Dancers are athletes that make activity as strenuous as a football tackle look graceful and effortless. Perfecting the art of dance requires pushing one’s body to abnormal limits while combining strength and flexibility to create aesthetic movement. The structure, language, technique and progression of a dance class and rehearsal are unique among sports. Understanding these components of dance is critical in treating dancers.
Dance Medicine
As a current dancer and former professional dancer, Dr. Shah understands the unique biomechanics of dance, enabling her to diagnose and manage dance injuries. Dr. Shah speaks the language of dance, making it easy to communicate with the dancer and understand exactly what they are feeling during specific movements in dance. Often dancers are asked to limit more activity than necessary. Dr. Shah’s knowledge of dance medicine enables her to be highly specific in her treatment regimen, and work with the dancer’s skills, class, and performance demands, all with the goal of efficient recovery.
Dr. Shah has also spent time researching and publishing articles and book chapters in the field of dance medicine. She was the first to publish an article on how to clinically determine readiness for pointe in a peer-reviewed medical journal. Based on the article, Dr. Shah has devised a one-on-one program to determine readiness for pointe. The goal is to collaborate with parents, dancers, and teachers with the potential transition to pointe. To learn more, please visit the readiness for pointe page.
