What are the injuries associated with going on pointe before a dancer is strong enough and old enough?

Question

Don't worry, I am not considering this! The studio where I work is considering offering a pointe class, and I am doing all I can to help them to understand why it is such a bad idea. The oldest student is 12, and even she only takes class once a week.

Please help!!

Answer 1

I am a ballet teacher and the studio I work for puts girls en pointe between ages of 10-14  (although 10 is rare).   They must take at least 4 classes per week, but most take  5-6 classes per week.

There are many injuries that are associated with unprepared pointe work, but there are also many injuries that are associated with pointework that is taught incorrectly.  The second issue concerns me just as much as the first if the teacher thinks her students are ready at only 1 class per week.

Common injuries based on lack of strength and lack of technique are   bunions,  tendinitis  (often the Achilles, but other tendons as well),  heel spurs, stress fractures, sprained ankles, and broken ankles.    That is just the injuries in the feet and ankles.

Working incorectly en pointe  (due to lack of strength or lack of training)  also causes many problems in other areas of the body which have to compensate.   Back, hip, and knee problems of various types are quite commen on these situations.

Starting pointe before the bones are fully formed in the feet  can cause the feet to grow disformed.   You can get the girls feet x-rayed to be sure bone development is complete, but a quick look at their feet is very telling.  Adult feet look different than a childs feet.  Their feet should look adult (even if smaller) before it is even considered.

Additionally, you should mention that girls who start pointe before they are ready technicially have less success with pointe work and often get frustrated with it.   They tend to have more pain (because they dont have the strength to pull up out of their shoes) and often their feet are not strong enough to complete simple exercises.

Answer 2

Like what Jess said.  I wanted to do pointe when I was a little girl I always said that I wanted to be a ballerina when I grew up.  I took the class for pointe when I was about I think in 6-7th grade and I regret doing it because I have a over worked tendon in my ankle and it can give very bad stings some times so pointe isn't good unless you have advanced ballet technique and your good at it and you most defiantly need strong feet and height &weight.  Pointe is really Hard too.

Answer 3

There are many injuries associated with starting a dancer en pointe before they are ready. Stress fractures are particularly painful and can be caused by knuckling and lacking proper ankle strength.

12 is an acceptable age to go up en pointe but it really needs to be decided on a case by case basis by a teacher with experience both performing and teaching pointe. If the bones are not done growing and if they ankles on not strong enough an injury is possible an likely.

Answer 4

At my dance studio there was a girl that was 9 and was on pointe but she has been dancing since she was 1 so I mean she is really good I went on pointe when i had only been dancing for a year but I had played soccer for 6 years before I started ballet so I had strong legs the people at that studio has been dancing for a long ( or they should have ) so that know what their doing to just see what happens they won't have them doing stuff on one leg for like a year so just see what happens!

Answer 5

ohmygod!

These girls are so young. Where I dance, the minimum age is 13, you have to be a certain weight and height, and you must be enrolled in another advanced ballet class. No girls under the age of 12 should ever be on pointe.

This could cause permanent damage to toes and feet.

Answer 6

you could jam and stub your toes

Answer 7

I know people who haven't been strong enough, and when they did one thing wrong en pointe, they broke their ankle!  Being to young for pointe can really damage your feet and make them deformed.  This leads to lot's of doctors appointments, pain, no dancing for a long time, and lot's of money.  It's a really good thing that your trying to make the studio not think about the pointe class.  It really is a bad idea.  Try to persuade them that they need more ballet classes, and the minimum age should be 12, not 8 or 9.  Good luck!