Taking Care of Your Feet as a Dancer

Apart from spending many hours practicing the perfect routine, dancing involves countless hours of maintaining your feet. Your feet play a pivotal role as they provide balance and distribute your weight during routines. However, they experience stress, strain, and other forms of wear and tear that, when you ignore them, can make it challenging to enjoy dancing. Here, you’ll explore best practices when taking care of your feet as a dancer.

Toe Padding

Whether you’re practicing ballet or Irish dance, protecting your feet while using your shoes is necessary to avoid discomfort over long hours of spins, kicks, and jumps. Using toe padding helps relieve pressure and abrasions when you practice en pointe. You can also use toe tape to avoid blistering and injuries. Consider purchasing heel pads when dancing with ghillies and reel shoes.

Saltwater Baths

After long hours of dance practice, it’s nice to relax. Soaking your feet in warm water and salt promotes muscle relaxation and reduces inflammation that could worsen toe soreness. Be mindful to check your feet for open blisters before soaking.

Blister Treatment

Common when breaking in newer shoes, blisters are as frustrating as they are painful. While you can apply toe tape to problem areas to prevent them, toe tape also works well as a protective barrier when recovering from a blister. Once a blister develops, drain out the liquid, apply a protective ointment, and apply the toe tape onto the open blister to prevent it from worsening.

Nail Care

When dancing, properly caring for your toenails makes all the difference. Remember to keep toenails short and trimmed to avoid painful ingrown nails. Avoid painting your nails before practice, as this can make nails look discolored.

As a physically demanding activity, dancing requires a great deal of stamina and endurance. Taking care of your feet as a dancer is essential to continuing in this hobby or career, as they are the most significant contributor to the beautiful messages you convey through your movements. Keeping them in excellent condition and promptly treating problems will allow you to continue shining on the main stage.