Footcare basics for dancers
I've been thinking about feet, dancer feet, more specifically dancer feet in pointe shoes. What usually comes to mind is an anti-drug ad campaign from 1987. An actor held up an egg and said 'this is your brain', a frying pan 'this is drugs' then the egg is smashed and fried in a frying pan 'this is your brain' on drugs. Any questions?". These are your feet, these are pointe shoes, these are your feet in pointe shoes, any questions?
Unsightly feet go with the territory in ballet. I'm always quizzed by nervous parents about the shoes, damage, and specifically if their child will get bunions. I spend a lot of time pointesplaining that bunions are hereditary, but can be made worse by ill-fitted shoes. It is hard to tell people new to the art that those beautiful pedicured feet you see on South Beach are not realistic to someone who wants to pursue a career in ballet. The young student, non professional, and enrichment dancer will most likely never have to worry about blood blisters, cracked toenails, and bunions the way a professional does. I am going to try to give the novices some some tips to ease your anxiety and foot woes.
There is a great little video from The Australian Ballet about how much work the professionals put into foot care.One dancer says she spends an hour or two a week on her feet. She needs to, they are equivalent to a pianist's hands and the shoes are the keyboard.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYwntsUota0
If you can set up a good foot care routine from the beginning it will keep you healthy all along your career. You will also be able to recognize trouble sooner and seek proper medical attention in a timely fashion.
Let me say that yes, definitely blisters , bruised toenails, ripped skin, and calluses are a part of the territory for any pointe dancer. Have you ever seen a gymnasts' hands? Scroll to about 3:39 in the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfPAJ9FM9ew
Yeesh, but professional dancer feet are not any prettier:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/142285669449798154
You cannot expect to do the kind of rigorous physical activity that ballet requires, and specifically pointe work, and think that your feet won't show some kind of trauma. Here are some things you can do to help ease the pain and hopefully prevent some of the more unsightly damage.
#1. Make sure you are physically up to the task.
Sometimes when dancers come in for a fitting I wind up giving them a mini lesson in ballet placement and Pilates mat exercises. That tells me that they just aren't ready, this doesn't mean they will never be ready, but they just aren't ready at that time. Placement for pointe is ballet placement times ten. If you are strong, with the shoulders and hips over the legs in turned out positions, great. Now take that and ramp it up times ten because that is how high your body level and strength needs to be to get up en pointe. That takes a huge amount of strength in the ankles, legs, abdominals, pelvic floor muscles, back, buttocks, hamstrings, shoulder girdle, and intrinsic muscles of the foot. You don't get the shoes and then figure it out, you already have to have the fundamental placement and then the shoes augment that. I think of pas de duex as an even further level of that base or good ballet placement times excellent pointe skills equales solid pas de duex.
#2. Make sure to get a professional fitting, if a professional fitter is not available the teacher needs to be a part of the process. A correctly fitted pointe shoe will always function better, last longer, and hurt less. The book that comes to mind is 'The Right Tools for the Job' by Adele Clark and Joan Fujimura. The book has articles about materials, instruments, models, techniques, and work arrangements in relation to the scientific process. It applies completely to ballet, no one can expect to accomplish anything without proper fitting shoes and correct technique. If you are unable to have a professional fitting in a store make sure to consult the online experts. Many online stores now have shoe experts on staff to answer questions and assist you. You can even message pictures back and forth for specifics.
#3. If you are unsure about the dancer's foot structure, and if it is physically sound enough, seek out a medical professional - sports orthopedists, podiatrists, physiotherapists, there are loads of accomplished health care providers and more of them are gaining the skills to treat dancers.
#4. Take care of your feet. I am shocked sometimes by the way kids run around, throw their pointe shoes off, pad around barefoot, and slap on a pair of flip flops to leave the studio. Start by cleaning off feet after a hard day en pointe. Get a spritzer bottle and fill it with 3/4 rubbing alcohol (you can substitute witch hazel) and 1/4 water, add a few drops of tea tree oil or a scented essential oil if you prefer. Shake bottle vigorously and spritz off feet immediately after dance class using caution if you have any open wounds because it will sting. The rubbing alcohol kills bacteria, and helps to dry out feet for the toughening up process. An added bonus is that it helps with odor. There is a great litle product called feshify that has all kinds of nice things in it to clean off your feet. You can find that here: www.getfreshified.com Don't let a manicurist cut your toenails too short, scrape off your calluses, or cut off your cuticles. You need all those natural defenses to keep your feet healthy for all the stress you are putting them through.
#5. Do some kind of foot massage at the end of the day. Rub feet, stand on a roller, yoga toes. My Youtube channel has an episode on some of these techniques:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Fj6ILg5KH8&t=13s
Try a nice soak in hot water with Epsom salts. Or try this yoga restorative pose:. Lay on your back with your buttocks against a wall and legs propped up with ankles tied together if necessary and make sure to put a yoga mat under you, and a pillow under your head. Lay in this pose for twenty minutes to reset the spine and pelvis and get the blood out of the feet to help with inflammation.
#6. Do your cross-training. Make sure to have some strength training program - Pilates is great, theraband exercises are great, there are now also dancers training dancers in explosive strength techniques
https://www.instagram.com/romanempirefitness/?hl=en
The stronger you are the more resilient you are. Nadia Comaneci, the first gymnast to be awarded perfect 10.0 in Olympic competition said “Hard work has made it easy. That’s my secret. That is why I win.”
#7. Seek out a medical professional if you suspect something is wrong. Toenails falling off, bone crunching pain, or extreme blistering are a signs of a problem. Consult a dance teacher and then make an appointment, many schools can recommend someone that works with their dancers.
#8. Don't second guess the teacher or school. If the student isn't ready then don't force the highly trained staff to bend to your whyms. They don’t come to your job and tell you how to do it. Pointe shoes are not a fantasy, no one gets them and tosses off triple fouettes. The training is a marathon, not a sprint, and a freakishly good youngster is unusual and not the norm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQkhWxOuKyU
#9. Anticipate blisters and other foot issues by having a 'war kit'. I got this name from a co-worker at Freed of London when I asked him to grab my makeup bag with the gear I use for fitting groups. It has lots of pockets and all kinds of tape, bandaids, scissors, blister care, duct tape, you name it. He said “oh want me to grab your war kit?” That was an lol moment because he kept comparing me to a SWAT team dashing in to save the day. Build your own kit. Get items you need to make sure you can take care of immediate problems, I suggest: sewing kit; Band-Aids for blisters; spritzer bottle (see #4); antiseptic powder; additional toe pads or cushioning; and scissors. Think about what you use everyday and add it to your war kit.
#10 Don't forget to launder your toe pads. Often. This will help with bacteria. I had a client that got a staph infection in her toenails due to extreme heat, ill fitting shoes, and unwashed toe pads. Most toe pads can be cleaned in a machine on low and tumbled dry with no heat. And while we are at it wash out those dance bags too.
It is a lot think about and take care of. If you are serious about your art then set yourself up for success and keep your feet in good condition. I hope you got some good tips from this blog and please leave your comments below.
*Dancewithmarynyc - for any and all things pointe shoes*
