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Articles and Interviews
Tango pains
by Patricia Müller
The tango-dancer may encounter various types of pain at different times and in different parts of the body, but the following places are the most common:
a) feet
b) legs
c) lower back
d) shoulders
e) neck
The problem of pain can be approached in different ways. First of all, by looking at posture and using a long term strategy, one can make use of ideas from sports-medicine which treat combinations of muscles (frontal, posterior, medial and lateral muscle-chains) rather than single muscles or parts:
a) for foot pain use dancing shoes with a small metatarsal pad inside. This prevents excessive weight on the metatarsus-phalanx-joints which can cause serious and often chronic inflammatio.
b) if you have leg pains then it is best to have your blood-circulation checked, but in any case, use low-heeled shoes to encourage the contraction of the calf muscles.
c) lower back pain can be a result of incorrect curvature of the lower back such that the hips extend too far backwards (lordosis). To avoid this, straighten the lower back so that the muscles of the abdomen, buttocks and legs are slightly tensed, but not contracted. This makes your dancing more secure, both anatomically and physiologically, and is also more attractive.
d) to prevent pains in the shoulder turn the elbows slightly downwards. Keep the wrists in line with the arm without twisting them. Also, do not exert pressure from the hand or elbow, particularly if you are leading.
e) to prevent neck pain keep your head straight and do not lean on your partner's head.
In addition, there are also plenty of simple "home-spun" approaches which can help the pain and get you back on the dance floor. For example:
a) for foot pain, try one (or all) of the following:
* simply massage them with your hands (or better still, get somebody to do it for you)
* roll a tennis-ball under the soles of your feet.
* give yourself a footbath laced with salt
* use creams specifically designed to help circulation in the feet.
b) for leg pains:
* control your intake of salt, especially during the summer season.
* eat a banana. Bananas contain a high percentage of potassium which is important for muscle contraction and relaxation.
* use a cream designed to help circulation in the legs
* and, of course, massage your legs or get someone else to do it.
c) for pain in the lower back
* massage this part of the back, or have it massaged, using light pats, and stroking the skin more or less strongly to relieve the tension.
* move your hips back and forth pulling in the abdome.
d) for shoulder pain :
* massage your shoulders, or have them massaged, with or without oils/creams with camphor which creates heat.
* move the shoulders back and forth, up and down and around.
* Lift the upper chest because, if it is collapsed, it creates tension in the shoulders.
e) to relieve neck pain:
* massage your neck or have it massaged.
* move the neck by turning the head to either side and backwards and forwards or with a circular motion.
* check again that the upper chest and shoulders are not collapsed as this has a huge influence on the neck-muscles.
Finally, among many other things, pain can also be caused by:
I) breathing incorrectly
II) eating too much or consuming drinks that are too cold
III) anxiety and stress from not being at ease with the situation (this can affect all dancers at all levels of ability, and can be due to a variety of reasons, for example, problems with height, lack of technique, management of the space or difficulties with the music).
