Most people know about the damage that occurs with to professional athletes because of their demanding jobs, especially in recent years with football and concussions.  However, athletics are not the only activities that can be damaging to a person’s health.  For example, ballet can be incredibly damaging for those who perform it.  One of my best friends dances ballet and she frequently complains about broken toenails and pains in her toenails.  However, the problems that professional dancers face are often even worse.

Ballet dancers often have problems with their feet because female dancers wear pointe shoes. Despite their delicate appearance, pointe shoes are incredibly sturdy.  According to the Pittsburg Ballet Theatre, a small box made from fabric, cardboard, and paper that is hardened by glue is placed in the tip of the shoe so that the dancer can balance her entire weight on her toes.  Dancers must train for years to ensure that their their ankles and legs are capable of withstanding the strain of balancing their entire weight on their toes.  Dancing on pointe can damage the feet of any dancer, but is especially harmful for professional dancers.

As stated in The Guardian, the problems that dancers face are wide-ranging from black nails to corns to blisters.  Because professional dancers have to be in pointe shoes so often, minor issues can become serious problems.  For example, corns can develop into ulcers and nails can thicken and grow hard skin underneath.  Male dancers don’t wear pointe shoes so the problems that they face are different.  Often male dancers have issues with ankle and muscular injuries because they do more jumping and lifting.

Ballet companies provide different services such as physiotherapists, podiatrists, and masseurs  to help their dancers with any ailments that they might have.  However, dancers don’t always follow the advice of medical professionals.  As Peter Norman, a British pychiatrist, stated “I see many problems that require a week or a month’s rest. But ‘take a night off’ is as much as I can say, or they wouldn’t come back to me again.” Dancers will also attempt to treat themselves through techniques such as wrapping their feet and shoving old tights into the bottoms of their shoes.  Other attempts to treat foot problems can be much more troubling.  For example, dancers occasionally utilize glue to  make their feet stick to the insides of their shoes, and sometimes even use scissors and razor blades on their feet.  Obviously,  the health problems that ballet dancers can be incredibly severe.