Recommended Products for Dance Injuries, Prevention, and Rehabilitation
COMPRESSION WEAR
Compression helps to reduce swelling by allowing the blood to flow faster and drain away excess fluid which is why compression is advised after an injury. But compression wear such as sleeves, socks and tights have also been found to help athletes muscles recover quicker after activity and many dancers swear that their bodies feel more rested wearing a pair of compression leggings overnight after an extra hard day of rehearsals or performing. Therefor having a compression sleeve on hand at home for your dancer to wear when they are complaining of exceptionally sore muscles can be beneficial in helping those muscles recover quicker.
COMPRESSION WEAR FOR CHILDREN
Although you probably shouldn’t put compression wear on children overnight as it might be too restricting (unless recommended by a medical professional), what is good about alot of children’s compression wear is that it is more thermal or heat wear. In particular, we like the following options from Amazon.com, in particular theses zipper compression socks which come in black or beige and with cut out or full toe!
COMPRESSION WEAR FOR PRETEENS AND TEENS
Pre-teens and teens can safely tell you how their body is feeling in relation to the pressure of compression wear, therefore, it may help them recover more quickly from muscle aches. What you need to be careful about is that you buy compression wear that is specific for recovering after exercise and not just for wearing whilst exercising as your dancer will get the best benefit from wear after exercise and not during. We recommend the following options from Amazon.com
HOT & COLD HEAT PADS
Having a versatile hot and cold pad should be a must for the first aid kit of everydancer. This one from Amazon.com can be heated in the mircowave for heat treatment or left in the freezer for icing injuries. It come with an elastic strap so that you can wrap it around the muscles you want to target.
Wanting to spoil your dancer? Why not get them this an electronic heating pad! This one on amazon.com is shaped to hang over the shoulders with a clip, but is perfect to wrap around legs, feet or any other part of the body that is aching from a long day in the dance studio. The casing is machine washable and it has different heat settings and an automatic timer.
TIGER BALM
Tiger Balm is a potent ointment that should not be handled by children. When rubbed onto an area of the skin it produces a burning sensation that gives a warming and relieving sensation to an aching muscle. Hands should be washed after rubbing in the product and it should never be rubbed anywhere near the face in case it comes in contact with the eyes. That being said some professional dancers swear by the stuff and always have a little tub at the bottom of their dance bag to rub on an aches and pains as soon as they appear. It does generally come with a very strong menthol type smell so you might also want to consider their neck and shoulder rub that has a vanishing scent. You can get both from amazon.com by clicking on the images.
MAGNESIUM
Magnesium is a mineral that many people believe relieves muscles aches, pains, and stiffness. Magnesium is topically applied or absorbed through the skin the bodies largest organ through the use of sprays or by soaking in a bath which has Epsom salts a crystallized form of magnesium dissolved into it. You can buy a magnesium spray to apply to sore and aching muscles from amazon.com here and get a large bag of Epsom salts to sprinkle into your child’s post-performance or class bath.
FOAM ROLLERS
Amazon.com offer a huge range of foam rollers like the one above or the longer ones below. We like their own Amazon brand roller as it comes in various colors and sizes for a great price some of which we have photos of here, but they have more if you view them online here.
But if you are wanting to really treat yourself or your dancer you could splurge on a foam roller with an inbuilt vibrator so that you have to do less work to loosen up those muscles. We like this vibrating foam roller on Amazon.com by fitness junction. It is rated at 4.5 out of 5 stars and has different levels of vibration dependent on what you require. It is also shaped to target pressure points and give you the best overall massage possible.
