As part of our Ask a Dance Teacher series, we ask Johanna Hadley does ballet ruin your feet? Watch to find out what she says.
Dance training from an early age
We've all seen the horrifying pictures of dancers feet covered in blisters and heard the horror stories that go along with them. But I often think that a lot of it does depend on the training that the dancer has received when they are younger. Obviously if you haven't been corrected on things like our feet rolling, then that's going to cause some more damage for your feet. Or have you been scrunching your toes or have you been leaning on your toes.
These are all going to cause problems that might not present themselves straight away but may present problems further down the line. So my best suggestion would be, if you are concerned about ballet ruining your feet, then check that your technique is secure. If you've got poor technique, yes you may be at risk of your feet becoming damaged. But if you're making sure that you are listening to your teacher, making sure you're keeping your foot in a nice straight line and that you're not scrunching or leaning on your toes, then it shouldn't really cause any problems.
What age was the dancer put on pointe?
The next big risk factor is what age was the dancer put on pointe? If a dancer is put on pointe when they are too young then this can actually cause the bones to bend and become deformed, which of course results in these pictures which you see when this when they're older. When children are younger their bones are very soft (think of a child when they fall they get what's called a green stick fracture, so instead of the bone breaking it just bends). So that's what happens when a dancer goes on pointe repeatedly, the feet in the shoes will keep bending and it starts to deform the bones.
Also there are small gaps between where the growth plates are and these start to close up so at around age 11/12. The bones start hardening and then you're a lot safer to start considering point work. But of course everybody develops at different times so always go from the advice of your dance teacher. It's more than just have you reached this age - it's so many different factors. For example, what standard are you? How many times a week are you dancing? What kind of dancer are you are you? Are you a recreational dancer or are you wanting to consider a career in ballet? So many different factors to consider. Always really listen to what your dance teacher advises for you.
Do the dancers shoes fit correctly?
The next thing I would say is incorrectly fitting shoes. As with any shoe - high heeled shoes, normal street shoes, trainers - if you have an incorrectly fitting shoe then yes it can cause problems for your feet. It can cause blisters, it can cause your you to start to develop bunions over time. So it's exactly the same for ballet shoes. If your toes are being crushed in your ballet shoes because they're too small for you, you're going to start to cause problems with your feet. If your pointe shoes are incorrectly fitted you're going to get start getting more pressure on the joints. It's an awful lot of pressure on your feet as you are dancing in your pointe shoes, so imagine if they're incorrectly fitted point shoes on top of that.
Now there are so many things that dancers can now use in pointe shoes. It used to be many years ago that dancers wrapped lambs wool around their toes. Some dancers still use that but there are so many more amazing things that we can use to really support and protect our feet. Things like using aligners for our toes for if the dancer has got a big gap between any of the toes, for example between the big toe and the second toe. There's a little toe spacer that you can buy and it stops, as the dancer is on pointe it stops the toe starting to push inwards, which of course would over time, form into a bunion. So we are in a great position that we have all these amazing accessories that dancers can use now to really protect their feet.
Are you caring for your feet properly?
Another thing to consider about when thinking about whether ballet does ruin your feet or not is, are you caring correctly for your feet. Are you doing things like checking that your toenails are kept short because that can cause problems like ingrowing toenails and damaged toenail beds. So really try and look after your feet and hopefully dancing won't cause any damage.
So just to summarise, there are many different factors as to whether ballet does indeed ruin your feet. Remember it's not just ballet that could ruin your feet. Dance styles like contemporary, you can get things like bruises and floor burns. But specifically for ballet there are considerations like is your technique correct? Have you been put on pointe too young? Are your shoes correctly fitted, both pointe shoes and flat ballet shoes. And finally, are you caring for your feet correctly?
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