Body alignment

Body alignment is, simply, the dynamic placement of the bones so that the muscle system does less work. This meaning just lightly touches on the broad range of subjects that are all related to alignment,such as the principles of alignment, control, kinaesthetic awareness, locomotor movement, and non-locomotor movement. All this relates too safe dance practice, and ultimately correct alignment prevents injuries. Safe dance practise includes physically preparing the body to perform using correct technique. By understanding how to maintain correctly the body will perform at optimum level.

How does one achieve alignment?

It is of extreme importance to the entire body that there is proper alignment from the foot, ankle and leg. The foot and ankle must be properly aligned if the system of tendons and muscles are to work efficiently. Because the foot is the base of support for the entire body, faulty alignment here can cause postural deviations in the other mechanical systems of the body. To achieve alignment:

• Ground yourself – imagine your feet are suction cups sticking to the floor.
• Centre yourself over the balls of your feet.
• Stand with good dancing posture:
  • Imagine a balloon lifting your head,
  • Keep your chin level,
  • Torso/chest up – Imagine upper back at T4 pulled up and back (T4 is the fourth thoracic vertebra, located about half-way down your back, between your shoulder blades.),
  • Shoulders down, with shoulder blades back,
• Lift your abdominal wall,
• Drop your tailbone toward the floor, rather than tucking your tail.

How do you align the skeleton?

The most stable position of the body is when it is aligned over its own base of support. A body that is aligned correctly expends the least amount of energy to execute the movement.

Why is alignment important to a dancer?

There are three basic types of body types (somatotypes):

• Ectomorphic: long, narrow, lean, lite body with a fragile bone structure.
• Mesomorphic: solid, square, muscled, athletic body.
• Endomorphic: rounded body contour with excessive amounts of fatty tissue.

Not every individual falls neatly into one of these categories, they generally have a tendency towards one but may have a combination at other characteristics. Somatotypes each have their own individual particular limitations and capacities. Because these structural limitations and capacities exist, the shape, size, alignment of bones, and the length and strength of muscles, ligaments, and tendons predispose a dancer to injury. These injuries may occur because the dancers somatotype isn’t suited to the required movement demanded of them.

Individual’s propensity to injury may also be due to functional propensity, which is the way they use their body. In order to keep the body at its best alignment, the following should be adhered to:

• Maintaining body condition
• Training the body by attending regular dance technique classes. o Incorporating specific strength co-ordination, flexibility and cardiovascular endurance exercises to assist in safely controlling movement.
• Incorporating parallel training, such as swimming, pilates, yoga. By doing this, any weak areas the athlete has can be focused on and improved, therefore preventing further or a new injury.
• Eating a balanced diet and consuming an adequate fluid intake.
• Avoid abrupt overload by gradually building back up to full class work. If a dancer’s body isn’t suited to the required movement then it is predisposed to injury. Obviously a sumo wrestler’s body wouldn’t suit that needed for dance.

Ultimately alignment is important to a dancer because it helps to prevent injury and will prolong their dancing career. A body that is aligned correctly expends the least amount of energy to execute the movement.

What are some common dance injuries that result from incorrect alignment?

There are four types of injuries, and they are; Direct, Indirect, Overuse and Secondary injury. TYPE OF INJURY EXAMPLE Direct Injury A dancer who collides with an object, such as another dancer, teacher, prop, fixture and receives a blow to a body part. Direct injuries are Acute injuries. Indirect Injury There are two types of indirect injuries.(i) A dancer who falls on an outstretched hand and fractures the collarbone, which is some distance from the point of impact. (ii) An abnormal muscle contraction that fractures the patella kneecap after a minor twisting fall. Indirect injuries are Acute injuries. Overuse Injury A dancer who is doing repetitive low intensive work can get small tears where the tendon joins the muscle. Leads to stress fractures. Overuse injuries are Chronic injuries. Secondary Injury A dancer who repetitively straining the ligament of the knee of ankle. It is a minor injury that isn’t treated well and the cause isn’t eliminated. This means there is risk of a more serious injury. Secondary injuries are a type of chronic injury. The human body has a great deal of strength created from the musclo-skeletal structure. But dance makes the body assume abnormal stress and forces, which can lead to injury. There are many things that can cause injuries, posture and body alignment, incorrect technique, insufficient conditioning and training, fatigue, inappropriate environmental conditions, nutrition, and emotional or psychological stress. Body mechanics is related to the type of work the body is being asked to do, whether it is a jazz class or ballet class, or if the movements are locomotive or non-locomotive. But the human body is continually battling gravity, and this force makes it easy for body segments, such as the hip or knee to become misaligned, which can lead to all sorts of injuries. Properly aligned bones are less likely to react in such a way. Kinaesthetic awareness is also important, as it is the relationship between muscles, ligaments and others bits that are designed to maintain postural control. The whole body works together to help balance and alignment.

