Inside a Dance Studio is a blog hosted by Pegasus Studios with the aim of celebrating, discussing and learning about how dance can help support and foster healthy and happy children, adolescents and adults. This blog is inspired by our experiences as teachers and owners of Pegasus Studios, a dance studio primarily dedicated to art and health in children, from the ages of 2-20, give or take a few years!

Monday, April 18, 2011

Health Smart! Caring for Injuries


The majority of dance related injuries are soft tissue injuries – being muscle, ligament or tendon damage. First and foremost, always get a professional opinion. What may appear to be a slight muscle strain could in fact be something more serious. But… in the event that you are dealing with a basic soft tissue injury the best treatment is R.I.C.E.
Rest
You know when you are at the beginning of a cold and you take a day off to stay in bed with chicken noodle soup? Often you get over the cold within a day or two and are back at it functioning at 100%. But, if you push through the cold and don’t take that one day off, the cold often lingers for weeks leaving you at maybe 80% for a long time. Injuries are the same. Rest is important to allow the injury time to heal, pushing through could end up doing more damage than sitting out for one or two dance classes, which can mean you are back on your feet sooner.
Ice
Applying ice to an injury helps to decrease pain and swelling while increasing the healing process. The best ice treatment is 15-20 minutes on once an hour. Always wrap the ice pack or frozen vegi’s in a towel so it does not have direct contact with skin.
Compression
Compression of the area using a tensor bandage can help to keep contain the swelling.
Elevation
Elevating the area that is injured can help to get the blood back into circulation rather than pooling at the injury. Gravity can be in your favour. 

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