Physical Therapy And Achilles Tendinitis: The Important Connection For Professional Dancers

The unique demands of a career as a dancer can be a real challenge for many. For example, you may experience injuries to your Achilles tendon that can cause you to struggle to practice or perform. Thankfully, physical therapy can help with this problematic issue.

Dancers May Experience Issues With Achilles Tendinitis

As a dancer, you put a lot of unique strain on your body every time you perform. For example, you may leap through the air during a routine, land hard on your ankle, pivot suddenly to change directions, or even march in place to a steady beat. All of these routines help you make up a thrilling dance number.

However, all of that strain will naturally start to wear down a little on your ankle. When this happens, your Achilles tendon may start to suffer from a condition known as tendinitis, a problem that occurs when you put too much stress on this important part of the ankle and cause a micro-injury.

Though this injury is nowhere near as devastating as an Achilles' tear, even a small injury may affect your ability to perform or cause other complications that make life more difficult. As a result, you will need to consider high-quality physical therapy to keep your ankles in great shape.

How Physical Therapy Helps

Dancers who go through Achilles tendinitis will need physical therapy to improve their recovery. If you don't get physical therapy, there is a very good chance that you'll be sitting out practices, missing out on tryouts, and potentially even getting let go if you can't perform as strongly as your troupe needs.

For example, physical therapy can help you to maintain the strength of your ankle and its range of motion at the same time. A psychical therapist will help you utilize stretches and strengthening exercises will work the damaged tendon slowly and provide the kind of recovery you need to avoid this painful condition.

The recovery from this condition will vary based on a multitude of factors. First of all, the injury severity will vary and — if it is too severe — may take several weeks or months to recover. Your dedication to recovery is also important, as you will need to implement multiple physical therapy options to ensure things go smoothly.

So if you are suffering from Achilles tendinitis and want to improve your ankle's strength and stability for your dance career, you should seriously consider physical therapy. The many benefits of this approach will ensure that you can get back on your feet and compete as a professional in no time.

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