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Gav
21st-February-2007, 11:22 PM
Couldn't resist! :D

Just recently I've found that the balls of my feet are really hurting after dancing.
Given that I haven't changed that much in MJ, could this be down to the walking in Tango? I have found that Tango has changed the way i stand and dance in MJ.

Has anyone else experienced this?

Do I need to go back to putting the weight on my heels? or is it just something my feet need to get used to?

spindr
21st-February-2007, 11:35 PM
Do I need to go back to putting the weight on my heels? or is it just something my feet need to get used to?
"Latin dancers always put their balls on the floor first"

SpinDr

Claire S
22nd-February-2007, 12:10 AM
My balls frequently hurt.:eek:

Since finding new gel insoles, I don't have the ame problem with my feet though.:D

Claire S
22nd-February-2007, 12:17 AM
My balls frequently hurt.:eek:

Since finding new gel insoles, I don't have the ame problem with my feet though.:D
I know somebody else whose balls are going to hurt VERY soon!!! :angry:

Lory
22nd-February-2007, 12:34 AM
My balls often burn :blush: ....



...especially if I wear the wrong kind of socks :rolleyes:

LittleSal
22nd-February-2007, 11:11 AM
Couldn't resist! :D

Just recently I've found that the balls of my feet are really hurting after dancing.
Given that I haven't changed that much in MJ, could this be down to the walking in Tango? I have found that Tango has changed the way i stand and dance in MJ.

Has anyone else experienced this?

Do I need to go back to putting the weight on my heels? or is it just something my feet need to get used to?

Yes I too have had this pain in the balls of my feet.
It is called metatarsalgia and affects these joints in the foot.It can be because of ill fitting shoes or just excess pressure on the balls of the feet ,or injury.Dancers and runners are prone to it because you put a lot of pressure on that area.
It can be helped by wearing good shoes,padded insoles{gel or foam}to cushion the impact.
If it is very painfull,rest the feet,ice the affected area and you can tkae painkillers like ibuprofen which help the pain and reduce the inflammation.

Hope this helps....all fellow sufferers!:flower:

philsmove
22nd-February-2007, 12:25 PM
I have found that Tango has changed the way i stand and dance in MJ.

Has anyone else experienced this?



Yes ....Do you ware diffent shoes for AT

Gav
22nd-February-2007, 02:02 PM
Yes ....Do you ware diffent shoes for AT

Nope, same old Bloch trainers I wear for everything (well, not quite everything :wink: ).

Little Yellow Fish
22nd-February-2007, 02:05 PM
Mine frequently hurt but usually if I have been dancing a few days in a row. They were hurting yesterday after 5 nights dancing in a row.

I did tango until it stopped in Dundee and never had any problems. My legs sometimes hurt depending on what moves we were doing, but thats it. And I wore 3 inch heels to tango in :what:

Vicki xx

Gav
22nd-February-2007, 02:19 PM
I did tango until it stopped in Dundee and never had any problems. My legs sometimes hurt depending on what moves we were doing, but thats it. And I wore 3 inch heels to tango in :what:

Vicki xx

I haven't tried 3 inch heels yet. I just can't find the right dress to go with them. :sick: :devil:

Double Trouble
22nd-February-2007, 02:56 PM
I haven't tried 3 inch heels yet. I just can't find the right dress to go with them. :sick: :devil:

I know someone who can help you with that....err....maybe not.:D

Little Yellow Fish
22nd-February-2007, 04:47 PM
I haven't tried 3 inch heels yet. I just can't find the right dress to go with them. :sick: :devil:

Never fear - it is perfectly acceptable to wear jeans with high heels :wink:

Jamie
22nd-February-2007, 04:59 PM
Never fear - it is perfectly acceptable to wear jeans with high heels :wink:

I wear Jeans with Heels! They're Cuban's but they're still heels! :whistle:

Gav
22nd-February-2007, 05:11 PM
I wear Jeans with Heels! They're Cuban's but they're still heels! :whistle:

I find that heels work better on shoes rather than on jeans :rolleyes:

clevedonboy
22nd-February-2007, 05:18 PM
Nope, same old Bloch trainers I wear for everything (well, not quite everything :wink: ).

Split sole trainers may be part of your problem - My feet have felt much better for all dancing now that I wear shoes with arch support. Poron Insoles are also marvellous things. But if things continue to be painful see you doc & ask to be referred to a physio

Astro
22nd-February-2007, 08:47 PM
tkae painkillers like ibuprofen which help the pain and reduce the inflammation.

Doctors recomend this. However I read in a book that the inflamation is there to aid healing. Pain is a sign that the injury should be nursed. For instance, footballers use painkillers to get back on the pitch too early and the injury does not heal properly. So months later the problem may resurface.

I recently discovered this and though I think it makes sense I am not sure if it is correct. Anyone know?:confused:

Groovemeister
23rd-February-2007, 11:15 AM
I pulled the muscle in the arche of one of my feet and also suffer from generally aching feet from dancing.

Good shoes with heels are deffinitely one thing that has solved the problem of aching feet I also tend to wear a couple of pairs of socks.

