Tips for Reducing Lower Leg Injuries in Jumps

As dancers return to the studio, it is important to gradually introduce jumps to prevent lower leg injuries. Foot and ankle injuries are often incurred during dynamic movements like jumping, and improper flooring, poor technique, and fatigue can increase the risk of injury.
Here are some important tips to lessen the likelihood of sustaining injury during jumps:

1. Dance on appropriate flooring (i.e., sprung floor with adequate shock absorption) 
2. Utilize proper technique while jumping
3. Wear supportive shoes that are in good condition
4. Apply periodization principles 
5. Train endurance: Dance-related injuries most commonly occur when the dancer is fatigued. Therefore, it is imperative to increase cardiovascular fitness to reduce injury. Examples include short bouts of jumping rope, jogging in place, fast walking, cycling, and/or swimming. 
6. Asses and train the specific elements of the jump:

• Improve plie depth: Address any muscular or joint restriction that could be affecting your plie depth. Seek a healthcare professional if you are having any pain on the top of the ankle with plie.
• Articulation of foot with take-off: Improve strength of foot intrinsics and calf complex. Jumping on the pilates jumpboard can be useful when working on articulating through the foot with jump take-off and landing. 
• Achieving full pointe range and knee extension in the air: Address any muscular or joint restriction that could be limiting full ankle plantarflexion or knee extension range of motion. Seek a healthcare professional if you have pain in the back of the ankle with pointing the foot. 
• Dynamic core/pelvic stability: Avoid sinking in the hip on the standing leg or collapsing forward in the trunk on the take-off/landing. Strengthen the core dynamically with exercises like squat jumps, skater jumps, and spring lunges to improve trunk alignment and pelvic control during jumping. This will ultimately reduce load on the foot/ankle. 
• Eccentric gluteal and soleus control on the landing : Strengthen the gluteals and soleus eccentrically to avoid collapsing in the hips or foot/ankle on the landing. This can be improved with working on squats and soleus rises with a slow and controlled descent to strengthen the muscle eccentrically. 
• Improving muscle power to achieve adequate height: Incorporate plyometrics into your cross-training and work on dynamic movements such as skater jumps, squat jumps, and spring lunges. Vary the speed of the exercise to improve muscle power. 
• Leg alignment/Hip control in fondu: Work on achieving adequate turnout from the hips and avoid collapsing of the knee inward during fondu. Practice plie in second position with correct alignment of the hip and knee. 

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References:
Russell J. A. (2013). Preventing dance injuries: current perspectives. Open access journal of sports medicine, 4, 199–210. https://doi.org/10.2147/OAJSM.S36529