit of pain in my left foot I backed away and tried something different or took a break. Your body needs to heal so it's important to rest and take breaks, as your body is obviously in need of healing, rest, and relaxation! Some stretches that I was able to do include:
a) Legs:
i.e. Middle splits (as I was fortunate I didn't hurt my heel as well), a few ankle rolls (I did this slowly and carefully as to not aggravate my foot and did a limited amount of them, but both my chiropractor and massage therapist told me to keep working on the mobility in my left foot), toe touch sitting down but not flexing my left foot and only going down to my shins
b) Back:
i.e. Cobra stretch, knees to chest, dolphin pose from yoga, cat and cow pose from yoga
c) Arms:
i.e. Side stretch (both sides), holding one arm across your body, arm reaching behind your back
d) Neck:
i.e. neck rolling side to side, shoulder shrug, alternating arm windmills
Note: Only do stretches at the advice of your medical expert/practitioner and when you feel ready. Don't overdo it and stay safe. Make sure your muscles are warm before doing them such as after taking a warm shower/bath or doing some exercises.
The first day I wasn't able to attempt a front split as my foot hurt too much but by the second day, I was able to and also figured out a new method. I did this by putting my left leg behind me bent into a 90-degree angle with my right leg in front of me. I also want to caution and say that you should adjust your stretches to your injury and your capabilities, as well as listening to your doctor, physiotherapist, massage therapist, dance teacher, and/or chiropractor, as well as yourself in knowing how far you should go. Make sure not to push your limits too far, as this can cause a setback in your dancing. Also, keep in mind these are stretches that I was able to do with my specific injury, this will vary based on the degree of injury and what type of injury, so only do what you are able to or advised upon by a medical practitioner/physiotherapist.
5. Foam Roller/Lacrosse Ball/Accupressure Mat
One other thing I did was to use a foam roller for my back and calves, as well as using a lacrosse ball to roll out my right foot as I was using it a lot more than usual. I also used some smaller massage balls that I bought at my local physiotherapy place, but you can also order these online at Amazon or at a sports store or even Walmart. I also ended up using my accupressure mat from Prana, which I did a review on a few posts ago, you can check out on the main page under the 'Products' tab, if you'd like to find out more. All of which helped me to relax my muscles and help ease any imbalances in my right and left side from using crutches and sitting more than usual.
6. Staying Active Mentally
An important aspect that many people forget to include is to stay active mentally. This can be by reaching out and talking to friends and family or by participating in other activities such as:
a) Playing an instrument
i.e. piano, guitar, ukulele
b) Singing or listening to music
c) Painting/Drawing/Scrapbooking
d) Journaling
e) Sewing/Cross stitching/Knitting
i.e. They sell all-in-one cross stitch kits with patterns that you can buy fairly cheap at Walmart. It's great for passing the time :)
f) Starting a blog, Instagram account, or YouTube channel
g) Meditating
i.e. My personal favourite is by using the Calm app.
h) Reading a book
i.e. Some of my favourite dance related books in no particular ranking/order are:
i. 'Taking Flight' by Michaela DePrince (self-memoir/ballet)
ii. 'Life in Motion' by Misty Copeland (self-memoir/ballet)
iii. 'Dancing Through it' by Jenifer Ringer (self-memoir/ballet)
iv. 'On my own Two Feet' by Amy Purdy (self-memoir/'Dancing with the Stars')
v. 'Steps in Time' by Fred Astaire (autobiography/dance and old Hollywood)
vi. 'Ginger: My Story' by Ginger Rogers (autobiography/dance and old Hollywood)
vii. 'Bunheads' by Sophie Flack (YA fiction/ballet)
viii. 'I Wanna Be Where You Are' by Kristina Forest (YA fiction/ballet)
viv. 'Ballet Shoes' by Noel Straetfeild (Youth fiction/ballet)
vv. 'Loveboat, Taipei' by Abigail Hing Wen (New Adult/YA fiction/dance)
I'll be writing up a new post on some dancer memoirs/dance related books, but I totally understand if you don't feel like thinking about dancing right now, as I didn't want to for a bit.
