One of the things I most fear as a dancer is injury. Depending on the severity, an injury can sideline a dancer — professional, pre-professional, or otherwise — for weeks, months, years, or could even end a career. I was forced to face my fear one year into my journey as a professional dancer.
In September 2021 I learned I had been misdiagnosed from an injury from four years ago. An MRI revealed I had a severely herniated disc in my lumbar spine. I had spinal surgery the following week to remove the herniation and made the physical therapy office my second home six weeks post-op.
Leading up to the surgery, I felt like I somehow got wrapped up into this terribly unfortunate fate and was suddenly at the mercy of the surgeon to fix the outrageous amount of pain I was in. I had been in pain for a while, but thought I could manage it myself. One of the lessons I’ve come to recognize from my injury is that it’s okay and even essential to ask for help. You’ll save yourself a lot of trouble by asking peers, teachers, doctors, or other professionals for their guidance.
Recovering from surgery was (and continues to be) hard for both my body and mind. I couldn’t bend, twist, or lift for six weeks and was concerned I’d break myself more than I already had. Recovery felt incredibly isolating, like no one could understand the pain I physically felt and the pain in my heart, wishing, dreaming that I could dance again. Having done nothing but sit in a chair for six weeks, I lost all my muscular strength and flexibility. My glutes, quads, and calves that had been sculpted for a modern dancer’s work were gone. There was a very long period of time where I felt like I wouldn’t ever be able to touch my toes again, let alone ever perform.
Physical therapy has saved me and been the most informative experience. Every dancer should experience quality physical therapy for injury prevention and routine maintenance. Most of my exercises focus on strengthening the glutes, hamstrings, inner thighs, ankles, and lats to increase stability, mobility, and flexibility of the joints and muscles. In addition to rebuilding my physical strength, I’ve finally returned to having a sense of confidence in my body as well.
It has taken eight months to get to this point and it was not a continuous path of progression. There were hiccups along the way for sure, but I have now returned to company class, rehearsal, teaching, and performing. A very close friend and former dancer of the company I’m with told me something that was one of the most grounding messages: dance is everything, and dance is not everything. Dance can exist in your life in more ways than one. Through my recovery, I’ve come to love teaching because it is a way for me to share my passion with my students. I hope to perform for as long as my body will let me, but I’ve come to find comfort in what was my worst fear because an injury is not the end — it can be the redirection of newfound strength, confidence, and possibilities.
- Emily Gunter, professional dancer and instructor based in New York’s capital region.
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