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Strictly Come Hobbling – Almost a quarter of fans dance with danger
By slhaf | November 27, 2009
Whilst it may have got the nation toe tapping on Saturday nights, experts warn that Strictly Come Dancing and its rising number of arm chair enthusiasts will prompt a three-fold increase in foot and ankle injuries and two-fold increase in back and spinal injury, meaning we could be hot stepping into a future of bad physique and posture more akin to John Sergeant than Alesha Dixon.
Since the beginning of Strictly Come Dancing almost half (46%) of its fans in the North East and Yorkshire have tried ballroom dancing but with similar consequences to the show’s rising injury rate. Series seven of the show has seen the highest rate of injured stars and worryingly a quarter (24%) of fans from the North East and Yorkshire now say they have been injured too as a result of taking up amateur dancing with the most common injuries being stubbed toes (15%), muscle damage (9%) and broken bones (8%)!
With one in five of us failing to exercise even once a week, the MBT Academy warns that the poor fitness and physiques of couch potato fans will create a potential hot potato of both short and long term health problems in the future. Hot stepping it into the leader board of most common injuries and health implications are:
Injury – Foot pain (including bunions, stress fractures, meta-tarsalgia & and toenail injuries)
Frequency – Estimated at 80% of all female dancers and 50% of male
Long term health implication – Problems with continuing dancing, painful walking, arthritis, decreased overall fitness
Injury- Lower back pain
Frequency – 75% female and 60% male
Long term health implicatio – Arthritis, chronic back pain, disc problems
Injury- Ankle sprains
Frequency – 40% female and 25% male
Long term health implication – Increased risk of further sprains, ankle arthritis, decreased balance later in life
Injury- Anterior knee pain
Frequency – 25% female and 25% male
Long Term Health Implication – Knee arthritis and swelling
The results have prompted ex-Strictly professional dancer, Andrew Cuerden, to predict a depressingly low score for the nation’s potential as graceful dancers. He comments: “Good general fitness, core strength and posture are vital for ballroom dancing. Without these both celebrities and armchair enthusiasts will risk injury and disappointment on the dance floor”.
Joshua Wies, Chartered Physiotherapist and Director of the MBT Academy comments: “One can’t deny that Strictly has had a good impact on getting Brits off the sofa and into exercise, but people must concentrate on improving their general fitness before rushing too quickly into a dance studio, as the potential for injury may simply negate all the potential benefits of the sport”.
Joshua has the following tips for helping people gently ease themselves into amateur dancing with minimal injury/consequence:
- Think of dancing like a sport – remember to warm up and cool down (warm up with gentle movement to increase the heart rate and get the blood flowing to the big muscles and joints in the legs and back; cool down by keeping moving after you dance for up to fifteen minutes and stretching the legs to keep them supple)
- With ballroom dance in particular, there are often long breaks between dances – keep your body warm during these breaks so your muscles don’t get tight
- Maintain your fitness outside of the dance studio with activity such as walking and stretching along with core exercises such as Pilates to keep the back strong and flexible
- Make a simple walk to the supermarket a work out by wearing physiological footwear such as MBT shoes, which will strengthen your core muscles and improve posture and gait
Wearing MBT footwear on a regular basis or for training helps joint stability, core muscle strength, co-ordination and agility, while also helping prevent injury and aiding muscle regeneration and rehabilitation. They also assist recovery after training and provide rehabilitation after injury, because the sole’s technology improves muscle function and minimises loading and stress on vulnerable joints.
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Topics: Home | 2 Comments »
November 27th, 2009 at 6:21 pm
[...] http://www.healthandfitnessonline.co.uk/?p=285Frequency – Estimated at 80% of all female dancers and 50% of male. Long term health implication – Problems with continuing dancing, painful walking, arthritis, decreased overall fitness. Injury- Lower back pain … Without these both celebrities and armchair enthusiasts will risk injury and disappointment on the dance floor”. Joshua Wies, Chartered Physiotherapist and Director of the MBT Academy comments: “One can’t deny that Strictly has had a good impact on getting … [...]
December 1st, 2009 at 3:33 pm
Seems like what we are facing can be minimized by simple exercises like walks, dancing etc…or just get an MBT and make a decision to be fit!