Occupational risk and disease

Ballet has never ceased to amaze people all over the world. And the ballerinas seem like air fairies, for whom the laws of gravity do not exist. In fact, this ease is due to years of hard work, and occupational diseases are a common occurrence in the field of ballet. The ballerina's legs are the most vulnerable spot. They are unusually strong, strong and hardy. It cannot be otherwise, because they have to withstand the weight of the female body on a tiny patch of the floor when she is standing on tiptoe in pointe shoes.

This is the side of the coin that is inaccessible to an ordinary viewer and appears only behind the scenes. The most common injuries among ballerinas are sprains, sprains and dislocations. There are also frequent injuries of the hip joint, which can lead to a number of inflammations in the pelvic area.

A professional and indispensable condition is the breaking of the instep of the upper part of the foot, which consists in the forced sprain of the ligaments. In order to perform this unnatural bend, any objects are used. Due to constant overloads, the ligaments often do not withstand, and the entire ligamentous apparatus weakens and becomes loose. A ballerina's feet without pointe shoes don't get better with age. It is not uncommon for a leg to twist easily when running or jumping. The result of such beauty will be arthrosis, arthritis and thrombophlebitis.

The first signs of leg diseases among ballet dancers are associated with impaired blood circulation. Toenails change their color and thickness, that is, they either thicken or become brittle. Gradually, veins appear, which more and more noticeably shine through the skin on the ballerina's legs after the performance. Do not console yourself with hopes that this is just a cosmetic defect. Over time, the veins thicken and become more and more tortuous. They are already easy to feel after physical exertion. With the progression of the disease, the legs are filled, there is a feeling of heaviness in them. This is partly due to oxygen starvation of the muscles. In the veins, the processes of stagnation of blood begin.

After a certain period of time, spasms of the calf muscles may begin. Oxygen deficiency is also feature foot diseases in ballerinas. There are swelling on the legs, there may be traces of skin - rashes and itching on the skin. The final stage of the development of the disease in the absence of timely treatment will be ulcers on the legs, blockage of blood vessels, and ruptures of the veins with subsequent bleeding.

Features of the structure and appearance of the legs

The legs of a professional ballerina without pointe shoes do not always look attractive. Another characteristic feature will be the so-called valgus deformity of the foot and the formation of bumps on the fingers. These phenomena are directly related to significant overloads that one has to experience during training and performances. They are expressed in the appearance of visible thickenings, which not only interfere with wearing shoes, but can also become inflamed and bleed. The deformation of the fingers looks like a curvature of them inside the foot, which begins with the big toe and can gradually affect the rest.

During the dance, the artist's foot experiences tension that goes beyond natural data. Over time, the forefoot becomes flattened. As a result of movements on the fingers, a transverse flat foot is formed, and the extreme metatarsal bones diverge to the sides and the forefoot expands. The development of hallux valgus is due to the fact that the ballerina's shoes tighten the leg in diameter, and because of the movement at the fingertips, the load on the thumb is enormous. Another feature of the development of the legs is the thickening of the metatarsal bones and the change in the length of the toes. Movements during the performance of the dance are directed around the axis of the foot. The foot twists and unrolls in opposite directions relative to the anterior and posterior sections.

The feet of a ballerina without professional shoes - pointe shoes require the highest care and attention in order not to hide them from prying eyes. For preventive purposes, the artists take contrast baths, make compresses, which help soften the feet and relax the leg muscles. In their free time, ballerinas try to put their feet on any available elevation in order to improve blood circulation in the lower extremities.

Without a doubt, ballet is the main art form representing our country on international level. And at the same time, the world of ballet, which lives according to its own laws, is hidden from the eyes of strangers. Thanks to this, many legends associated with him appear.

Our editors have collected the most common stereotypes and asked Igor Tsvirko, the premiere of the Hungarian Opera House and former leading soloist Bolshoi Theater, comment on them. About bloody legs, shards of glass in pointe shoes and clackers - in the material of the Moscow 24 portal.

