BEYOND THE BARRE: Strength training for dancers

Precise alignment, graceful jumps and intricate footwork. No matter the style, dance places significant demands on the body. It is not uncommon for current and former dancers to develop stubborn neck, back and hamstring stiffness. 

• Lower back (lumbar spine): often from extension and turnout compensation

• Mid-back (thoracic spine): from posture demands and overhead arm work

• Upper back/neck: from tension and choreography requiring head positioning

What causes posterior chain stiffness?

Many dancers focus on cracking joints or stretching to manage their stiffness and, while this does relieve tension, it doesn't fully address the underlying concern. Most often, posterior chain stiffness in dancers develops as a result of multiple, overlapping variables.

Overuse and repetitive movement

Dance requires repeated extensions, arches, turns, lifts and jumps that form aesthetically pleasing lines. Over time, these movements fatigue the small stabilizing spinal muscles, making the larger movers take over to stabilize the spine. When this happens, general tension occurs through the entire posterior chain, creating protective muscle guarding and stiffness to prevent injury to the spine.

Insufficient core stabilization

Dancers are typically extremely flexible to get in the forms required for their discipline. When not balanced with core stabilization and strength, this flexibility comes with a lack of control which causes joints to become unstable. When the joint becomes unstable from lack of deep stabilizer activation, the larger muscles surrounding the joint will grip to provide additional support to the gym. Because they are not meant for continued activation and postural stabilization, these larger muscles fatigue easily, resulting in widespread stiffness that can impair proper spinal movement.

Poor alignment or technique

Dance, especially ballet, emphasizes clean lines, straight posture and a beautiful turnout. Many individuals attempt to improve their turnout by tucking the tailbone or squeezing the glutes. While these will improve turnout, they are not considered proper posture and can cause problems down the road by changing how the glutes and spinal muscles fire at rest and during movement. Uneven weight distribution or improper landing mechanics from jumps can further strain the spine, leading to irritation in the joints and discs that can worsen muscle stiffness.

Lack of recovery

Many dancers participate year-round in multiple styles of dance. Long rehearsals and performance pressure without breaks can increase baseline muscle tension, especially in the neck and shoulders. Over time, this lack of recovery can result in generalized fatigue and lingering injuries that leave residual guarding patterns and reduce mobility, forcing tired muscles to work even harder when what they need is rest and repair. 

Struggling with back, neck or hamstring stiffness and unsure where to start? Here are our favorite ways for dancers to restore spinal mobility.

Prioritize rotation

Rotation is an important movement for spine health. It decreases muscle tension, improves circulation, elongates tissue and brings fluid into the discs. Most dance patterns focus on repetitive flexion and extension of the spine with rotation occurring at the hips -- but our thoracic spine needs to rotate as well otherwise tension and stress can build in the low back. 

Our pick: T-spine rainbows

1. Half-kneel against a wall with your inside knee up. 

2. Place both hands forward against the wall at shoulder height

3. Trace a rainbow shape with your top hand overhead and around your body. Keep your fingertips against the wall

4. Trace the same shape back to the starting position. 

5. Repeat 8x on both sides.

Strengthen your core

A common cue for core activation is to suck everything in and hold -- but this isn't true core activation because the muscles aren't firing as much as they are gripping. A gripping core locks the body into a rigid line, overstresses the core muscles and changes breathing mechanics in the body. Dancers should focus on deep core work that emphasizes movement with the breath to limit gripping and improve dynamic stability. 

Our pick: Bear plank rotation with block

1. Kneel in tabletop with a yoga block gently squeezed between your knees

2. Inhale. Exhale and lift your knees into a hovering tabletop with your core engaged

3. Inhale. Exhale and twist both knees to one side

4. Inhale back to center

5. Exhale and twist both knees to the opposite side

6. Repeat 10x on both sides, maintaining good core control through all repetitions

Reconnect with your breath 

The postures of dance, especially the rigid upper body of Irish step, can lock the ribcage into position as your core braces stiffly -- meaning that many dancers never learn how to breath properly from the belly. This causes the diaphragm to shorten and your ribcage muscles to work harder during breathing, resulting in early fatigue of the core, stiffness in the low back and the appearance of overall stiffness or poor coordination during movement. For dancers, where longevity, endurance and fluid movement lines are important, breathwork can be an easy addition that improves overall movement quality.

Our pick: Posterior chest wall breathing

1. Sit in a chair or on a bench with a stability ball in your lap

2. Place your arms over top of the stability ball and round your spine forward

3. Inhale, focusing on expansion through the back and belly

4. Exhale, drawing the belly button in and allowing the back to fall

5. Repeat 15x

Don't ignore your hips and pelvis

The deep muscles of the hip are extremely important for many styles of dance -- they assist with ballet turnout and movement fluidity during ballroom. But, when overworked or used to brace the hips and core, the pelvis can become "stuck", increasing force transfer and stress on the low back. Restoring smooth rotational movement for the hips can limit strain transfer to the back and hamstrings, allowing greater range of motion with less muscular strain. 

Our pick: 90-90 switches with IR

1. Sit on the floor with one leg bent in front and one leg bent behind

2. Lift your back foot off the ground.

3. Over a count of 5, lift both knees off the floor and, with control, rotate them to the opposite side

4. Lift your back foot off the ground.

5. Repeat on both side 10x

If you are experiencing nagging back stiffness during or after dance activities, it doesn't have to be this way. 

At FIXXED, we believe that the body is meant to move. Our combined approach uses soft tissue techniques like Graston, dry needling and cupping with targeted strengthening and mobility to address the root causes of your stiffness, helping you get back to the stage for peak performance without pain.