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Inpinged achilles


kiwimum

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Question for any experts on injury:

 

My daughter, never injury prone, has been diagnosed with an impinged achilles and told to dance pain free which means marking with no foot pointing, rises or pointe work.

 

She has an ENBS final in 2 days, ballet cups at her school and the Phyllis Bedells next week. Unfortunate timing. I suppose the injury is due to the intense training at the mo'.

 

How long is this injury likely to last and apart from rest and ice is there other treatment?

Thanks.

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Should she further damage her Achilles - this has the potential to be a major (even dance ending) event. She should not go beyond what she has been allowed to do by those professionals advising her. All else has to be put aside until this injury has completely and positively healed. Tendons heal with scar tissue and one event leads to another with cummulative effect. How long this takes is individual - but it takes what it takes.

 

Be sure to check her street shoes, too - and make sure that you get good advice on what is suitable. That tendon has to be rested with no ifs, ands, or buts. Her schedule doesn't matter - what matters is this tendon. It is a vulnerable tendon because it is not only a major one but doesn't have a sheath. There is good reason "Achilles heel" has the connotations that it has!

 

So, as sorry as I am to say this, and as badly as I know she feels about this - there is no rushing the healing process - and no rushing the time needed. Rest - Ice - Elevation. Try to keep it elevated above the level of the heart (difficult, I know) - as much as possible.

 

I wish her well - and a complete recovery. I wish I had better news - I truly do.

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Perhaps it is worth phoning ENBS to tell them the situation ahead of the audition, and maybe ask their advice on how it should be approached.

 

PS. I'm assuming that it is a physio who has given the advice - if not then get her to a dance/sports physio asap to see if there is more that can be done.

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Oh, what rotten timing Kiwimum. :-((. I would agree with all the advice given, most particularly with contacting ENBS, and getting your DD to a specialist dance physio if she has not already seen one.

 

Out of interest, does your DD overpronate her ankles in street shoes?

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That is such bad luck Kiwimum. :mellow: I often wonder what the 6th form vocational schools do in this situation. I only know of someone whose dd was very ill at her Elmhurst final audition with a viral bug and asked for the chance to re-audition but was refused and didn't get a place. She then went on to get a place at RBS. This was for lower school though.

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I agree it would be a good idea to speak to ENBS. At the worst, perhaps she could attend this audition even if she suffers, as she may not get this chance again. Then after that I would say complete rest, pull out of cups and Phyllis Bedells, as even winning would not really have any impact on her dance future.

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I agree it would be a good idea to speak to ENBS. At the worst, perhaps she could attend this audition even if she suffers, as she may not get this chance again. Then after that I would say complete rest, pull out of cups and Phyllis Bedells, as even winning would not really have any impact on her dance future.

 

I have to disagree. It's not a matter of suffering....it's a matter of damaging that very important tendon to the point where it ends a career. A torn Achilles tendon can happen in a moment.

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I'm inclined to agree about resting if that is the advice that has been given. I doubt ENBS would want a candidate to risk doing serious damage by dancing when they had been told not to. My DD's much older ballet friend told her about a student at a recent audition who had been doing barre with no problem, but balked at doing Grand Battements - when asked why, the student said "I had abdominal surgery a few days ago!".

 

Needless to say, the school panicked somewhat!

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Thanks for the advice all. We are going for rest and ice and elevation and plying it by ear. She is under close supervision of the school physio now. We have to look to the bigger picture.

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