Square hips in splits

[BellaF]

Just after a bit of advice. My DD has had (a form!) of all her splits for a while but has noticed that her hips are 'open' in front splits - any tips for rectifying this? She's tried for a little while to slide into them keeping her hips square but has not seen much progress this way. 

 

Guessing getting her alignment right is pretty important? Thanks 😊

[drdance]

Hi,

 

A good tip for this is practicing sliding into splits then bending the back leg with the shin vertical and foot pointing up to the ceiling. If the hips are open, the dancer will find this very difficult. It requires more flexibility in the front of the hip on the back leg. A dancer who has a good second position / box splits but tighter hip flexors/ilopsoas will find that they naturally want to twist

 

[Raquelle]

1 hour ago, drdance said:

Hi,

 

A good tip for this is practicing sliding into splits then bending the back leg with the shin vertical and foot pointing up to the ceiling. If the hips are open, the dancer will find this very difficult. It requires more flexibility in the front of the hip on the back leg. A dancer who has a good second position / box splits but tighter hip flexors/ilopsoas will find that they naturally want to twist

 

Thank you this is really useful. My dd is square on one side but has only just got into splits on left side and they are open...hannah Martin (ballerina in elmhurst school, finalist for greatest dancer) recently did a stretch class and said to be really strict on yourself not to cheat and to keep hips straight when going down and eventually you will get there with practise and dedication. She said she was the same when she was younger. Will definitely try the stretches above too! 

[BellaF]

3 hours ago, drdance said:

Hi,

 

A good tip for this is practicing sliding into splits then bending the back leg with the shin vertical and foot pointing up to the ceiling. If the hips are open, the dancer will find this very difficult. It requires more flexibility in the front of the hip on the back leg. A dancer who has a good second position / box splits but tighter hip flexors/ilopsoas will find that they naturally want to twist

 

 

Thank you so much - this is really helpful! 

 

 

[Aurora3]

On 05/02/2021 at 13:25, drdance said:

Hi,

 

A good tip for this is practicing sliding into splits then bending the back leg with the shin vertical and foot pointing up to the ceiling. If the hips are open, the dancer will find this very difficult. It requires more flexibility in the front of the hip on the back leg. A dancer who has a good second position / box splits but tighter hip flexors/ilopsoas will find that they naturally want to twist

 

Yes, but often in ballet teachers want both legs turned out(and the hips on one level, of course!)!

 

[Pas de Quatre]

Of course, because in ballet the splits are not an end in themselves, they are preparation for grand jetés and arabesques.

[drdance]

On 06/02/2021 at 18:38, Aurora3 said:

Yes, but often in ballet teachers want both legs turned out(and the hips on one level, of course!)!

 

I completely agree - but in order to achieve this the young dancer needs to be able to turn out out the back leg whilst keeping the hips square. Many young dancers struggle with this too and will twist their pelvis to turn out the back leg. In my experience student dancers respond well to the method I have recommended in order to understand how to maintain the correct pelvic alignment. Once that is achieved you can then work to do it in turnout. 

[Pas de Quatre]

I prefer allowing the back leg to bend a little,  so it ends up in an attitude allongé. In that position there is no danger of damaging the heel of the front leg or the kneecap of the back leg, neither of which should be bearing weight and in contact with the floor.

[drdance]

16 hours ago, Pas de Quatre said:

I prefer allowing the back leg to bend a little,  so it ends up in an attitude allongé. In that position there is no danger of damaging the heel of the front leg or the kneecap of the back leg, neither of which should be bearing weight and in contact with the floor.

In that position the back knee is actually much more vulnerable to ligament and cartilage injury, especially on the medial (inside) side - a bent knee can twist (although it shouldn’t) and if bearing weight the ligaments can become strained.
 

The heel bone will not be affected by the actions of the splits - the anatomy of the ankle means that it is held very securely. The only way it could become damaged is through sudden and large force impact. It bears weight every time someone walks! And if the kneecap wasn’t supposed to bear weight what happens when people (in all walks of life) kneel? 

[Pas de Quatre]

This is such an important topic I am going to answer at some length.  Firstly it is while sliding down into the splits in parallel that dancers put excessive force onto the heel bone, which is not in the same as supporting weight while standing, walking or jumping when upright. 

