PhysioDC

Physical Therapy

  • Home
  • About
    • Physical Therapists
      • Daniel Baumstark
      • Christopher Cousins
      • Kira Davis
      • Christina Eidi
      • Molly Horan
      • Bradley Rosenblum
      • Jahan Shiekhy
    • Treatment Philosophy
    • Patient Reviews
    • Resources
  • Services
    • Physical Therapy
    • Hand Therapy
    • Running Analysis
    • Functional Dry Needling
    • Concussion Management
    • Dance Rehabilitation
    • Custom Orthotics
    • Personal Training
  • Products
  • Media
    • Podcasts
    • Photo Gallery
    • Exercise Videos
  • Forms
  • Billing
    • Insurance
    • Payments
  • Blog
    • Select Your Body Part
  • Directions
  • Contact

Athletes: Land Quietly Like a Ballet Dancer

Last updated on February 24, 2020 By Kira Davis MPT 1 Comment

Working in an outpatient orthopaedic setting, a common goal for many of our patients is returning to sports. For many, that means being able to run, jump and change direction quickly. Because of my personal background in dance, my patients probably get very annoyed with me when I begin working on plyometric activities with them, because I am always telling them to quiet down. I am always inadvertently morphing them into ballerinas.

When a ballerina does anything in a high impact fashion such as jumping or running motions, the goal is to land as softly as possible. Nobody wants to hear a herd of antelope rushing across a stage. Aside from keeping the volume down for the audience, a dancer also lands softly to preserve his or her joints. Landing softly or quietly is a side effect to proper shock absorption through the body piece by piece. This is more scientifically known as efficiency in absorption of ground reaction force passing through the kinetic chain.

This particular blog post was inspired by a new animated movie I saw about an orphan girl that wants to be a ballerina. A woman that befriended her decided to try to train her. The first lesson consisted of the little orphan girl standing under a tree that had a bell hanging from a branch. The little girl was told to jump high enough to hit the bell. After only a few tries, the orphan girl found this to be an easy task, so her teacher then poured water around her feet creating a puddle. She then told her to jump high enough to hit the bell, but when she landed, to not splash the water. After some attempts, the orphan girl thought that this task was impossible. She kept trying and became frustrated.

As in your typical cartoon movie, animals – and in this particular case pigeons – began to taunt her. Her frustration grew to the point of throwing an object at the rude pigeons. As feathers were littered through the air, she noticed one feather descending onto a puddle of water from the tip, slowly descending down into finally a horizontal position. She saw the water barely ripple, and she decided to try to land the way the feather did. It worked.

Now, of course, this is a cartoon movie, and we can all agree and understand that a single feather is much lighter than a 12 year old human girl. However, our bodies were designed to absorb shock. Our bodies bend and move in ways to do this, that to me as a ballet dancer seems natural, but it is not natural to most.

The way a dancer lands from a jump or leap is first through the tips of her toes, slowly rolling to the arch, letting the heel contact the ground. Next the ankle absorbs force by bending. The force continues to travel up the shin into the knee, where the knee absorbs force by bending. This force continues to travel through the bones and joints, slowly diminishing as it travels throughout the body. Any change in the order of which joints absorb force will give the result of increased stress throughout the muscles and joints, as well as increased noise.

When there is increased noise, there is decreased efficiency in the body. For a non-dancer, this is most noticed when jogging or running on the treadmill. 99% of the time I can tell when somebody is a major “heel striker” in their running gait just from hearing them from across the room or from another room.

As a matter of fact, I bumped into the lovely tenant below us one day outside of the office, and he mentioned, “Oh I hear you guys have a new piece of equipment up there. A treadmill, I presume? Some of your clients are very heavy runners…” I was a bit embarrassed, but just had to say, “Yes, we are trying to make them better, more quiet, and more efficient runners.” He smiled and walked off. The fact that he noticed and mentioned it in the most polite way possible, gave me more motivation to make sure that I teach my patients how to run and jump with softer landings.

If you find that you land from jumps or run very hard and your joints are suffering from it, give us a call at PhysioDC to set up an evaluation for one of our friendly therapists to check out your strength, balance and analyze your gait.

More Articles by Kira Davis MPT

• The Dancer’s Warm Up: You’ve Been Doing It Wrong For So Long
• The Anatomy of First Position in Ballet
• Beauty is Pain: Effects of Wearing High Heels
• My Experience in a Cryosauna
• How to Landscape Without Experiencing Orthopedic Injury

Image credit: Top © master1305/Fotolia.

Filed Under: Dance, Exercise & Fitness



Additional Articles

The Healthcare Plight of the Working Dancer
ballet shoes
A Ballet Class en Flat in Pointe Shoes
The Anatomy of First Position in Ballet

Are You a “Motor Moron?”
Floor Barre Practice for Dancers
ballet dancer exercising
Comprehensive Guide for Dancers Staying in Shape During the COVID-19 Pandemic

About Kira Davis MPT

Kira Davis has been practicing as a licensed physical therapist (license #PT870656) in the outpatient orthopedic setting since 2006 in the metropolitan Washington, DC area. She received her Masters of Physical therapy in 2005 from Howard University and her Bachelor of Science with a concentration in the Pre-Physical Therapy program in 2003 from Howard University. She has experience addressing many types of sports injuries and is herself an avid soccer player. Trained in classical dance since the age of 3 and an active dance student, she strives to be one of the area's elite physical therapists for the dance community.

