Avoiding Injury From Belly Dance - Page 2

After assuming the above posture, ask a friend or family member to check your shoulders to make sure they form a horizontal line, and check your lower back to make sure the spine through the lower back is straight, not arched.

The Risks Of Floor Work

Floor work looks wonderful, but certain moves can lead to knee injury. If you have any history of knee trouble, ask a doctor or physical therapist to advise you before trying any floor work moves.

Many dancers bang their knees as they descend to the floor or perform floor-based movements.

For example, consider the knee walk in the above photo where you start from a kneeling position, reach forward with one foot, then draw yourself forward onto that leg until its knee reaches the floor. It can be risky if you don't take care to give your knee a gentle landing, yet some dancers bang their knees as they crawl from leg to leg.

When doing floor work, consider wearing athletic kneepads under your pantaloons to cushion your knees. (You should be wearing pantaloons anyway to prevent your floor work moves from exposing too much.) If your pantaloons are sheer, choose flesh-colored kneepads.

One dance move that is especially dangerous for your knees is the Turkish backbend, shown in the photo below:

Although this move looks really great, it puts incredible stress on the knees. The best advice for safety is, "Don't do it!" But if you, like me, can't resist, here are some tips for minimizing your risk:

• Build Leg Muscle Strength. Before ever attempting this backbend, spend several weeks performing daily exercises to strengthen both the front and the back of the leg muscles. If you have access to a gym, use the leg extension and leg curl weight machines. Otherwise, use toe touches (try to touch your forehead to your knees while keeping your legs straight) to build the muscles in the backs of your legs. To build muscles in the front, especially in your thighs, kneel on the floor with your torso upright. Slowly lean back just a little, with your body tracing a straight line from your knees through the top of your head. Hold this position as long as you can--you'll soon feel the pull in your thigh muscles.
• Build Abdominal Strength. Use sit-ups or crunches to build strength in your abdominal muscles.