"A woman who does ballet is a ballerina, and a man is a ballet dancer." No, of course not. The word "balleroon" does not exist at all. A man doing ballet is either a ballet dancer, or a dancer, or (as I like best) an actor. But my son came up with a new name - "ballerinas". He says, since mom is a ballerina, dad must be ballerinas. This word amuses me, and then, as I was told, in Spanish “ballerina” means just a ballet dancer.

"Ballet dancers and ballerinas are forced to diet for life, eating water and salad" This is fundamentally wrong, and if you ask ballerinas, they basically eat everything - they have meat, and chocolate, and cakes in their diet. The Bolshoi Theater has its own bakery and pie shop, where they make delicious cakes with cherries, apples and cinnamon - many also love them very much. After the premieres, we can afford both champagne and a glass of wine, so there are no restrictions, because physical activity compensates for everything. In general, everyone follows his own internal state myself.

"A real man won't go to the ballet, only homosexuals work there" This is actually a very stereotypical thinking. In our profession, there are indeed a lot of people of non-traditional orientation, but to a greater extent this is probably typical for Western teams. In Russian teams, this is not welcome. I would say that the dancers in our troupes are men who do an art called ballet. I don't know what others think, but I am proud to be a representative of the traditional orientation in this art form.

"Ballet dancers retire at 40, and ballerinas prefer not to give birth, because it can destroy their career" As for the fact that ballerinas prefer not to give birth, it happens differently for everyone in life. Someone finds his prince early, the person with whom he wants to spend the rest of the time that we have allotted on this planet. Therefore, there are ballerinas who give birth at 18, and there are those who give birth at 36 or even 47, so there are no rules here. A striking example is Diana Vishneva. She first made an amazing career, and not so long ago gave birth to her son Rudolf. In any case, no career and no ballet can compare with the feeling when you have a baby.

As for the pension, if the body allows, you can still stretch up to 40. Artists such as Svetlana Zakharova, Roberto Bolle, Ulyana Lopatkina are people of unique abilities and data, so it may be a little easier for them to keep themselves in proper ballet shape in order to continue dancing at the turn of this age. Often the term of a ballet dancer is 18 years for a corps de ballet and 15 years for a soloist. After 15 years of service, you can get a pension certificate, but at the same time you continue to work as long as the theater and the director need you.

"The world of ballet is so closed that ballerinas and ballet dancers prefer to create families exclusively in their environment" This is more likely due not to the fact that people are closed, but to the fact that we do not have enough free time to attend some places. Our work is intense and takes up all the time, and when you have only one day off a week, you prefer to lie at home.

Sometimes a person from the outside, who lives an ordinary life, does not understand why we sacrifice our time, emotions, does not understand our faith in what we are doing, so sometimes people from ballet face certain difficulties. Therefore, if it happens that people find like-minded people in our field, often this is a very strong and strong marriage.

"Ballet dancers do not have days off and holidays. In order not to lose shape, they must practice every day" We have days off, in troupes it is one day. At the Bolshoi - Monday, at the Stanislavsky Theater - Tuesday. In Western-style troupes - either one or two days off. Paid vacation - 56 days, but often tours are organized during this period, so that you get additional work.

Even when we have a vacation, people can lie around for a week, but then they start to warm up, so often artists do something on vacation - pull the twine, pump the press, someone runs in the morning ... In any case, they do physical activity, because when you have been working for 11 months, you can no longer take and lay an eggplant on a sunbed - otherwise it will be difficult with the beginning of the season.

"The world of ballet is cruel. To eliminate competitors and rivals, the most cruel methods are used, up to broken glass poured into pointe shoes." The world of ballet is really cruel, but it also has its pleasant moments. Of course, not everyone can cope with that, rather even psychological than physical, load. But in order to get to the point that people poured glass or ruined costumes ... I heard about this, but I didn’t come across it myself, it’s hard for me to say from my own experience. I am a kind person, and I never thought of doing something bad for the artists. On the contrary, if only to support, because everyone who prepares a performance or dances perfectly understands that a person prepares, tunes in and puts his soul into his work.

