Athletico Health Resources

Co Authors: Team USA’s Laura Zeng and Evita Griskenas

With continued shelter in place orders across the country, many athletes are having to alter training and competition schedules including Team USA’s Rhythmic Gymnasts. Unable to attend practice as they normally would, their competition season has been interrupted along with the delay of the Tokyo Olympics. Laura Zeng and Evita Griskenas, two of Team USA’s top rhythmic gymnasts, give us insight into what they are doing at home to stay active and prevent injury as well as tips for other rhythmic gymnasts.

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With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, dance companies and studios are closed for classes and rehearsals. Even without an audience to perform for, it is important that dancers maintain appropriate mental and physical activities while at home.

As a performing arts physical therapist, I wanted to check in with some of Chicago’s professional dancers with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago – Adrienne Lipson, Kevin J. Shannon, and Craig D. Black Jr.. Read below to learn how their worlds are adapting and growing during this time when the theaters are dark and how they are keeping a positive attitude through it all.

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Co-author: Derrick Agnoletti, Joffrey Ballet Company Dancer

The majority of the country has adopted shelter in place policies, which means many of our daily routines have been disrupted. For Joffrey Ballet dancer Derrick Agnoletti, this means being unable to attend daily ballet class and rehearsals with his colleagues. As a physical therapist, I am adjusting treatment sessions in order to continue to connect with patients safely. Here is some advice for dancers who are similarly adjusting to training at home.

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I am a performing arts physical therapist working at a downtown Athletico clinic in Chicago. I recently had the opportunity to travel with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago to Germany. As I let my patients know I would be away from the clinic, quite a few asked what I would be doing. When I told them I would be working while traveling internationally, many responded wondering “How does your work as a physical therapist take you to Germany for a week?!” Let me explain…

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Is your goal to learn the splits?

Beyond just improving flexibility, this skill can be useful for athletes in a variety of sports – from gymnasts and cheerleaders to hockey goalies. However, learning to safely perform this movement takes a lot of practice and consistency. See below for recommended stretches and some evidence-based tips for improving your flexibility and achieving this goal.

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A lot of athleticism is required to be a professional dancer. In every genre of dance, the goal is to maintain movement with grace and composure while on stage, never breaking performance. But the audience does not see the pain, grit and rehab behind the scenes, especially when a dancer sustains an injury.

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While dancers are known for their flexibility, they are not immune to overworked muscles, which can lead to increased muscle tightness. Because dancers are often very flexible, sometimes it’s easy to bypass the stretch to the muscle through hypermobile joints. Here are some tips and tricks to help dancers’ stretch commonly tight muscles.

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As an Athletico physical therapist, I have been supporting The Joffrey Ballet for more than five years. I usually work with the dancers while they are rehearsing and performing in Chicago, where my job is to triage, evaluate and treat issues that may arise from their rigorous rehearsal and performance schedule. Recently, my career with The Joffrey Ballet took me beyond Chicago, when I traveled with the company to three different cities across the country. We started in snowy, cold Minneapolis for two performances of a full length ballet called Anna Karenina, then off to Santa Barbara for two mixed repertory shows, and finished with one final performance in San Diego.

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