Does the bouncing around on toes by ballet dancers cause any long term damage to the feet?
Traditional pointe shoes provide no shock attenuation and subsequently the number of injuries were higher prior to the introduction of the newer pointe shoes. Deterioration of the toe box with use meant no support was given to the foot. Segmental deterioration of the shoe also caused the dancer to use her body to compensate when standing on pointes. This was thought by many experts to be the reason why the ankle was so often damaged when the dancer sprang onto the full pointe position. Pointe work often results in damage to the great nail with Black nail, Onychauxis and ingrown nails commonly reported. According to Quirk (1988) ballet dancers are no more prone to bunions than non-ballet dancers but may suffer arthritic changes on the first metatarsal phalangeal joint or hallux rigidus. Corns and calluses are common however and pressure to the Achilles tendon at the posterior aspect of the malleoli is reported. Everting the foot when the dancer adopts a turned out position can lead to t
