When you are a dancer, you know that your knees experience a lot of stress. When it comes to knee care, dancers want to know about the issues they might experience that could cause pain. This makes it easier for you to better protect your knees so that you can reduce the risk of energy.
Patella-Femoral Syndrome
This is a condition that is not uncommon among dancers. When this condition occurs, the pain is usually on the front part of the knee. There is cartilage behind the patella that helps the knee to glide as it needs to. When this cartilage starts to wear away, inflammation, swelling and pain can result. Most dancers notice the pain when they are squatting or jumping. It is also possible to have some pain with sitting for long periods of time or climbing the stairs. In most cases, modifying a dancer’s training, NSAID medications and ice are beneficial for helping to alleviate this condition.
Meniscus Tear
A torn meniscus can be painful and it might even cause the knee to feel like it is locking up. The meniscus of the knee is a small piece of cartilage and there are two of them in each knee. Trauma of some sort, such as twisting the knee abnormally or landing poorly from a jump, can result in this injury. In some cases, conservative treatment is adequate to help you heal from this injury. However, in the case of severe tears, you might have to have surgery to repair the torn cartilage.
Medial Collateral Ligament Tear
If you notice pain on the inside of your knee following a bad jump, it is possible that this injury is present. This ligament helps to stabilize your knee and tearing it is one of the most common reasons that dancers end up on the sidelines. How severe the tear is will depend on the treatment that you require. While conservative treatment is often sufficient for minor tears, more severe injuries might require surgery.
Anterior Cruciate Ligament Tear
This is another ligament injury that is common in dancers. The ACL is responsible for helping the knee to be stable and it connects the tibia to the femur. Many dancers describe that they heard or felt a pop when they tore this ligament. It is important that this injury is diagnosed promptly. In most cases, a surgical procedure is required to reconstruct the ligament.
You can see that dancers have some specific knee pain causes that they need to be aware of. Now that you know what these are, it will be a lot easier for you to practice proper knee care.
A knee specialist can help you to get an accurate diagnosis and determine the best treatment plan for you. If you would like to request a consultation with one of the orthopedic experts at OSI, please call (920) 560-1000 or request an appointment online.
The Orthopedic & Sports Institute has convenient locations to serve you. In addition to the flagship facility in Appleton, you will find outreach clinics in New London, Ripon, Shawano, Waupaca, and the newest location serving the Green Bay area, inside the NOVO Health Clinic in De Pere.