Hard Landings

Decrease the risk of injury while dancing on concrete

As spring weather arrives, and access to studios is limited, you may be eager to head outside for training. Whether you’re practising jumps or doing a photo shoot, dancing on concrete requires many levels of consideration in order to minimize injury.

Concrete has no shock absorption compared to dance floors, which can absorb half your body weight. That means, instead of the ground absorbing half the shock, your body now has to absorb all of it. Imagine dancing with 50 per cent more body weight. That would be like a 150-pound dancer suddenly weighing 225 pounds. Your joints, ligaments, muscles and tendons require a lot of time to get used to that shift.

Common risks involved with dancing on concrete include the following:

▪ Bone injuries, like stress fractures or shin splints

▪ Joint or ligament injuries and sprains, like ankle or low back sprains

▪ Tendon injuries and strains, like

Achilles tendinitis or patellar tendinopathy (pain and inflammation of the quadriceps tendon at the kneecap) In addition to the lack of shock absorption, the higher friction of concrete compared to wood flooring can lead to getting stuck during turns, or tripping, which can cause ankle sprains and muscle strains.

Here are some strategies you can use to decrease your overall risk of injury:

1. Dynamic warm-up. Avoid overstretching. Add squats, jump squats, hip swings, rope skipping and cat-cow to warm up your back and legs. A dynamic warm-up allows your muscles to better prepare for shock absorption compared to static stretching.

2. Training volume and load. Gradually increase training volume and avoid rushing into repetitions of leaps and jumps. You can also reduce overall load by jumping less during training or jumping on softer surfaces like grass, gravel or asphalt.

3. Recovery. Take more breaks and time for recovery.

4. Alignment. Have a coach or dancer watch your alignment. Taking off or landing with poor alignment is a major cause of injury to tendons and ligaments.

5. Fatigue. Practise challenging moves at the beginning of your training session, when you’re fresher. Fatigue leads to inattention and poor technique, putting your tendons and joints at further risk of injury.

6. Landing. Land with a slightly deeper bend in the knees for better shock absorption.

7. Footwear. Wear athletic shoes or dance sneakers.

8. Strength training. Improve your eccentric muscular strength. Your core, quadriceps, glutes and calves all need to be strong and powerful to adsorb the shock.

Try these exercises:

▪ Jump and box squats: start by jumping off both legs and landing on one leg, with a deep bend in the knee. Progress to taking off on one leg and landing on one leg. Progress to jumping on and off a step or box. This exercise builds stability and strength through your glutes and quadriceps.

▪ Heel raises: standing on one leg with your heel off the edge of a step, raise up onto your toes quickly and lower slowly, dropping your heel below the level of the step. Do this with a straight knee, then repeat with a bent knee. Feel your calf muscles working.

▪ Monster walk: loop a resistance band around your knees, and hold a mini-squat position. Maintain tension on the band while taking wide steps side to side, on a diagonal and front and back. You should feel the sides of your hips working. These glute muscles help stabilize your leg when landing jumps.

9. Help. If you’re feeling an injury coming on, get professional help. Pushing through it often leads to further injury.

Surabhi Veitch is a Toronto-based physiotherapist, owner of The Passionate Physio, a Pregnancy & Postpartum Athleticism coach and a member of BIPOC Dance Health.