Expert: Dianne M. Buxton - 2/10/2008

Question
hi, I'm 15 nearly 16 but i have only been doing pointe work for around a year or so because I went to a ballet teacher who did not do pointe in her sylabus.
I am currently using gaynor mindens but am in awful pain and am struggling to be able to dance on them for as long as everyone else in my class is. I am using ouch pouches but when I remove my pointe shoes after dancing in them for a short period of time (around 10-15 as I cannot dance for any longer), my big toes 'knuckles' has been pushing through the skin for all the time I have been dancing on them and it feels like it is going to burst through the skin. I'm also left with an awful red line where it has been pushing through and takes days to go back to normal. No matter which type of toe pads i use, I'm still in agony and am shaking all over and feel sick because of the pain. I have quite a large big toe but I really want to continue dancing en pointe but my teacher at the moment says that maybe I should stop for a while to see if it improves. Please let me know what I could do.
Thanks.

Answer
Sarah I'm sorry to keep you waiting for an answer - somehow I didn't get this till today, yet I see you posted it on the 10th.

For certain your pointe shoes do not fit properly. You may have chosen the right kind for you, although Gaynor Minden's do not "break in" like other shoes. However, if they were to fit well that would not necessarily be a problem.

When you say you have a large big toe, do you mean it is longer than your other toes? If that is the case, you have to fit the shoe for that toe, and wear the "toe leveler" kind of pads to fill the space under the short toes.

You cannot do pointe work in that kind of pain. I have three suggestions, all of which will cost some money and I hope that's ok with your parents, but it will move you past this problem.

First, if you can see a chiropractor, to check your feet, you will get all those tiny bones adjusted and put back into place. It would be unlikely that you wouldn't have misalignments in the feet, and maybe all over, from the strain you've been working under. And also you will know for sure that you haven't injured something.

Second, if you can, I would try another brand of pointe shoe for a while, a kind that breaks in normally. I think Gaynor Minden's are hard for your first few years on pointe. Fit on as many types as you can because they all feel a little different. Hopefully a fitter at the ballet store can help.

Thirdly, there's a fabulous book out on foot exercises, foot anatomy, and exercises just for pointe work. I can tell you it contains a lot of information most ballet teachers don't even know. It also covers turnout, postural strength and all kinds of stretches for ballet in general. It is a comprehensive manual you will refer to for all the years you study ballet.

The link for it is
http://wwww.linkbrander.com/go/54727 It is written by a dance medicine specialist, a rare lady who is a physiotherapist, former dancer, and who has worked with injured dancers a great deal. The book comes with videos, photos, x-ray photos, and tons of info.

Lastly, and this does not cost anything, I have a lot of articles at http://www.theballetstore.com some of which cover pointe work, fitting shoes etc. There is also a video on that site of how to fit pointe shoes. You will also see an ad for the same pointe work manual there.

I know this will help, and all the best with your dancing Sarah!

Sarah, I noticed that for the past few days the link I gave you above has not been working! I notified the author and it is a live link now. Sorry for an inconvenience!