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Chapter 4: Safety and Injury Prevention in Performance
Preventing injury and exercising safely are keys to undertaking success in performance. Through
scientific and well-managed trainings, one’s performance may be enhanced and avoid acute injury
occurrence. It is important to be always aware of the safety, prevention and precautions in performance
so that enjoyment and leisure will always be achieved at all times. Preventive measures must be
practiced and familiarized as a dedication to safety and injury prevention. Without proper management
of injuries, condition may be worsened and performance will be greatly affected.
The following discussions in this chapter will help on how to prevent injury and stay safe during your
performance.
Emergency Resources
It takes a true emergency to make immediate response to such illnesses, injury or
disaster. Being familiar and aware of the connections with the safety and prevention
institutions may lessen the chances of having severe conditions. Education in basic life support,
first aiding and immediate response is highly encouraged to everyone to be ready in case of
unexpected and life-threatening incidents. It is essential to look up to contact numbers of
individuals or agencies (hospital, clinic, and bureaus for safety) who are experts in immediate
response to injuries and accidents that are nearest to your locale, resident or state.
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Basic response to dancing Injury
If you injure yourself when dancing, suggestions include:
• Stop if you feel pain. Continuing to dance will only make the injury worse.
• Perform the R.I.C.E (Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation). Using these four immediate first aid
measures can relieve pain, limit swelling and protect the injured tissues, all of which help speed
healing
• Seek advice from your doctor as soon as you can. A proper diagnosis is important.
• Don’t resume dancing until you have fully recovered from your injury. Returning to dance too
soon will turn an acute injury (an injury that occurs suddenly) into a chronic injury (an ‘overuse’
injury that gradually worsens over a long time).
Where to get help:
• School nurse or company nurse
• Dance instructor
• Doctor
• Physiotherapist
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Things to remember
• Choose a dance style that is appropriate to your level of fitness.
• Wear professionally fitted shoes appropriate to your style of dance.
• Warm up thoroughly before you start dancing and include stretches.
• Check with your dance instructor that you are using the correct posture or technique.
Etiquette for Safety
People dance for a variety of reasons: for fun, recreation and for health. Dance can be social or
performed for an audience. It can also be ceremonial or competitive. Dancing is a great manner to be
livelier and offers a wide range of physical and mental benefits. Dance styles range from ballroom and
jazz, ballet to hip-hop and popular dancing – you’re sure to find a style that suits you.
Though, the array of body movements, repetition and speed of movement can put you at risk of
an injury, particularly if you are new and learning unfamiliar steps. You can help reduce your risk of
injury by being aware of some of these risk factors.
Reducing the risk of dance injuries
You can reduce your risk of injury when dancing if you follow some simple guidelines.
• See your doctor for a check-up if you have a medical condition, are overweight, are over 40
years of age or haven’t exercised regularly for a long time.
• If you have a pre-existing problem or injury especially to the foot, ankle or lower back, consult
your doctor before starting.
• Choose a dance style that is appropriate for you. Have a basic awareness of your own body and
of your own personal limits and boundaries. For example, high impact dance styles that involve
jumping and vigorous movements are not appropriate for a person with arthritis.
• Warm up thoroughly before you start dancing and include stretches. This is important in
preparing the body for dancing.
• Cool down after a dance session and stretch again.
• Drink plenty of water before, during and after dancing.
• Wear layers of clothing that you can take off as your body warms up.
• Wear professionally fitted shoes appropriate to your style of dance. Proper dance shoes
distribute load, absorb impact, and support your foot.
• Don’t push yourself too far or too fast, especially if you are a beginner.
• Concentrate on correct posture and your dance technique. The way a dancer connects one
movement to another must be technically correct so as not to twist the body incorrectly, or
strain a muscle.
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• Talk with your dance instructor if you have a problem or injury. They may be able to modify the
move and teach you a variation to reduce the risk factors.
• Sit down and watch, sometimes you can learn more from watching than actually doing
something for the first time.
• Make sure you take sufficient rest between dance sessions, especially if you are new to dancing
or are not very fit. This will help minimise muscle soreness or stiffness.
Dance injury risk factors
Some of the factors that can increase your risk of dance injury include:
• Inexperience – beginners may be vulnerable to injury because they don’t have the skills or
technique to meet the physical demands of their chosen dance style. Make sure you follow the
instructions of your dance teacher.
• Poor fitness – weak muscles are more likely to be injured when challenged or stretched.
Controlled progressions will improve your fitness and muscle strength.
• Poor technique – for example, bringing your foot down to the floor with more force than
necessary can injure soft tissue and bone.
• Poor posture – weak muscles in the back and abdomen increase the risk of injury to all areas of
the body including the spine and legs.
• Fatigue – a tired dancer tends to lose form. Falls and injuries caused by sloppy technique are
more likely.
• Hazardous environment – for example, worn or ripped carpet, hard floor, uneven floor, spilt
liquids or fittings close to the dance area such as stairs.
• Overtraining – dancing for too long or too often can lead to a wide range of overuse injuries.
Shin splints and stress fractures in the feet are common dance-related overuse injuries.
• Failure to rest an injury – returning to dance before an existing injury has healed can aggravate
the condition.
Common dance injuries
Common dance injuries include:
• Sprains and strains - where muscles and ligaments are overstretched or twisted
• Impact injuries – such as bruises caused by falling over, bumping into another dancer or tripping
over props
• Blisters, bruising and ingrown toenails - ill-fitting shoes can cause all of these foot problems.
Wearing the Proper gear
Due to diversity in dancing, proper attire and dance wear may vary depending to the dance
discipline. Dancing is a physical activity that requires physical effort, so comfort must not be
compromised when choosing a proper gear.
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Although, choosing the proper attire is always a challenging task to a lot of dancers. Aside from
the safety benefits, it also helps to boost self-confidence and good presence on the dance floor. Proper
clothing may interpret unseen ideas in dances to the audience. It must also stay in place even when
leaping, kicking, jumping, flooring and other dancing moves.
Tips on choosing the proper dance gear:
1. Determine the type of dance to perform – dance wears must depend on the type of dance to
be performed.
2. Right clothes for body type- To avoid wardrobe malfunction, a good and comfortable fit of
clothes must be identified in order to lessen movement restrictions.
3. Choose clothes that will enhance your physical features – clothing is a vital part of dancing
wherein it also helps to enhance the visual presentation of movements. It also gives effect and
language to a particular dance that is being performed by dancers.
4. Check clothing quality – clothing must be also designed to protect individual from injury. Good
quality dance gears usually last long.
5. Good match to dance performance – the dance gears must be relevant to the dance in order to
carry the message of the performance.
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EXERCISE 4: Safety and Injury Prevention in Performance
Answer the following questions below:
1. What are the healthy practices in improving performance and preventing sports injuries? State at
least three.
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2. Explain the R.I.C.E (Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation). In your own words, what are the
physiological explanations of each step in R.I.C.E?
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3. Make a logo that advocates safety and injury preventions in performance. You may put color on your
work.
Creativity – 5 points
Originality- 3 points
Neatness- 2 points
TOTAL: 10 points
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Larry Cohen, MSW. THE IMPORTANCE OF INJURY PREVENTION. Am J Public Health. 2004 October;
94(10): 1658.
http://extravadancewear.ca/dance-gear-choosing-the-proper-clothes-for-dance-class/