FTC Compliance Disclaimer: PhysioDC.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com; proceeds from product sales help cover the operational & maintenance costs for the site.

physical therapist recommended products

Discussion

  1. Pamela says

    October 27, 2017 at 7:12 pm

    Very interesting article! Reminds me of physics and engineering classes. After readinf this i am definitely more conscientious about how i walk.

    Reply

Ask a Physical Therapist a Question Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Disclaimer: By clicking on the I Agree button below, the individual posting a question fully understands that any response to the question is merely the opinion of the physical therapist and should not be taken as a prescribed course of action. Any advice given by the therapist must be cleared with the treating physician involved in direct patient care. The person posing the question absolves the responder of any liability in regards to opinions given.

11 + 12 =

Contact PhysioDC

Office: 202-223-8500
Fax: 202-379-9299
Email Us
Listen to Our Podcast

Physical Therapy Office Location

1001 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 330
Washington, DC 20036

Click here for directions

Offering the Following Services

  • Physical Therapy
  • Hand Therapy
  • Running Analysis
  • Functional Dry Needling
  • Concussion Management
  • Dance Rehabilitation
  • Custom Orthotics

Select Your Body Part

Click the image below to try our Select Your Body Part tool to read articles relevant to you.

Most Popular Articles

  • 1. Why Won’t My Elbow Straighten?
  • 2. When Can I Start Working Out After Shoulder Surgery?
  • 3. Managing Expectations When Recovering from Labral Repair
  • 4. Shoulder Surgery: When Can I Get Rid of My Shoulder Sling?
  • 5. Why Are My Ring Finger & Pinky Finger Numb?
  • 6. Two Long-Term Effects of Ankle Sprains
  • 7. Post-Surgical Ankle Boot? Please Get a Lift For Your Other Shoe!
  • 8. How to Sleep Comfortably after Shoulder Surgery
  • 9. Physical Therapist Reviews Shaun T’s Insanity Routine
  • 10. Do Your Ribs Move?
  • 11. Hip Labral Repair Rehabilitation: What To Expect
  • 12. Why Should I Stretch My Back on a Foam Roll?
  • 13. Physical Therapist CEUs (Continuing Education Units)

Recent Posts

  • Five Holistic Strategies for Managing Pain
  • The Healthcare Plight of the Working Dancer
  • How Long Will It Take Me To Recover From Surgery?
  • Right Side Dominant?
  • Getting en Pointe: For the Progressing Dancer
  • Ruling Out Alternative Causes Of Spinal Pain
  • Physical Therapist Reviews YouTube HITT Routines
  • Drawing: A Tool For Learning Anatomy
  • Post-Traumatic Elbow Contractures: Etiology & Therapeutic Interventions
  • Rotator Cuff or Rotator Cup?

Join the Discussion

  • Nikolai Wyman-Beauregard on Experiencing Stiff Hands?
  • Anna on Getting en Pointe: For the Progressing Dancer
  • Barbara on Why Won’t My Finger Straighten?
  • Karo on I Can’t Open My Hand All the Way: A Look at Dupuytren’s Disease
  • Jimmy on Low Back Problems Can Be a Real Pain in the Butt
  • Cathrine Katsigianni on Floor Barre Practice for Dancers
  • Cathy Freeland on Should I Use Ice or Should I Use Heat?
  • Dan Baumstark, MSPT, CHT on Can You Balance on One Leg?
  • Dan Baumstark, MSPT, CHT on Microfracture Knee Surgery Rehabilitation
  • Dan Baumstark, MSPT, CHT on Review of Specialized Sleeping Pillow

PhysioDC Address

1001 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 330
Washington, DC 20036
Entrance on K Street

Find us on Google Maps

Office Hours

Monday-Thursday    7:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday 7:30 AM - 3:00 PM

Contact PhysioDC

Office: 202-223-8500
Fax: 202-379-9299

Email Us through our online contact form.

Copyright © 2023 Washington PhysioDC, LLC · Sitemap · Privacy Policy · Disclaimer
PhysioDC is a unique, physical therapist owned & operated rehabilitation clinic conveniently located in downtown Washington, D.C.

Resources · Recommended Products · Exercise Videos · Podcasts · Photo Gallery

DISCLAIMER: The information on this site is for Educational Purposes Only and is not designed to diagnose, treat, mitigate, prevent or cure any health conditions. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not evaluated statements about these health topics or any suggested product compositions. Answers to questions submitted are merely the opinion of the physical therapist and should not be taken as a prescribed course of action. Any advice given by the therapist must be cleared with the treating physician involved in direct patient care. The person posing the question absolves the responder of any liability in regards to opinions given. PhysioDC insists that all patients receive approval from a prescribing physician prior to starting a structured exercise program involving any of the exercises included on this site. PhysioDC.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com; proceeds from product sales help cover the operational & maintenance costs for the site.