If you’ve been a dancer for any length of time, you no doubt have noticed that your body can be a bit noisy. This is especially true when you’re practicing in the studio or performing on the stage. If you’re new to dancing, you may be alarmed by this phenomenon.
Dancers Can Expect Their Bodies to Make Certain Noises
Body noises often come to be an expected part of a dancer’s life. For example, perhaps you hear your hips, knees, or ankles make a popping sound. Or your knees sound like they’re crunching. Maybe you hear a click in your feet or a crack coming from your neck or back. Sometimes you’ll even hear squeaks. Most of the time, you don’t need to be overly concerned about these sounds. Sometimes, however, they can be a warning sign.
Some Noises Can Signal That Something is Wrong
If you hear one of the sounds mentioned in the previous paragraph, especially if it happens repeatedly, you may want to let your instructor know and seek advice from a physical therapist or another medical professional.
In this article and the next, we’ll take a look at some of the different types of sounds which dancers’ bodies can make and what those sounds might mean. We’ll also explore some possible solutions to any of the difficulties these noises may be pointing to in a dancer’s body.
Constant Neck & Back Cracking May Cause Problems
Some people, including dancers, feel an urge to crack their necks and backs incessantly. This is especially true of those who have hypermobile ligaments. While it can cause a feeling of released tension afterward, this kind of cracking could cause long term pain in some individuals. It can lead to overstretched ligaments, lower back instability, and an increase in pain and discomfort. If you feel a constant need to crack your back or neck and you notice that you’re experiencing a lot of pain in one or both of these areas, it may be time for you to tell your instructor about the problem or possibly go get it checked out.
Solution: Stabilize Your Back With Strengthening Exercises
You can also work on stabilizing your lower back. Use safe exercise techniques to strengthen your abdominal and back muscles. Bolstering this area of your body can help to fight the impulse to keep cracking your back all the time.
Hip Popping is Often Caused by Tight Muscles
One of the sounds you may often hear your body make if you’re a dancer is popping hips. Sometimes these pops aren’t associated with any pain at all, so dancers often just ignore them. This could be a mistake, as constant hip popping could create more serious joint problems that will surface later on.
Stretching May Alleviate Hip Popping
If you notice a lot of hip popping while you dance, you may need to stretch your muscles more when you do your warm-ups. If this doesn’t help, you could be developing problems with either your inner, lateral or frontal hips. Once again, seek advice from your instructor and doctors.
In our next article, we’ll look at a few other common noises which dancers’ bodies make, what they mean, and some possible solutions.
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