Some of the most common injuries and common areas of injury are: Achilles Tendonitis, Hip and groin, Shin splints, the foot and ankle, Knee, Spine, and Stress fractures.

INJURY DESCRIPTION Achilles Tendonitis The Achilles tendon in very susceptible to over-stretching and strain. Tendons are very strong but not at all flexible. If these strains are not properly cared for, or there is a repeated strain in the area this can easily turn into tendonitis. This is when the tendon becomes chronically inflamed. Hip and Groin In Australia, hip injuries are more common in dancers than in any other sports men or women. It seems they are also more likely to occur in women than in men, due to the different anatomical features present in the femur and pelvis.Some of the main hip conditions in dancers are as follows:o A groin pull – A strained adductor muscle causes localized pain in the inner thigh, or over the pubis. A severe tear is causes a sudden, acute pain and often occurs during a sudden change of direction.o Hip Pointer – A hip pointer injury is extremely painful, acute injury to the iliac crest of the pelvis. The injury causes bleeding into the abdominal muscles, which attach to the iliac crest. The bone and overlying muscle are often bruised, and the pain can be intense.o Piriformis Syndrome – Piriformis Syndrome occurs when the piriformis muscle, which runs from the sacrum to the outer hipbone, becomes tight or cramps and compresses the sciatic nerve, which causes pain.o Joint noises – If hips crack or make popping noises, but there is no pain accompanied then it can be assumed that it is only the soft tissue in the joint. However if there is pain this indicates damage to the articulating surfaces of the joint. Such pops and clicks may be due to tears in the meniscus, but are sometimes just due to an overly large or loose meniscus which may snap over the other structures Shin splints Shin splints refers to the microscopic pulling of muscle fibres away from the bone. It usually occurs just inside the tibia, but there are beliefs that different styles of dance can make shin splints occur in abnormal places. The tibialis posterior muscle is often over worked in an attempt to maintain the arch in the right position. Through pronation of the foot, excessive strain is placed on the muscle resulting in the beginning of shin splints. Shin splints can be caused by a range of things;o Excessive pointe work.o Allegro on hard surfaces.o Repetitive use of foot flexors. The foot and ankle Because of the amount of joints, ligaments, muscles, tendons etc there are in the feet the higher the chance of injury because there is just so much to go wrong! o March Fracture – the fracture of the metatarsal bone that is the consequence of accumulated impact and shock. o Hallux Rigidus – a form of arthritis that involves the joint between the big toe and the foot. o Hammer Toe – toe deformity caused by cramped toes. Usually the first toe bones point upwards while the second and third phalanges point downwards. o Toe Sprain – Hitting the toes against a harder surface eg the barré or floor is often the main cause in toe sprain. o Bruised big toe – when the big toe is jammed, usually done while on pointe, causes swelling and bleeding underneath nail, producing pressure build up, and pain. o Plantar fascial strain – The straining of the plantar fascial, which is a sheet of fibrous tissue that extends from the heel to the bases of the big toes, enfolding and supporting the muscle and other structures under the foot. o Foot pronation – Excessive foot pronation usually caused by misalignment, or injuries or foot deformity. o Ankle sprains – A sprained ankle means one or more ligaments on the outside of the ankle were stretched or torn. If it is not treated properly, it can turn into a long-term problem. o Flexor hallucis longus tendonitis – a long and important tendon involving the big toe, that is caused by Hallux Rigidus, pronation, Malalignment, poor technique and lack of strength around the ankle area resulting in triggering and snapping of the big toe.o Achilles tendon rapture – This is when the achilles tendon totally tears due to overuse, over stretching or a direct blow. o Dancers heel – Lots of pointe work on hard floors sometimes develop into an injury commonly known as dancers heel. Pain above the calcaneus in the area of the Achilles tendon; is apparently caused by inflammation secondary to trauma in the joint between the calcaneus and the talus. o Os trigonum – It is an extra bone that is either fused or separate to the posterior side of the talus. In a normal person it wouldn’t worry them, but in a dancer when they are on full pointe it comes up to touch the end of the tibia, causing pain, inflammation, restriction, and may damage the surrounding tissue.

