Thursday, October 13, 2011

Hyperextended? What to do...


I have several students in my classes who are naturally hyperextended. It's such a beautiful aesthetic in ballet, but man is it bad on the knees! They are constantly dealing with knee pain and swelling, and one of them asked if I knew how to fix it. I told her I thought she wasn't supposed to straighten her knees all the way, which for a hyperextended person means locking your knees, but I wasn't 100% sure. So, I consulted the experts, a.k.a. Dance Magazine. This article thankfully confirms what I thought and told my student, and it describes what is exactly going on in a hyperextended knee.

I also learned that hyperextension is a kind of made up condition in dance. In the medical field, it's used to describe an injury, not a natural condition (see: Mayo Clinic). That isn't addressed in the Dance Magazine article, but it at leasts helps us dancers and teachers know how to fix it! Check it out: http://www.dance-teacher.com/content/hyperextension-and-bowleggedness.

3 comments:

  1. As a former dancer with hyperextended knees (and loose joints) - I wish one of my teachers would have told me why I shouldn't lock my knees. After numerous knee injuries in adulthood which ended my dancing career at 28 - it's good that you are informing students to balance flexibility with strength. It will prolong their career and their ability for physical activity.

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  2. Great to hear from you ladymoxie! Although, I hate to hear that knee problems from hyperextension ended your dance career. I hope you are able to teach to pass down your knowledge and help other hyperextended dancers. Thanks for reading!

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  3. You might be interested in this article for dance teachers about hypermobility (as the medics refer to it) on the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science's website: http://iadms.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=278
    Helen Laws, Dance UK

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