The pulling of the muscle was a completely different story and I had to ask a physios help in the end as I could never get rid of the problem completely. It would go for periods but would always come back. Be careful as this was started by me only wearing trainers to dance in.

LMC
23rd-February-2007, 11:27 AM
Perhaps it's to do with your overall posture and balance?

Kate (of Will & Kate) once said in a style class that a top AT dancer that she knows claims never to have achy balls, despite 3 inch heels - and not just 'cos said top dancer is female either (!).

Something like Alexander technique might help? - or ask your AT teacher for 5 minutes advice on overall posture?

Or if you are ever at a weekender where Aleks is offering her professional services (I mean kiniesology, however you spell it) then it's money well spent - my posture still needs work, but she really did set me in the right direction in the space of a couple of minutes.

For me, core strength is the big weakness in my posture and balance: I can stand up properly, but trying to maintain that good posture while I'm walking/dancing is a different matter :blush: A very good AT teacher had the class sucking their (own) thumbs - yes, really - to get an idea of the 'feel' of the tension needed in our (lower) abdominal muscles.

Trouble
23rd-February-2007, 11:33 AM
A very good AT teacher had the class sucking their (own) thumbs - yes, really - to get an idea of the 'feel' of the tension needed in our (lower) abdominal muscles.

:confused: please put me out of my misery and explain that one. Thumbs, lover abdonminal muscles :confused: :confused: is there a hidden connection there somewhere that i dont know about.?

FYI ive just tried sucking my thumb and i felt no tension in my abdominal muscle, do i need to suck it in a certain way :whistle: :flower:

Lory
23rd-February-2007, 11:35 AM
A very good AT teacher had the class sucking their (own) thumbs - yes, really - to get an idea of the 'feel' of the tension needed in our (lower) abdominal muscles.

I'm sorry but .... the mental picture is just :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Trouble
23rd-February-2007, 12:31 PM
I find my balls are ok, :D :D its the arch of my foot that tends to ache if i have done a lot of dancing that and my big toe that is constantly trodden on. :respect:

LMC
23rd-February-2007, 12:35 PM
:confused: please put me out of my misery and explain that one. Thumbs, lover abdonminal muscles :confused: :confused: is there a hidden connection there somewhere that i dont know about.?
No, it was my bad explanation :tears:

The whole point was that the teacher got us standing correctly first - it don't work if you're sat down or slumping. And you, er, have to suck fairly hard - please don't send the thread upstairs. The best/nearest I can get to describing is imagine that there is a string pulling you up from the very top of your head, but that your feet are super-glued to the floor. Weight should be forward on the balls of your feet, knees straight but 'soft' (not locked), tuck your tail in (forward) and shoulders back. Perhaps if your muscles are really good, you won't feel the difference if you suck your thumb - but I can :blush:

EDIT: OK, I'm gonna say it: if you're a girl, it's the muscles in the same areas as you get stomach cramps certain days of the month - well, it is for me ...

NB I just nipped into the work loo to test this... think my open plan office might have been a bit bemused if I'd stood up by my desk and carried out the experiment :rofl:

(And Lory - yep - it only worked when we'd all stopped giggling :rofl: )

Trouble
23rd-February-2007, 12:44 PM
No, it was my bad explanation :tears:


EDIT: OK, I'm gonna say it: if you're a girl, it's the muscles in the same areas as you get stomach cramps certain days of the month - well, it is for me ...

NB I just nipped into the work loo to test this... think my open plan office might have been a bit bemused if I'd stood up by my desk and carried out the experiment :rofl:

: )

OMG, i must be dead from the waste down. Im sitting in my office, standing up as described, sucking my thumb and all thats happening is my tongue is now sore and i have indentations in my cheeks. :confused:

Gav
23rd-February-2007, 12:46 PM
all thats happening is my tongue is now sore and i have indentations in my cheeks. :confused:

Wow, you must be sucking really hard! :what: :wink: :D

LMC
23rd-February-2007, 12:57 PM
Im sitting in my office, standing up as described, sucking my thumb ...
That's the problem :na:

Seriously, I don't think it's something that can be explained, unless it's together with a demonstration by a Really Good teacher, which I certainly ain't. I shoudn't even have tried, and only really mentioned it in the first place as mebbe something to ask about in the real world - and possibly to make people smirk at the image of an entire AT class standing there sucking their thumbs :really:

Twirly
23rd-February-2007, 01:43 PM
and possibly to make people smirk at the image of an entire AT class standing there sucking their thumbs :really:

Was DJ there? :devil:

LMC
23rd-February-2007, 01:48 PM
Was DJ there? :devil:
I'm not sure whether to be sad that he wasn't (missed photo opportunity and all that) or relieved that there was no-one from the forum there.

On the whole, relieved I think.

JonD
23rd-February-2007, 01:57 PM
Try a liberal application of Tea-tree ice gel (http://www.thechiropodist.com/proddetail.php?prod=courtinicegel). It may pong of tea-tree a bit but it sure brings a refreshing and stimulating tingle to your balls. No sucking required. (Seriously, it's good stuff).

