Dance Anatomy & Kinesiology

120 Dance Anatomy and Kinesiology

spine bent forward, with the torso twisted, or with the

partner moving away from the body. Nevertheless,

if the dancer develops adequate strength, utilizes

good core stabilization, and applies whichever other

principles are relevant, partnering can be performed

without injury to the back. In addition, when lifting

from a forward flexed position is required, it is desir-

able not only to emphasize abdominal stabilization

but also to focus on keeping the knees slightly bent

and using the hip extensors to bring the pelvis under

first before extending the knees and spine.

Conditioning Exercises for the Spine

Adequate and balanced muscular strength and flex-

ibility of the spine are essential for correct mechan-

ics, optimal movement, and injury prevention. How-

ever, there is tremendous controversy regarding the

relative benefit and risk of various trunk exercises,

and many of the exercises commonly performed by

dancers would be considered contraindicated for

recreational athletes or individuals with a history

of back problems. Hence, a discussion of general

principles related to spinal exercises precedes the

discussion of specific conditioning exercises.

General Guidelines

for Abdominal Strengthening

Many dancers and other athletes perform abdominal

exercises regularly and yet show marked weakness

when tested for abdominal strength. In testing of

pre-professional ballet dancers using Kendall and

McCreary’s leg-lowering test, 68% could not maintain

a stable pelvis when their legs were lowered beyond

60°, and only 4% could lower their legs all the way

to the table while maintaining desired positioning

(Molnar and Esterson, 1997). Similarly, the author has

found inadequate abdominal strength as evidenced

by the curl-up height test, and inability to maintain

pelvic stabilization with leg lowering, when testing pre-

professional ballet students, performing arts high

school dance majors, and university dance majors.

This frequent occurrence of low abdominal strength

levels is likely due in part to the use of ineffective

exercises and formatting. Recommendations follow

for improving the gains obtained from abdominal

work while keeping injury risk relatively low.

Enhancing Abdominal Exercise Effectiveness

Selection of appropriate exercises, meticulous

technique, adequate muscle overload, and proper

formatting of exercises can help achieve greater

abdominal strength and the development of abdomi-

nal use that can more readily be applied to dancing.

The following is a discussion of these and other

principles that can be used to make many abdominal

exercises more effective.

Emphasizing Flexing Spine Versus Hip Remember

that the abdominal muscles work to flex the spine

while the hip flexors work to bring the torso closer

to the thighs (e.g., hip flexion). Hence, emphasiz-

ing sequentially curling (flexing) the torso and

keeping the torso as rounded forward as possible

(figure 3.40A), versus lifting the torso with a flat back

(figure 3.40B), in exercises such as curl-ups can help

achieve the desired abdominal emphasis. Cues such

as “maintaining a ‘C’ curve” or “imagining hugging

a large ball” can sometimes help achieve this desired

use of the abdominal muscles. Excessive use of the

hip flexors not only decreases desired overload to the

abdominal muscles but also can place undue stress

on the spine if the spine is not sufficiently stabilized.

For individuals with excessive lumbar lordosis, per-

forming “abdominal” exercises with excessive use of

the hip flexors can actually worsen rather than help

correct this postural condition.

Keeping Head and Neck in Line Focus on continu-

ing flexion of the spine through the cervical region,

thinking of the head and neck continuing the “C”

curve of the lower spine. If one is having difficulty

achieving this alignment or is experiencing neck

discomfort when performing supine abdominal

exercises, it is helpful to try focusing on “softening

the chest” (making it slightly concave) and bringing

the sternum slightly back and down as if hugging

someone, while bringing the chin slightly in toward

the chest (as if holding an orange between the

chin and chest). If the neck muscles are not strong

enough, it may also be necessary to initially use one

hand to support the neck. One should avoid pulling

on the neck, alternate the arm used for support, and

gradually increase the number of repetitions that can

be performed without support. It can also be helpful

to perform exercises starting from sitting (such as

the curl-back shown in table 3.4C [p. 134]), which

involves less stress for the neck flexors because the

weight of the head is closer to the axis of rotation

(shorter moment arm).

Keeping Feet Unrestrained Keeping the feet free

will generally make the abdominal muscles work

more and hip flexors work less (Godfrey, Kindig,

and Windell, 1977; Guimaraes et al., 1991; Hall,

Lee, and Wood, 1990; Lipetz and Gutin, 1970), and

so most abdominal work should be done with the