Rather, such things can be seen in the movies to enhance the dramatic effect and sense of competition. But in general, it can be compared with sports: if an athlete prepares for the Olympics for four years, and then participates in it, for the artist, “preparation for the Olympics” ends with the end of the school, and it itself lasts until you leave the ballet .

"However, in ballet, broken glass is not necessary, because everyone who practices this art knocks their legs into blood" Men - no, but ballerinas - yes, because they dance in pointe shoes. By the way, this is another common misconception: everyone thinks that men dance in pointe shoes, but this is not so. We dance in pointe shoes only if the role requires it, as in Alexei Ratmansky's ballet The Bright Stream. Ballerinas really wipe their fingers into the blood: this happens, because due to constant intense friction, corns appear, which then burst - in general, everything, as it happens with ordinary people. It just happens more often with ballerinas.

"In every musical theater there are people who are personally known to all artists: it is they who especially zealously shout "bravo" after each performance and receive free tickets for this. Artists respect and fear them, since not only their success, but also and a complete failure" Such people really exist, they call them "clackers". These are people who are much louder than ordinary visitors, clapping and shouting "bravo". Often they go too far and do it too deliberately, so that it begins to annoy not only the audience, but also the artists themselves. But I would not say that the artists are afraid of them: I believe that in any case, what you danced to will be slapped on you.

Ballet has long been admired by many people around the world. And the ballerinas appear in it as graceful and light butterflies, which are not affected by the force of gravity. But the representatives of the fair sex manage to achieve such ease only by hard work, leading to the appearance of occupational diseases, among which the most common is a deformed foot.

Peculiarities

The leg, or rather, both slender legs of ballerinas, are the most vulnerable spot. Despite the fact that they are hardy, strong, strong and able to withstand the weight of the body, transferring the load exclusively to the tiptoes, the lower limbs experience tremendous stress and are often injured.
Viewers do not know about this side of the coin, since it is customary to talk about this problem only behind the scenes. The most common injuries that ballerinas receive are fractures, sprains, and dislocations. In ballet practice, hip fractures also occur, entailing many problems, including a complete ban on dancing in the future.
“For all ballerinas who decide to devote themselves to this type of dance, a prerequisite is breaking the instep of the upper foot, which consists in a forced and painful sprain. In order to obtain the necessary anti-anatomical bend, dancers use various methods.
Since the legs of ballerinas are constantly under enormous stress, the ligamentous apparatus cannot withstand and weakens. Without special support for pointe shoes, the lower limbs easily tuck in, which leads to various injuries, resulting in thrombophlebitis, arthrosis and arthritis, leading to complete disability with age.”
The first signs of diseases of the lower extremities is a violation of blood flow and lymph flow. Toenails thicken and change color, or become brittle and peel off. Gradually, venous thickenings begin to appear, which stand out strongly after long sessions or performances.
Many novice dancers believe that this is just a cosmetic defect, but over time, the veins begin to thicken, become tortuous, which leads to thrombophlebitis. The legs begin to hurt, and heaviness appears, all this happens due to oxygen starvation of the muscular apparatus of the lower extremities, it is because of this that blood stagnates in the veins.
After a while, the lack of oxygen will begin to manifest itself through convulsions, swelling, itching and rashes on the skin. In the advanced stage of the disease, ulcers appear on the lower extremities, rupture of veins, followed by bleeding.

Valgus deformity

The feet of ballerinas without specialized shoes look, to put it mildly, unattractive. Another characteristic feature that is most often found in dancers is hallux valgus, represented by a bump on thumb.
It arises due to the strong overloads that ballerinas subject themselves to during training and performances. The deformation is manifested by visible thickenings that interfere with putting on shoes and cause discomfort. In addition to the fact that the deformation has an unaesthetic appearance, it can still become inflamed and bleed. A curved big toe over time leads to the fact that there is a third-party displacement of all other fingers and the upper arch of the foot.
During performances, the dancers' feet are under an unbearable load, as a result of which, over time, the front arch of the foot becomes flattened. Constant movement on the toes leads to the development of transverse flat feet and the divergence of the extreme metatarsal bones to the sides. These changes lead to forefoot widening and hallux valgus. In addition, the metatarsal bones thicken, and the length of the fingers of the lower extremities changes. It is for this reason that ballerinas face deformity of the foot and bumps on the thumbs.

