Protect Your Ankles from Irish Dancing
August in Milwaukee calls for celebrating Irish culture and heritage at the world’s largest Irish festival! Since 1981, Milwaukee Irish Fest has brought the community together through food, music, and of course, Irish dance. In Milwaukee alone, there are over 7 Irish dance schools. This leaves a lot of young athletes vulnerable to ankle sprains, stress fractures, and more as a result of their sports participation. Here are some tips for Irish dancers to avoid injuries this competition and festival season! Protect your ankles from Irish dancing this season!
5 Tips for Irish Dancers to Avoid Injury
Warmup
Warmups allow the body to prepare to work and prevent future injuries by improving blood flow to active regions and loosening muscle tissue to decrease the likelihood of tears or ruptures. Some ideas to help your dancer warm-up include the following:
- Straight jumps, tuck jumps, jumping jacks
- Lunges, butt kickers, high knees
- Arm circles, shoulder blade squeezes.
- Dynamic (moving) stretches for the calves, quadriceps, and hamstrings.
Incorporate Strength Training into a Regular Routine
Like any athlete, strength training helps the body’s muscles grow in their endurance and overall strength to prevent future injury. Consider joining a gym or participating in training programs outside of your regularly scheduled doctor’s visits. Ideas include weighted calf raises, squats, deadlifts, and core stability training.
Prioritize Diet
Eating various whole foods and focusing on healthy snacks will give you the fuel to perform! Consider supplementing your hydration with electrolytes to help replace salt that is lost in your sweat to prevent unnecessary fatigue and muscle cramping from potassium imbalances.
Sleep Is Vital
When you work out hard, you must recover just as hard! Sleep is when our body can repair damaged tissues and ward off injury. Setting a regular bedtime and wake-up time can help you optimize your recovery during sleep.
Seek Medical Care When Necessary
When you start having pain, it is your body’s sign of potential tissue damage. Find an athletic trainer or physical therapist to work with on limiting your pain while helping you continue performing and competing at the highest level possible. Pain is not normal, and you should stay ahead of pain to prevent future long-term injuries or consequences.
As always, remember to have fun this festival season. Try to remember these tips to help you avoid injury and remain dancing for longer! If something hurts or feels off, it is not normal, so come see one of our physical therapists today to help keep you functioning at your best!