The Dancer’s Guide to Sports Hernias
On the surface, one could not find two athletic polar opposites than ice hockey players and dancers. Looking closer however, they share several commonalities in the way they move and strain their torso and groin areas. These movements can cause inguinal disruptions (sports hernias), which is why both hockey players and dancers are prone to this debilitating injury. Indeed, dancers can get sports hernias, just like other athletic professionals.
The similarities don’t end there. Like other athletes, dancers often report that intense pain returns after a few days of rest. Pain is treated as a sprain. The cycle of rest, dance, pain, rest, dance, pain repeats, and the dancer eventually seeks a medical evaluation. Sports hernia dance patients report that the pain is deep and that it’s difficult to pinpoint the exact source. Applying pressure externally, and even coughing, does not recreate…