I developed a hard patch of skin on the ball of one foot. I saw a sports physio who reckoned I'd overstrained the muscles that support the arch of the foot. I do heel raising exercises to strengthen the muscles and that seems to have worked and improved my balance into the bargain.

Groovemeister
23rd-February-2007, 02:10 PM
Try a liberal application of Tea-tree ice gel (http://www.thechiropodist.com/proddetail.php?prod=courtinicegel). It may pong of tea-tree a bit but it sure brings a refreshing and stimulating tingle to your balls. No sucking required. (Seriously, it's good stuff).

I developed a hard patch of skin on the ball of one foot. I saw a sports physio who reckoned I'd overstrained the muscles that support the arch of the foot. I do heel raising exercises to strengthen the muscles and that seems to have worked and improved my balance into the bargain.

Yep thats what I did exactly the same answer and remody.

I think that the aching foot especially the ball which you get when wearing trainers to dance in (which are afterall bought for comfort) is a sign of other things such as straining your foot arche muscles. Obviously if your in higher healed dance shoes then it probably isn't the case.

the problem comes when you do strain the muscle it's so hard to get rid of it took me 3-4 months of exercise to stop it coming back

dave the scaffolder
23rd-February-2007, 04:21 PM
Gav me old lovely buy yourself a pair of cuban heel dancing shoes and alternate 3 or 4 times during the night the differing posture demanded by these 2 shoes may help you. It works for me XXX XXX

Astro
24th-February-2007, 08:41 PM
The ball on my right foot started aching one night mid dance.
I had the problem for 2 or 3 weeks.
I then realised that the pain started round about the same time as I bought a new pair of trainers,(ordinary ones, not dance) Plus I had ball ache wearing them too.

I got rid of the trainers and VOILA! the pain STOPPED!
So worth checking your day shoes, they could be the culprits!

Mezzosoprano
24th-February-2007, 09:22 PM
:confused: please put me out of my misery and explain that one. Thumbs, lover abdonminal muscles :confused: :confused: is there a hidden connection there somewhere that i dont know about.?

FYI ive just tried sucking my thumb and i felt no tension in my abdominal muscle, do i need to suck it in a certain way :whistle: :flower:

Em... when she wakes up I'll ask my daughter - she's four and sucks her thumb so she's bound to know!

Freya
24th-February-2007, 09:25 PM
Doctors recomend this. However I read in a book that the inflamation is there to aid healing. Pain is a sign that the injury should be nursed. For instance, footballers use painkillers to get back on the pitch too early and the injury does not heal properly. So months later the problem may resurface.

I recently discovered this and though I think it makes sense I am not sure if it is correct. Anyone know?:confused:This is right Yup! however imagine you've done a really tough work out or long run, the next day your muscles ache and sometimes you can hardly walk! this is not a sign of injury but that muscles you haven't used in a long time (or maybe just not as hard) have been working! if the pain passes in a couple of days then it's nothing to worry about it!

From what I've read on this post and correct me if I'm wrong is that the pads on the balls of Gav's feet ache after a long dance session. And by the next day their ok? I spoke to a chiropodist as I was worried about this and hard skin forming! She had a quick look and said that it was nothing to worry about, it was the body protecting itself and as long as they didn't hurt constantly then applying a thick coating of moisturiser or vaseline and wearing a thin pair of cotton socks overnight would keep the skin supple...although maintain the thickness to protect the feet!

For what it's worth I wear a pair of jazz shoes to dance in. used to dance in heels but can't anymore! :sick: They have virtually no support at the arches. And have no problems! If you have pain in your actual Arches, ankles, knees, hips or Lower back following dancing...With no previous injuries then it's worth getting your feet checked out by a podiatrist or physio! A podiatrist will provide you with specially made insoles if required.

There are several exercises you can do to strengthen your arches. this post is getting long and I won't go into them.

With re: to posture! LMC was right in saying that you should imagine a string pulling you up through your spine and out the top of your head. however by simply imagining this it's difficult to get the right posture and not over do-it causing different problems! If you stand with you back against the wall, the heels of your feet about 3 inches away from the wall. If your sloucing against the wall then most of your back will touch it your shoulder blades most of all and your head will stick out away from the wall! To correct this pull the bottom angle of your shoulder blade down and in towards the centre of your spine. Then rock your pelvis back and forth then settle it in what feels the middle, this should produce a small curve in the lower back. These two adjustments should produce the correct curvature of the spine. The last adjustment to make while standing against the wall is to pull your head back towards the wall! don't tilt it up or down...it will produce double chins! It will feel very very odd tho because although it's the natural position for the spine and body we no longer tend to stand or sit in a correct position due to change in lifestyle!

LMC also mentioned the abdominal muscles and Sucking on your thumb to get an idea of the tension that should be reproduced! the Trans ab's muscle is one of the main muscles that support the spine! the exercise to produce this contraction is difficult to teach let alone explain properly over the forum so I won't bother! If anyone does want to have it explained to them they can PM me!

Both these things are really important where posture is concerned and is part of the main treatment bny physiotherapist for Lower back pain!