Some of my favourite authors/books that aren't dance related are:
i. K.A. Tucker ('The Simple Wild', 'Chasing River', and 'Be the Girl' are three of my favourites, but all her books are great!)
ii. Rick Riordan (the Percy Jackson series was my favourite series growing up, also check out the Heroes of Olympus series)
iii. Sarah Dessen ('Just Listen' or 'Lock and Key' are two of my favourites)
iv. Kerry Winfrey ('Not Like the Movies' or 'Waiting for Tom Hanks')
v. Sophie Kinsella ('The Undomestic Goddess' or 'Remember Me?')
vi. Abby Jimenez ('The Friend Zone' or 'The Happy Ever After Playlist')
vii.'Blink' by Malcolm Gladwell (Self-help)
viii. Katie McGarry ('Pushing the Limits' series)
Others: Kasie West, Jenn Bennett, Lauren Barnholdt,
i. Hunger Games series (YA fantasy-has movie adaptations)
ii. Divergent series (YA fantasy-has movie adaptations)
iii. Hush, Hush series (YA fantasy)
iv. 'Crosstalk' by Connie Willis (science fiction contemporary)
v. 'Why Not Me?' by Mindy Kaling (comedy memoir)
vi. The Lone City series (YA fantasy)
vii. Selection series (YA fantasy)
viii. Jenny Han ('The Summer I Turned Pretty' series and 'To All the Boys I've Loved Before')
viv. 'Talking as Fast as I Can' by Lauren Graham (memoir)
vv. Rupi Kaur ('The Sun and Her Flowers' or 'Milk and Honey'-poetry)
vvi. 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower' by Stephen Chbosky (YA contemporary)
i) Doing a cross word/sudoku/word search
j) Watching uplifting tv shows/movies
i.e. Some of my favourite dance related movies/tv shows in no particular order/ranking are:
i. 'First Position' (dance documentary on YAGP competition)
ii. 'Center Stage' (ballet fictional movie about the American Ballet Company)
iii. 'Step Up' series (Hip hop movies)
iv. 'Work it' (high school dance team movie)
v. 'Dirty Dancing' (dance competition movie)
vi. Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers movies (they did 10 together, my favourites are: 'Swing Time', 'Top Hat', 'Follow the Fleet', and 'The Gay Divorcee' (I just focus on the dancing :))
vii. 'An American in Paris' (Gene Kelly musical)
viii. 'Singin' in the Rain' (musical with Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and Debby Reynolds)
viv. 'Flashdance'
vv. 'Save the Last Dance'
vvi. 'Footloose' (1984 version)
vvii. 'Dance Academy' (Tv show and movie)
vviii. 'La La Land' (musical with Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone)
vviv. 'Restless Creature' (Wendy Whelan documentary/principal dancer)
vvv. 'Hairspray' (musical with Zac Efron)
vvvi. 'Dancing Queen' (Netflix series)
vvvii. 'Billy Elliot' (ballet movie)
vvviii. 'World of Dance' (reality competition show)
Some none dance related, light-hearted movies/Tv shows that are some of my favourites that you might enjoy as well are:
i. Comedy Tv shows: Gilmore Girls, Modern Family, The Office, Gossip Girl, Jane the Virgin, New Girl, Full House, Never Have I Ever, Glow, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Rilakkuma and Kaoru, Friends, On My Block, How I Met Your Mother, Victorious, One Day at a Time, The Nanny, Hot in Cleveland, Golden Girls, Freaks and Geeks, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Diff'rent Strokes, Laverne & Shirley, Three's Company, Good Times, Kim's Convenience, Fresh off the Boat, Glee, Saved by the Bell, Fleabag, The Big Bang Theory, Crashing, I'm Not Okay with This
ii. Romcoms: When Harry Met Sally, Something Borrowed, Legally Blonde, One Day, We're the Millers, Just Go With It, Blended, Life as We Know it, Bridget Jones' Diary, The Duff, Flipped, What a Girl Wants, Just Friends, The Proposal, Letters to Juliet, To All the Boys I've Loved Before, I Feel Pretty, Crazy Stupid Love, Crazy Rich Asians, Always Be My Maybe, Easy A, Clueless, 50 First Dates, 13 Going on 30