(6) What would you do to manage these injuries? INJURY TREATMENT Achilles Tendonitis Treatment of achilles tendonitis depends mainly on the degree of injury to the tendon, but usually treatment involves:o Rest, which may mean a total withdrawal from exercise for a week, or simply switching to another exercise, such as swimming, that does not stress the Achilles tendon and is non-weight bearing.o Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medicationo Orthoses, which are devices to help support the muscle and relieve stress on the tendon such as a heel pad or shoe insert o A bandage specifically designed to restrict motion of the tendon o Stretching, massage, ultrasound and appropriate exercises to strengthen the weak muscle group in front of the leg and the upward foot flexors. Shin Splints o Applying ice packs to your shin for 20–30 minutes every 3–4 hours for 2–3 days, or until the pain goes awayo Doing ice massage (freeze water in a Styrofoam cup. Peel the top of the cup off to expose the ice, and hold on to the bottom of the cup while rubbing ice on to your leg for 5–10 minutes)o Taking anti-inflammatory medication as prescribed by your physiciano Wearing prescribed, custom made arch supports (orthotics) to correct over pronationo Rehabilitation exercises The Foot and Ankle The treatment for all foot and ankle injuries or all fairly the same, as they are so common but still potentially disabling. Early and aggressive rehabilitation, stressing functional activities, full restoration of strength, range of motion, proprioception and endurance, and gradual return to dance activities, will serve to minimise disability. The importance of maintaining good general physical condition during the rehabilitation process cannot be over emphasised. Finally, appreciating that inadequate treatment often leads to re-occurrence of injury should cause us to look at these injuries more seriously. Allowing the entire body to become deconditioned because of an injury to a specific part is a common problem, and therefore it is still easy for an injury to reoccur when the dancer starts classes again. This problem is also easily avoidable. In the case of foot and ankle injuries, swimming is often an excellent solution. Proper rehabilitation should also consist of the acronym R.I.C.E.D, (rest, ice, compression, elevation and diagnosis), stretching, strengthening, conditioning, and training before returning to a lower level of training. Hip and Groin A groin pull – Avoid aggravating activities for 2 weeks, but once activity is started again, ice the muscle after exercise to reduce any swelling. After applying the ice, wrap the thigh to keep it compressed. An anti-inflammatory can be helpful to reduce pain and inflammation.Hip Pointer – Rest from aggravating activities for a couple of weeks, is the only real way to heal a Hip pointer, although ice and anti-inflammatory medication can be helpful to reduce pain and inflammation. Joint Noises – Noises that have no pain should have conditioning exercises to improve the overall integrity of the joint. If the muscles are strong, they will take the weight off of the joint and relax the pressure on those articulating surfaces. If there is pain along with those joint noises, there may be structural damage building in the joint, and it would be prudent to see a physician for an appropriate diagnosis.Piriformis Syndrome – Stretching and strengthening are the primary treatments for piriformis syndrome. Because this muscle isn't usually stretched, often a simply stretching routine alleviates the symptoms. These are two simple stretches that can be done to prevent many of the hip and groin injuries.

For all injuries the immediate action of RICED (rest, ice, compression, elevation, diagnosis) is the standard protocol for mild to moderate muscle strains. This is not the way to treat injuries, but is the initial step to be taken to prevent further damage.

There are other available ways that can help with treatment and prevention of injuries. People generally have a poor attitude towards injuries, why shouldn’t they, but it doesn’t help them get over the injury any faster. Another way that can help with this is a sport phycologist. It is our mind that holds the determining factors over whether our performances are good and done to the best of our ability, and so in mastering the mind a sports-person has the greatest chance of performing at their personal best. Athletes maximize their performance using techniques like meditation, muscle relaxation, overcoming self-doubt, mental rehearsal, positive visualization, encourage rapid healing from any injury, increased confidence, increased motivation, perspective changes, developing single mindedness, increased concentration and focus, eliminating negativity, promoting positive expectation, reduced performance anxiety, increased self belief. These are just some of the techniques coaches are starting to use to help the athlete conquer their mind in order to perform at their best. Genes don’t have any impact on the level of concentration and mental factors; ordinary people can train their brains to become as focused as any athlete.

	During dance performance it is then that the mental preparation is most important. "The mental side is important at this time of the year. During the off-season we concentrate about 90 percent on the physical aspects of dance and 10 percent on the mental side. But during the season it is just the opposite. Everyone knows their parts: it's just a matter of execution and confidence in their abilities. We will work on real performance 

situations so they can learn to focus better and block out the external factors that interfere during the performance.” Mental training may be the most important part of an athletes training. When every elite dancer stands at the same barré and they all have the same body type, the same muscles and the same training, and when the average difference between good and great is someone’s personal ideal and opinion, the way to achieve the best performance is more in the mental preparation than in the body.