In maintaining your health as a dancer it is important to consider all of the aspects of health which are equally as important as each other. For example nutrition through food and drink is used for the body’s every function, from muscle contraction to nerve impulses, with many nutrients taking on more than one job in the body. For instance, calcium is well known for being a hugely important part of bone health but is also critical for creating an electric impulse that travels down a nerve, and for allowing a muscle to relax after contracting.
Make sure the body is not overworked by doing too much too soon, and make physical changes gradually. Research has found that dancers tend to get injured when they have a dramatic change in their workload, either a rapid increase in the amount of dancing or a quick transition to a new style of dance for which the body is unprepared. Introduce your body to the change by taking time to increase the volume and/or intensity of physical load. This could mean gradually increasing the number of classes or styles you take or it could be increasing the number of repetitions of class combinations.
Cross-training also aids the body, simply because dance is so physical and dancers need to behave more like athletes when it comes to conditioning. A great way to make sure you are maximising physical potential, and reducing opportunity for injury, is by exercising in ways that are unlike exercise through dancing. This can improve cardiovascular endurance, muscular endurance and muscular strength. The same muscles are used over and over through technique classes or specific repertoire, and there is little chance to improve the strength and endurance of the muscles that are not critical for current work.
Make sure you rest too! Rest is the time the body takes to heal and improve function. If you are feeling exhausted, decrease the amount of dancing or replace it with low-impact activity like Pilates or floor-based barre. Rest is necessary to prevent fatigue, which is a major factor for injuries and one of the most preventable. Rest is also important for your immune system so help your body boost immune functions by getting enough sleep.
Image courtesy of Adria Richards.