 

However I feel it is the knee question that should be addressed.   There are various knee problems often associated with rapid growth and an imbalance of muscles.  This growth spurt is normal and generally happens in the teen years.  It is well known that the bones lengthen before the soft tissue so dancers may find they are not as flexible as previously.   Many adolescent dancers find it painful to kneel as pressure is on the inflamed area so pressure on the knee should be avoided.

 

I am going to quote from the book "Dance Technique & Injury Prevention" by the late Justin Howse who specialised in Dance Medicine.  Osgood Schlatter's disease "is an inflammation of the growing portion of the bone at the upper end of the tibia to which the patella tendon is attached" ....."is most common in children who are keen on games sports and other activities."  Most children don't develop full blown OS, but may suffer some inflammation and I have had several pupils over the years who have had pain when kneeling, so these days I tend to avoid it in choreography.

 

"Complications. The actual bony tibial tubercle can become permanetly enlarged if a lot strenuous activity is continued despite the warnings of pain." .......... "In boys, should they be called upon to kneel much, it can produce a local painful area later in life purely because of the mechanical prominence".  

 

I don't see why it should be any different for girls, so avoid excess pressure on knees and stop and seek medical help if you have any pain.

[drdance]

PDQ - I completely agree with you regarding the adolescent growth issues however to say that the kneecap shouldn’t bear weight is perhaps a little misleading. Growth plate related conditions such as Osgood-schlatters do cause pain but not on the kneecap itself - the painful area is below the kneecap, on the tibial tuberosity. If a dancer was sliding into the splits their weight would be distributed between their hands, their front leg and their back leg. Furthermore, the part of the back leg in contact with the floor (if using the bent leg, shin vertical method) is above the kneecap not below it. 
 

As for the heel bone - when walking, the heel bone of the leading leg is subjected to a force equal to 3 times the persons body weight. Compared to sliding into splits where body weight is distributed between both hands, and both legs, this is considerably less. The anatomy of the other bones and ligaments in the ankle mean that as long as the alignment of the foot is straight, the joint is secure. 
 

As I said before - I completely agree regarding growth related issues in adolescents, and anyone who knows me and my work would know that I also advocate active flexibility training over passive (such as the splits). However the OP asked for tips about keeping square hips in splits.

 

How would you address this issue?  

[Pas de Quatre]

Simply by maintaining the correct amount of turnout on both legs and only going as low towards the splits as possible, aiming to increase the flexibility and hence the depth of splits slowly over time.  It is exactly the same theory in any extension standing. Lots of dancers can "whack" their legs up in grand battements, but unless both legs are straight and rotated, the body weight correctly over the supporting leg and the foot of the working leg pointed, then it ain't ballet!  If you want to target the turnout of the back leg then "swan pose" is a good position to work on.

Edited February 10, 2021 by Pas de Quatre
add last sentence.

[Sara-Anne]

On 09/02/2021 at 10:12, Pas de Quatre said:

This is such an important topic I am going to answer at some length.  Firstly it is while sliding down into the splits in parallel that dancers put excessive force onto the heel bone, which is not in the same as supporting weight while standing, walking or jumping when upright. 

 

However I feel it is the knee question that should be addressed.   There are various knee problems often associated with rapid growth and an imbalance of muscles.  This growth spurt is normal and generally happens in the teen years.  It is well known that the bones lengthen before the soft tissue so dancers may find they are not as flexible as previously.   Many adolescent dancers find it painful to kneel as pressure is on the inflamed area so pressure on the knee should be avoided.

 

I am going to quote from the book "Dance Technique & Injury Prevention" by the late Justin Howse who specialised in Dance Medicine.  Osgood Schlatter's disease "is an inflammation of the growing portion of the bone at the upper end of the tibia to which the patella tendon is attached" ....."is most common in children who are keen on games sports and other activities."  Most children don't develop full blown OS, but may suffer some inflammation and I have had several pupils over the years who have had pain when kneeling, so these days I tend to avoid it in choreography.

 

"Complications. The actual bony tibial tubercle can become permanetly enlarged if a lot strenuous activity is continued despite the warnings of pain." .......... "In boys, should they be called upon to kneel much, it can produce a local painful area later in life purely because of the mechanical prominence".  

 

I don't see why it should be any different for girls, so avoid excess pressure on knees and stop and seek medical help if you have any pain.

Oh gosh I didn’t realise Justin Howse had died, he treated my knee injury when I was a young dancer