"If you can dance and be free, and not embarassed, you can rule the world" -Amy Poehler
Introduction
Every day you go to class, you work hard and push yourself to the limit. This is the best approach you can take, but you should remember that you still need to take care of your body and give it a chance to recover, because you really are asking a lot of it. If you are en pointe, this can be especially important for your feet. Here are some things you should be doing to help keep your body in tip-top shape:
- Take a day of rest
- Cross-train
- Take care of your blisters
- Do not get rid of calluses
- Invest in epsom salts and a heating pad
Keeping Your Body Healthy
It is likely that you will always have an injury, or some body part that is not doing so well. This is inevitable when you do any kind of strenuous exercise like dance, so it is extra important to take care of your body overall. The first thing to do is make sure that you are taking at least one day off from any exercise every week. This day should be restful, so that your body has time to recover from tiredness and time to repair any injuries you may have. Getting plenty of rest also helps with this.
If you want to treat yourself to a special, extra-intense rest/recovery day, invest in some epsom salts. You can buy these at any pharmacy or grocery store; usually a carton goes for only a few dollars, so they are very inexpensive. Draw a warm bath and add the salts generously (you can also add any other soaps or bubble bath if you like). Let them sit for about 10 minutes before getting in the water, and you can stay in the bath for about 30 minutes. Not only is the bath relaxing (it's okay if you grab some wine!), but the epsom salts will also help bring down any swelling you may have. They are also a great way to get magnesium (side note: if you are consistently craving chocolate, that can be a sign that you have a magnesium deficiency. Epsom salt baths are a great alternative if you don't want to eat chocolate).
After your bath, you can also help relax your muscles a bit more by using a heating pad. If you don't have an electrical one, you can always dampen a towel a heat it in the microwave, or make your own heating pad by filling a cloth bag with rice and heating it in the microwave. If you want to massage out your muscles, use a cream like Icy-Hot, Biofreeze, or TigerBalm. Different people like different brands, but I personally prefer Biofreeze. These will also help relax your muscles, and are extra helpful if you are working on an injury.
At the same time, cross training can help your body with this (it is counter-intuitive, but true!). If you strengthen muscles that you do not normally use in dance, your body is stronger overall, and if you are injured, your body will not have to strain as much to compensate for your injuries.
If you want to treat yourself to a special, extra-intense rest/recovery day, invest in some epsom salts. You can buy these at any pharmacy or grocery store; usually a carton goes for only a few dollars, so they are very inexpensive. Draw a warm bath and add the salts generously (you can also add any other soaps or bubble bath if you like). Let them sit for about 10 minutes before getting in the water, and you can stay in the bath for about 30 minutes. Not only is the bath relaxing (it's okay if you grab some wine!), but the epsom salts will also help bring down any swelling you may have. They are also a great way to get magnesium (side note: if you are consistently craving chocolate, that can be a sign that you have a magnesium deficiency. Epsom salt baths are a great alternative if you don't want to eat chocolate).
After your bath, you can also help relax your muscles a bit more by using a heating pad. If you don't have an electrical one, you can always dampen a towel a heat it in the microwave, or make your own heating pad by filling a cloth bag with rice and heating it in the microwave. If you want to massage out your muscles, use a cream like Icy-Hot, Biofreeze, or TigerBalm. Different people like different brands, but I personally prefer Biofreeze. These will also help relax your muscles, and are extra helpful if you are working on an injury.
At the same time, cross training can help your body with this (it is counter-intuitive, but true!). If you strengthen muscles that you do not normally use in dance, your body is stronger overall, and if you are injured, your body will not have to strain as much to compensate for your injuries.
Taking Care of Your Feet
As a dancer, your feet need extra special care. Make sure that you are regularly rolling out your feet and stretching your achilles tendons, so that you don't build up any tension or stress in your joints.
If you start to get calluses on your feet, do not attempt to get rid of them. If you get pedicures, ask them not to get rid of the calluses. Calluses take a long time to form and they are immensely helpful in preventing blisters. If you do any modern or contemporary dance, calluses will allow you to dance barefoot without ripping up your feet, and you will be able to do many turns without using those horrible dance paws. So, if you soak your feet in epsom salts, for example, limit the time your feet are in the water. Don't use a pummus stone on your feet, and do not put lotion on your feet. All of those things will get rid of your calluses.
As far as blisters go, if you do not have calluses, you can prevent blisters by taping your feet. Regular masking tape is cheap, very thin, and works quite well. I generally do not encourage people to put more things in their pointe shoes than necessary, so I don't suggest taping every single toe, but if you have one place on your foot that is particularly prone to blisters, by all means use your tape. To tape your feet, just place a little strip of tape where you tend to get blisters. If you wrap tape around your toes, do not tape your toes together. Just wrap tape around each toe individually. Also, be sure that your feet are very dry before you tape them; if they are wet or sweaty, the tape will slip around and will not be very helpful.
If you do get a blister, there are some things you can do to keep them from being super painful. First, you can apply some orajel (yes, the kind you use for toothaches). This will help numb the area so it does not hurt. Even better than orajel is second skin. This is a a little patch of gel/water that is typically used for burns. At the pharmacy, they usually come in sheets, and you can cut them into whatever size you need and place them on top of your blister, and then use tape to hold it in place. You can also buy them in bulk online, and these are pre-cut into small squares. I highly recommend second skin-it's a life saver! Just remember that this isn't a preventative measure, it only works if you already have a blister.
If you start to get calluses on your feet, do not attempt to get rid of them. If you get pedicures, ask them not to get rid of the calluses. Calluses take a long time to form and they are immensely helpful in preventing blisters. If you do any modern or contemporary dance, calluses will allow you to dance barefoot without ripping up your feet, and you will be able to do many turns without using those horrible dance paws. So, if you soak your feet in epsom salts, for example, limit the time your feet are in the water. Don't use a pummus stone on your feet, and do not put lotion on your feet. All of those things will get rid of your calluses.
As far as blisters go, if you do not have calluses, you can prevent blisters by taping your feet. Regular masking tape is cheap, very thin, and works quite well. I generally do not encourage people to put more things in their pointe shoes than necessary, so I don't suggest taping every single toe, but if you have one place on your foot that is particularly prone to blisters, by all means use your tape. To tape your feet, just place a little strip of tape where you tend to get blisters. If you wrap tape around your toes, do not tape your toes together. Just wrap tape around each toe individually. Also, be sure that your feet are very dry before you tape them; if they are wet or sweaty, the tape will slip around and will not be very helpful.
If you do get a blister, there are some things you can do to keep them from being super painful. First, you can apply some orajel (yes, the kind you use for toothaches). This will help numb the area so it does not hurt. Even better than orajel is second skin. This is a a little patch of gel/water that is typically used for burns. At the pharmacy, they usually come in sheets, and you can cut them into whatever size you need and place them on top of your blister, and then use tape to hold it in place. You can also buy them in bulk online, and these are pre-cut into small squares. I highly recommend second skin-it's a life saver! Just remember that this isn't a preventative measure, it only works if you already have a blister.