Dance Sports Medicine Program
A dancer moves like no other athlete. The precision, flexibility and repetition of dancers’ movements make them particularly vulnerable to injury. They also require a unique approach to treatment and recovery so dancers can recover quickly without losing learned techniques or muscle memory.
We treat dancers of all backgrounds and abilities, from recreational to pre-professional athletes in classical ballet, jazz, hip-hop, lyrical, tap, drill and competitive dance. Our dance sports medicine care team is led by a sports medicine physician with 15 years of experience evaluating and treating pre-professional dancers and is also a member of the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science.
The sprung dance floor assists in dance injury rehabilitation and prevention by absorbing shock.
An In-house Harlequin Dance Floor
Our facility at Specialty Center 2 in Plano offers a sophisticated in-house dance floor complete with barre and full-length mirror, intended specifically for rehabilitation, dance injury prevention and performance improvement. Learn more about our state-of-the-art facility.
Focus on reducing the risk of injury and improving performance
When evaluating and treating dance injuries, our team focuses on dual end goals: identifying underlying factors to reduce the risk of injury and correcting technique to enable dancers to perform at their best. We offer a dance-specific injury prevention program, for both injured and uninjured dancers. Trained team members assess dancers’ flexibility, strength and balance and work to correct any deficits that may predispose dancers to future injury.
Dance sports performance services
We also help dancers stay healthy and improve their performance through:
Nutrition evaluation and counseling: A balanced, nutritious diet helps dancers stay healthy on and off the dance floor. We offer individualized nutrition counseling that helps dancers understand their nutritional needs, develop meal plans and provide education about how nutrition can affect performance and help prevent injury. We also screen for eating disorders and the female athlete triad (a combination of low energy, irregular periods and low bone density that can lead to serious health consequences).
Pre-pointe assessment: In the pre-pointe assessment, designed specifically for ballet dancers, we:
Evaluate a dancer's readiness to go en pointe
Make recommendations for ways to improve a dancer’s flexibility, strength and balance
Recommend strength, flexibility and balance testing, where applicable
Artistic Athlete Workshop: a series of videos to educate and support performing arts athletes, parents, teachers and coaches.
Focus on reducing the risk of injury and improving performance
When evaluating and treating dance injuries, our team focuses on dual end goals: identifying underlying factors to reduce the risk of injury and correcting technique to enable dancers to perform at their best. We offer a dance-specific injury prevention program, for both injured and uninjured dancers. Trained team members assess dancers’ flexibility, strength and balance and work to correct any deficits that may predispose dancers to future injury.
Dance sports performance services
We also help dancers stay healthy and improve their performance through:
Nutrition evaluation and counseling: A balanced, nutritious diet helps dancers stay healthy on and off the dance floor. We offer individualized nutrition counseling that helps dancers understand their nutritional needs, develop meal plans and provide education about how nutrition can affect performance and help prevent injury. We also screen for eating disorders and the female athlete triad (a combination of low energy, irregular periods and low bone density that can lead to serious health consequences).
Pre-pointe assessment: In the pre-pointe assessment, designed specifically for ballet dancers, we:
Evaluate a dancer's readiness to go en pointe
Make recommendations for ways to improve a dancer’s flexibility, strength and balance
Recommend strength, flexibility and balance testing, where applicable
Artistic Athlete Workshop: a series of videos to educate and support performing arts athletes, parents, teachers and coaches.
Allie's storyAllen High School senior Allie has loved dancing for as long as she can remember. A student at the Hathaway Academy of Ballet in Plano, she dreams of dancing professionally.
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A young ballerina doesn't let injury hold her backHannah has felt "at home" on the dance floor since she took her first ballet class at just 2 years old. Over the years, she has expanded her repertoire to include tap, jazz and hip-hop, but her first love of ballet – and now pointe – is evident. The 14-year-old trains around 23 hours a week at a Dallas-area dance studio.
Read MoreMeet the Care Team
Dustin Loveland, MDSurgical Director and Chief of Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
Kathryn Bauer, MDOrthopedic Sports Medicine Surgeon
John Roaten, MDOrthopedic Sports Medicine Surgeon
Troy Smurawa, MDSports Medicine Physician
James Pace, MDOrthopedic Sports Medicine Surgeon
Laura Henderson, PT, DPT, SCSPhysical Therapist
Holly Nieman, MS, LAT, ATC, EMT, CESAthletic Trainer