iii. Comedies: Deadpool 1 & 2, Paddington 1 & 2, Jumanji 1 &2, Blockers, Little Miss Sunshine, Zootopia, It Happened One Night, Spider Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Onward, Good Boys, Shazam!, 17 Again, Trainwreck, The Grand Budapest Hotel, There's Something About Mary, The Big Sick, What if?, As Good As it Gets, Elf, Antman 1 &2, 27 Dresses, Thor, Tangled, 10 Things I Hate About You
iv. Dramas: The Imitation Game, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Call Me By Your Name, This is Us (tv), Stranger Things (tv), Forrest Gump, Shawshank Redemption, Jerry Maguire, Spirited Away, Love, Simon, Downton Abbey (movie and tv series), The Fault in Our Stars, Ladybird, Wonder Woman, A Quiet Place, Arrival, The Florida Project, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Baby Driver, Knives Out, His Girl Friday, Hidden Figures, Kill Bill 1 & 2, Inside Out
v. Musicals: Pitch Perfect, Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music, Some Like it Hot, The Greatest Showman, High School Musical (movie trilogy and series), Beauty and the Beast, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, White Christmas, Grease, Dreamgirls, Fiddler on the Roof, Easter Parade, Enchanted, Chicago, My Fair Lady, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Meet Me in St. Louis, The Wizard of Oz, Aladdin
Other: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (fantasy YA tv), Queer Eye (reality tv), Just Zumbos Desserts (reality baking competition tv show), Sugar Rush (baking reality show), Down to Earth with Zac Efron (travel tv show), Selena + Chef (Selena Gomez cooking show)
Note: Make sure to check the age rating for the Tv shows/movies above before watching, as the results range from G to R.
k) Doing an online course
i.e. Harvard has some free courses, as for paid ones you can do ones through Udemy or Masterclass (i.e. Misty Copeland has one course she offers)
l) Baking/Meal prepping/Cooking (this one requires a bit of help from family members or friends but if you can do it, it's a great stress reliever!)
i.e. if you need ideas for baking check out my other blog focused on baking: www.bakingwithlauren.com
m) Learning a monologue for fun
n) Writing a story/poem/script
o) Playing a board game
p) Doing a video diary
q) Do a puzzle
r) Learn a new language
i.e. Spanish, French, Italian, Sign Language
s) Make cards for upcoming birthdays/holidays for your friends and family
t) Online games/VR
u) Paint your nails/ Do an at home spa face mask/ Do a makeup/hair tutorial through YouTube
v) Make a bucket list/Pretend to plan a vacation somewhere and make a PowerPoint/Pinterest page of all the things you want to do in the future.
7. Relax and Slow Down
Most importantly take care of yourself and take this time to relax, slow down, and rest. Also, make sure to ask for help when you need it and also let those who do help you know that you appreciate their help. Know that it's okay if you don't feel positive all the time and if you need to talk about it video chat friends and family or talk to a counsellor if you feel the need for it and are able to. Be easy on yourself and don't try to rush the process too much, as going back to dance too early puts you at a higher risk of re-injuring yourself which can increase the amount of time away from dance.
Conclusion:
Overall, I hope you enjoyed today's topic and I hope this helps you if you are currently injured or recovering from an injury. My heart goes out to you and I wish you a quick and full recovery :) As I know how painful it is mentally and psychologically to not be dancing and active as someone who also loves to dance. As frustrating and upsetting it is when injuries happen, take this as a sign to take a break and learn more about yourself and maybe even discover other talents that you never knew you had! I wish you all the best and I'll be writing a few more posts in the upcoming weeks.
Take care,
Lauren :)
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