Injuries and Demands on Dancers’ Bodies
Dr. Tabby has extensive background in ballet and modern dance. She understands the types of injuries that dancers incur and the demands on their bodies from repetitive practice and performance. Dancers are notorious pushers of limits, a quality that makes them excellent at their art, but unfortunately also prone to injury. They dance through pain and are prone to overuse injuries, stress fractures, tendonitis and sprains and strains, among other injuries. Dr. Tabby has an appreciation for dance and wants to see dancers have long and prosperous careers, or the ability to dance as a hobby, which requires taking care of the body.
Dr. Tabby offers appointment scheduling with easy to obtain appointments in the case of injury. She encourages all of her patients, but particularly patients such as dancers who may easily aggravate an injury due to repetitive practice and overuse, to make an appointment to work on resolving the issue.
Dr. Tabby’s Exam and Experience with Dance
Dr. Tabby has experience treating dancers from various backgrounds, including ballet and modern dance. She has personal background and experience in these areas and is familiar with the technique and demands required of dancers. Physical medicine and rehabilitation specialists like Dr. Tabby help to maintain proper body mechanics and treat injuries, allowing patients to return to their daily functioning. In this case, she works with dancers to resolve their injuries and pain so they can continue dancing.
Dr. Tabby practices the “art of medicine,” forging strong relationships with her patients built on trust and mutual respect, and pursuing a rigorous diagnostic work-up. She will carefully listen to the patient’s complaint and perform a thorough examination of the affected area, as well as other areas of the body to look for signs of related stress and tension. Her goal is to help dancers get back to dancing, but she wants to ensure that all problems are addressed to prevent future injuries. Education and corrective measures or exercises may be implemented as part of the treatment plan to prevent future reoccurrences of similar injuries.
Multidisciplinary Approach to Treatment
Once a diagnosis is made, Dr. Tabby will create a personalized treatment plan tailored to the dancer’s specific need, mindful of the technical stresses and the dancer’s schedule. There is often collaboration with orthopedics, physical therapy and other practitioners. While there is focus on protecting the injury, she may suggest specific exercises to continue to maintain flexibility and strength within the technique when possible, rather than stopping dance and exercise altogether.
She employs a nonnarcotic treatment method rooted in the judicious use of medications, therefore treatments are more likely to center around “hands on” methods such as topical pain relief, massage, heat or ice application and trigger point injections for muscle pain. Active participation of the patient is required to complete recommended therapeutic exercises. Bracing (orthotics) may be employed in combination with any of the above methods to allow for healing and support.
Dr. Tabby utilizes treatment methods focused on proper nutrition, vitamins, and therapeutic exercises and coordinates care with other providers to create a multidisciplinary team with the dancer’s best interests in mind. She works to return dancers back to dancing as quickly as possible, while still allowing the appropriate healing time, education and treatment methods aimed at preventing future re-injury.