Helping Your Injured Dancer
“Mamaaa!!! My tummy hurts!”
Dreaded words. This has been a particularly brutal cold and flu season. My four-year-old has had a cough for about 4 days. This morning he told me his tummy hurt. I immediately asked him if he thought he might throw up. A stomach bug on top of this cold might put us all over the edge. But, he seemed ok. He had good skin color, and he wanted breakfast. Hmmm. I asked him to reach his arms over his head and look up to the ceiling.
“Owww!”
“Is that your tummy pain?”
“Yes!”
His poor abs are so sore from all his coughing. His tummy hurts. Phew, no stomach bug (for now). This is a great example to show how kids often have a hard time differentiating types of discomfort. To them there’s pain, or no pain. They don’t have the experience to know what might be causing it. This can even be hard for adults.
If your dancer tells you something hurts, here are some things you as their caregiver or teacher can do to help them:
Believe them. Yes, you know your child better than anyone. Depending on the child and any visible (or absent) symptoms, you may think they’re possibly being overly dramatic. I encourage you to remember that all pain is real. Period. They may not be reacting how you would with the same injury, but to them it is real, and likely scary to a degree. Pain is an experience, not a thing. This is their pain experience, and they are asking you for help. If you, or your older child, want to better understand more about pain and what it is, and is not, read this.
Remind them their bodies are strong, and robust, and with the right help, can heal. For a dancer, an injury can feel like the end of the world. Your dancer is resilient. Tell them that.
Help your dancer try to figure out what structures might be involved. Ask them what they were doing when they felt the pain. Can they describe what they’re feeling (sore, sharp, tingly, achy, etc)? Where is the pain? Is it over a joint? Mid muscle belly? Does it get better or worse with movement? Can you touch it, or is it deep? A little detective work can reassure your child you’re taking them seriously, and may give both of you a better idea of what could be going on, and how to proceed.
Even if the injury seems to be healing nicely, it’s worth it to at least get an evaluation. Do you know what the greatest predictor of a future ankle sprain is? A previous ankle sprain. Just because something no longer hurts, or hurts less, there are things that can be done to help mitigate the chance of recurrence. The body is smart, and dancers are masterful with tiny compensations. That fast healing minor sprain can still cause issues down the road, so get it checked out.
Help them remember to do their exercises! Consistency with any given home exercise program is critical during rehab of an injury. When they start to feel better, it’s hard to stay motivated. Strengthening takes time. Maybe you could even show support by doing them together!
The last blog I wrote was for dancers to help empower them to know when to ask for help. This one's for you, caregivers. Listen to them when they speak up! Eliminating the “dance through pain” culture is on my professional “to-do” list. Help me, help you, help them.
Cheers,
Dr. Aimee