Symptoms

Symptoms of the disease are caused by the presence of bursitis of the thumbs of the lower extremities. In addition to the protruding bone, patients are constantly worried about pain, swelling and deformity of the foot. Calluses also appear, due to which it becomes impossible to wear any shoes that put pressure on the foot.

Diagnostics

During the initial examination, the doctor listens to complaints, makes an anamnesis. Patients may be disturbed by discomfort in the thumb during exercise and walking. They are caused by degenerative processes occurring inside the articular cartilage due to increased loads. Over time, the pain becomes stronger and the deformity increases and is already palpable when examining the foot.
In addition to an external examination, the orthopedist prescribes x-rays to see how seriously the foot and metatarsal bones are deformed. Ultrasound can also be performed to diagnose the condition of the vessels in the foot, since it is they who primarily suffer from tight pointe shoes and constant stress. Based on the data obtained, the necessary therapy is prescribed.
Since not a single ballerina will refuse to dance, they are advised to carefully monitor the load on their feet and choose more or less comfortable shoes and not start professional illnesses.

Treatment

First of all, with hallux valgus, orthopedists prescribe a reduction in the load on the foot and wearing comfortable orthopedic shoes. You can also wear a special splint or retainer, which allows you to align the deformity of the thumb of the lower extremities. All of them act exclusively at the initial stage of the disease.
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and physical therapy are prescribed to treat foot deformity and a bump on the thumb. They help relieve pain and reduce intra-articular inflammation.

Operation

Often, conservative treatment does not give the desired results, and the orthopedist prescribes surgery. It is difficult to choose one or another technique, since there are more than a hundred of them, but still the most anti-traumatic and safe is laser correction of hallux valgus.
Surgical treatment allows removing the protruding area of ​​the deformed bone, reconstructing the metatarsal bones and phalanx of the finger after excision, and strengthening the muscular corset around the phalanx in such a way that relapses do not occur. Which surgical method to choose will be determined by the doctor, starting from the neglect of the disease and the degree of joint deformity.

Rehabilitation

Depending on how traumatic the operation was, rehabilitation can last from a week to several months. To avoid pain, exclude injuries to healing tissues and bones, and improve regeneration, it is necessary to wear a bandage and special orthopedic shoes and insoles. Crutches may be needed at first.
In patients with severe deformity and inflammation, regeneration takes longer, and in order to speed it up, physiotherapy and anti-inflammatory drugs are prescribed.
By adhering to all the doctor's prescriptions, as well as monitoring the health of your feet, the development of occupational foot diseases can be avoided or alleviated. Be healthy.

A year ago, a friend of mine sent me a photograph showing ballet legs. The picture was accompanied by the question: "Is it really so?".

Here is that photo.

Its author is a photographer and ballerina of the St. Petersburg Classical Ballet Theatre, Darian Volkova. Seeing the photo, only one question arose in my head: "How is it necessary not to respect yourself and not love your legs (which, by the way, feed) in order to bring them to such a state?"

Some time later, they sent me another photo with approximately the same question. This one. It's kind of a horror. I have never seen such legs in my native theatre. And looking at how the pointe shoe sits on the left foot, one gets the feeling that the shoe is from someone else's foot.

And just the other day, while giving an interview to a music publication, I was read a question from the Internet: "Is it true that ballerinas' legs are always bruised and bruised?" Like football players and someone else.

So... No that's not true!

Two days ago I showed these and other similar photos to my colleagues in the theater. Everyone was shocked by what they saw. And the reaction was almost the same. "It's like not loving your feet." "These are sick legs" (in the sense of having any disease, for example, a fungus).
I don’t know where the photographers who post such photos find these same ballet legs. I really want to see these ballerinas. I saw something similar, but among people who had nothing to do with ballet.

