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Besides psychological interventions, strength and flexibility training can also help recover injuries.

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Improvement in back alignment when rolling down to feet

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Improvement in back alignment when rolling down to feet

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After resting and stretching my back for recovery, I noticed that there was an obvious imbalance in my lower back strength. This is evident in how my back is slanted to one side when rolling down to my feet.

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Periodisation benefited me as it gave my injury time to rest and recover. This then allowed me to build more strength afterwards, to have the power to do more complicated movements.

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With periodisation being implemented into our dance training, it allows me to consciously plan out my workouts and breaks to achieve my goals.

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Periodisation is systematic planning that deliberately manipulates training variables to optimise performance and prevent burnout (Edwards, 2021).

It has a ‘rehabilitative element’ that not only approaches training safely without worsening injury symptoms but also progresses recovery (Bowman, no date; Claire, 2019).

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In terms of conditioning my back, I made sure that I trained my left side more by doing more repetitions. For instance, I would do side crunches to the left until I am tired, and then I would do the same number of repetitions on the right side to match both sides equally.

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From research for correcting muscle imbalance after injury, some recommendations are to strengthen the weaker side to equalise both sides and to ‘stretch the tight muscles that have contracted at the expense of the stronger opposing muscle’ (Magnolia Physical Therapy, 2017).

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After an injury, muscle imbalance is common, as one side of the muscle will become stronger than the other. The stronger muscle gets shorter and tighter while the weaker side becomes loose and longer, resulting in the shorter and stronger muscle pulling part of the body out of position. This then leads to the whole body compensating by making small adjustments for the weak and injured site (Weybridge&walton physiotherapy, no date).

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Furthermore, my lower back’s improvement is also reflected in my successful development in ground-based classes. One main example is the advancement of the one-leg pelvic bridge jump and its variations. With increased strength of the back, I can perform the jumps correctly with a straight back. This secured position then gives me more power to do more complicated movements like bouncing in and out of the shoulder from the pelvic bridge.

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Although I have only recently started to strengthen my lower back, I feel and see the progression through my ability to do the one-leg pelvic bridge, as this exact movement has been bothering me the most. For instance, I have been able to do the pelvic bridge sequences in pilates without feeling any painful discomfort in my lower back, indicating an increase in strength and control.

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Based on research for lower back strength training, it is suggested to do exercises involving

Hip bridge

Upper body lifts

Partial or side crunches

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Strengthening is crucial for injury recovery as it ‘helps support and take the load and pressure off’ the injured site, thus reducing discomfort and pain whilst building the affected area towards normal function (Performance Pro, no date).

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The promotion of mobility in the back not only helped my injury but also improved my ability to carry out exercises in ground-based classes. For instance, pelvic bridges are crucial as it allows for transitions between movements like shoulder stands. With increased flexibility in the back, I felt more space to twist the upper body and move the arms for easier transitions.

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Thus, to tackle my injury directly, I adapted my warm-up and cool-down sequence from pilates lessons to fit my needs. My flexibility training consists of exercises like cat-cow, pelvic tilt and piriformis stretch. These movements were really helpful for muscle release as it targets the exact area and allows me to feel a deeper stretch. For example, the piriformis stretch is the ‘contract-relax stretching of the deep external rotator muscle’, whereby I use the pressure from the bent knee to release the tension and intensify the stretch (Simmel, 2013, p. 97).

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For injury rehabilitation, ‘stretching is prescribed to increase muscle length and range of motion, or to align collagen fibres during healing muscle’ (Page, 2012, p.114). Therefore, to relieve the pain from the injury, I have included flexibility training to loosen the muscles and reduce tension in the lower back.

From research, some recommended exercises included pigeon pose, child pose, knee-to-chest stretch and seated spinal twist (Cronkleton, 2021). However, after doing these exercises for a while, it was not very useful as I could not fully feel the internal stretch. For instance, the pigeon pose aims to engage the gluteus medius and open the hips. But I did not feel much stretch due to my hip flexibility (Kester, 2019).

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In ground-based classes, we are required to do many exercises involving pelvic bridges; it can be a fixed holding position or a transition movement whereby we jump and kick up, or we roll in and out of it for shoulder rolls. These exercises have been very taxing, particularly on my lower back, which raises concerns about whether I am doing it correctly and how I can improve to prevent further injury.

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The sacroiliac joints are the joints where the sacrum, which is at the lower part of the spine, connects to the pelvis. The two sacroiliac joints are on each side, with ligaments in each joint that hold the bones together. Sacroiliac joint pain is ‘most commonly felt in the lower back, hips and glutes but can also be referred into the thigh and leg’ (Mayo Clinic, no date).

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Reflection on my progressions for handstands

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Reflection on my progressions for handstands

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Learning how to fall safely to overcome fear and improve state of mind

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Learning how to fall safely to overcome fear and improve state of mind

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In ground-based classes, Arran taught us different ways to approach handstands.

The first method was simply learning to tuck our legs in a handstand position upside down. This was psychologically beneficial for me because the movement is closer to the ground than a proper handstand. Therefore, I have less anxiety about falling and can focus more on the technique.

The next step was learning to cartwheel in and out of a handstand. Although it was difficult to coordinate my body to cut the momentum, I find that this technique is useful as being comfortable with cartwheels reduces my anxiety about doing handstands.

Additionally, having this as part of the class’s moving sequence helps me see handstands' applications in other aspects. To illustrate, the control of the pelvis increases my proprioception when I am upside down, as I can sense where my weight is and can easily navigate different body parts. This then allows for smoother transitions in and out of movements during the sequences.

Learning different techniques to bail out of the handstand is very helpful as it exposes me to different scenarios, which trains me to catch myself in various situations confidently.

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Slowly reducing the reliance on an external support system to reduce reinjury anxiety

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Slowly reducing the reliance on an external support system to reduce reinjury anxiety

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Personally, I feel safer with a wall as it can stop me from tipping over and allows me to come down with control. Thus, I have progressively moved away from external support to ease my reliance and build my confidence. By doing this repeatedly, it gives me time to mentally prepare myself before the execution, which prevents me from scaring and freaking myself out.

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Progressively moving away from wall over the term

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My methods to overcome my fear slowly and safely

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My methods to overcome my fear slowly and safely

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Interventions, such as education, goal setting, self-talk and graded exposure, have helped athletes improve their coping skills and reduced reinjury anxiety (Hsu et al., 2017, p.165).

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Previous injury and how it impacts me psychologically 

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Previous injury and how it impacts me psychologically 

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Psychology in injury recovery - Fear of reinjury

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Psychology in injury recovery - Fear of reinjury

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Based on a study on athletes, ‘Fear of reinjury is defined as ‘a psychological response to sports injury that can negatively affect rehabilitation outcomes, including preventing a successful return to sport’ (Hsu et al., 2017, p.162). One of the psychological changes after an injury is the lack of trust in the injured site.

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With dancers' long and active schedules, high-intensity training is highly demanding on dancers’ physical and mental well-being through various factors such as overload and fatigue. This could lead to an increased risk of injuries, potentially hindering dance training and performance. With my fair share of experiences being injured, I thought it would be essential to research deeper into how I can treat my injuries to overcome them and prevent further injuries.