Dance Injury TreatmentsIn New York City

Ankle Sprain

Ankle sprain is a type of injury in which your ankle twists, rolls, or turns the wrong way, which can tear or stretch the ligaments of your ankle. It can be moderate to severe.

Symptoms include swelling, bruising, pain, redness, difficulty walking, and instability when you shift your weight on the affected foot.

Achilles Tendonitis

Achilles Tendonitis occurs when there is an injury to the Achilles tendon, which connects the calf to the heel. It’s caused by overusing the Achilles tendon, which is common for dancers, particularly if they are participating in lots of leaping or jumping on hard surfaces.

Symptoms include pain, swelling, and stiffness in the tendon.

Dancer's Fracture

Also known as a long spiral fracture of the distal metatarsal, this injury happens on the outside of the foot when a dancer rolls over their foot, usually when en pointe or trying to land a jump.

Symptoms include pain and swelling on the outside of the foot, as well as trouble walking.

Dancer's Heel

Also known as posterior impingement syndrome, this injury happens when tissue behind the ankle is compressed because of a bony formation. It can often be triggered by an ankle sprain.

Symptoms include pain, swelling, or inflammation behind the ankle.

Hammertoe

This is a condition when one or more of the toes bend and curl down instead of pointing forward. This can happen from wearing narrow shoes that compress the toes or repeated pressure on a toe that sticks out.

Signs of hammertoe include a permanently bent toe, difficulty moving the toe, and large calluses or corns.

Heel Spur

This condition happens when there’s a calcium deposit underneath or behind the heel bone, which causes a bony protrusion by as much as half an inch.

Symptoms of heel spurs can include swelling, pain, and inflammation in your heel.

Ingrown Toenail

This is a common issue that happens when either the toenail grows into the skin, or the skin on one or both sides grows over the edges of the toenail. This is most common in the big toe.

Signs of an ingrown toenail include pain, inflammation, redness, pus, or fever.

Metatarsalgia

This condition manifests as pain and inflammation on the ball of your foot, usually from overuse or repetition - which is common in running.

Signs you have metatarsalgia include sharp pain in the ball of your foot, located where your toes meet the bottom of your foot, shooting pain or numbness in your toes, feeling like you’re walking on a rock, or increasing pain when you try and run that resolves when you’re off your feet.

Neuroma

This condition is a pinched nerve in your foot caused by tissue thickening in your foot. Although usually benign, it can cause pain as it tends to occur on the ball of the foot. It is also known as Morton’s Neuroma.

Signs of this include pain, burning sensations, or numbness on the bottom of your foot around the affected area below the toes.

Plantar Fasciitis

One of the most common injuries to your foot, plantar fasciitis refers to irritation or degeneration in the fascia, or tissue, that is on the bottom of your foot.

Signs of this condition include slowly developing pain or a burning sensation on the bottom of your foot, pain under your heel or midfoot, increased sensitivity when you get up in the morning, or pain after being on your feet for a while.

Stress Fracture

This condition is when a hairline crack forms on the top of your foot, in your heel, or your lower leg, though it can occur elsewhere. It usually happens because of the repetitive impact from running on your foot.

Signs you may have a stress fracture include swelling, bruising, tendering, or slowly increasing pain in the affected area at all times of the day.