And now I want to show you the legs of the ballerinas of the Bolshoi Theater. Many thanks to those who agreed to take part in the "photo shoot".

No bruises, bruises and other horror stories.
Calluses ... And not ballerinas have them.

Feet are rubbed not only with ballet shoes. Wash them with simple shoes. By the way, the last time I washed my fingers with ballet shoes was 15 years ago. But ordinary, life shoes, last summer.

Before going on stage, the artists - whether they are soloists or corps de ballet dancers - if necessary, seal their legs so as not to wash them. Although sometimes these measures do not save. But this rarely happens, especially if you take care of your legs.

And the bone on the thumb is not for everyone. And it has nothing to do with ballet.
And dark spots on the nails too. Once, pushing off the side of the pool, I did it extremely unsuccessfully, and then went around with a blue fingernail for a whole week.

So do not believe those who say that the legs of ballerinas are a bloody mess. And that's what I heard too. As you can see, no bruising or bruising.
You just need to love your feet, you need to take care of them.

P.S. And one more thing... Do not forget one simple thing: any ballerina, regardless of status, regalia, position (leading ballerina or corps de ballet dancer) is primarily a woman. And like any woman, how her legs look depends solely on her attitude towards herself - loved or unloved.

An ideal figure, pointe shoes with ribbons, chic costumes for ballet, tours, applause and a sea of ​​flowers ... All this is probably a dream of any girl. Someone is inclined in favor of a modeling career, while someone dreams of dancing, devoting his life to professional ballet.

The survey showed that about 40% of people talk about ballet as dancing on tiptoes, the same number consider ballet toe dancing, and only 20% of those surveyed said that it is dance on pointe. "Pointe" is translated as "point" or "point". Indeed, if every contact of the ballerina's toes with the floor could be drawn, then we could observe a dotted line of dots. Ballerinas, like air fairies, hover over the stage, and it seems that they are not affected at all. But no one guesses what such lightness and grace is worth.

The legs of a ballerina cannot even be compared with the legs of experienced athletes involved in running and jumping. They are so resilient, so hard that when touched they even seem unnatural. And this is understandable: the legs of a ballerina must be strong and enduring, because on an area of ​​​​a couple of square centimeters (the size of a “patch” of pointe shoes) the entire weight of the dancer rests, whose beauty is admired by almost everyone.

But the ballet fascinates only the viewer, behind the scenes and in the halls where rehearsals take place, everything looks different. This is a harsh, even cruel reality.

The ballerina's legs are subjected to many injuries and torture. Particularly frequent injuries in ballet are sprains, fractures, dislocations, damage to the ligamentous apparatus of the joints. The largest percentage of ballet injuries occurs in the region hip joints, the consequence of which is a complex of problems, entailing inflammation in the small pelvis.

It is not necessary to have a scientific degree to calculate ballerinas weighing 50 kg over an area of ​​2 centimeters. This is the strength that the chiseled legs of a professional ballerina hide.

Among the dancers there is such a thing as "breaking the rise." It's violent (upper part). Most girls, in order to stretch the rise, slip the rollers under their fingers. Thus, an unnatural overbend is obtained, but, as you can imagine, this does not lead to good consequences. The ligaments that work under tension are stretched and even often torn, the ligamentous apparatuses of the feet become loose and weaken.

With age, the legs of a ballerina easily tuck, especially when jumping or running. Arthritis, thrombophlebitis, arthrosis... All these are concomitant diseases of ballet art, a terrible price to pay for beauty. Moreover, not every dancer, having retired (by the way, in a very early age), will be able to afford to wear open shoes due to deformed feet.

But the behind-the-scenes tragedies don't stop there. It is generally not customary to talk about incomprehensible diets and fierce competition. Another shadow side of beauty is PT diseases, tears, disappointments…

Thousands of girls come to ballet, but few become real stars. Many, unable to withstand the stress and colossal loads, leave already in the first months ...