Psychology

The dancing profession is more often than not a challenging profession because of the gruesome psychical activities and a lot of expectations from the instructors as well as the dancers themselves. This can lead to potentially detrimental physical complications as well as psychological challenges to the dancer.

In the both the past and the present, dancers are viewed as forever young who cannot be faced with setbacks like injury. Nevertheless, dancers are now paying close attention when something is amiss although some of them still view medical treatment in case of an injury, career threatening and an expensive undertaking. Gradually more dancers are beginning to feel the need for psychotherapy as they no longer see themselves as purely psychical beings, but the fact that their minds and emotions are important too (Berardi, 2005)

Discussion
Various injuries
One of the most common physical challenges that a dancer has to cope with is the risk of hip injury, ankle sprains, knee injury, hamstring injury and back injury. According to Caute (2005), some dancers are born with a perfect turnout, which is the envy of most dancers, but in some cases, the large degree of rotation may be because of shallow hip sockets. This condition is known as acetabular dysplasia where the body attempts to stabilize with a very large acetubular labrum- the supporting rim of hip cartilage (Caute, 2005) The most common symptom of a hip injury in a dancer is increase in groin pain that causes the dancer to shun certain dance styles like the developpe a al second (Hill, 2010). Hill (2010) is of the opinion that dancers should avoid burnout and should keep away from anti-inflammatory medication that could cover the pain. A hip injury can prove to be quite detrimental to a dancer career as well as social livelihood, as it could be potentially devastating, a condition that could lead to a serious psychological outcome (Sturm, 2008).

Many dancers at some point in their careers suffer ankle sprains. According to Kassing and Jay (2003), ankle sprains are the most common severe injury in dance and they tend to happen regularly. Many dancers say that they suffer ankle sprains because of the feeling of fatigue.

According to Sturm (2008), the knee is vulnerable to injuries that range from mild to severe, including meniscal or cartilage tears. In dancing, there is a lot of choreography that involves deep squats or sudden grand piles that damage the knee cartilage (Levine, 2003). Many dancers twist their knees to improve their turnout and this places them at a risk for meniscal damage. At first, dancers find it difficult to tell if an injury is mild, moderate or severe and most of them rarely give in to pain. Consequently, if the dancers psychical evaluation indicates that they need surgery because the knee is locked, then they should follow the same remedy of solving ankle sprains (Sturm, 2008)
Hamstrings injuries are muscle pulls that are rarely serious and they occur at the hamstring. According to Meade (2007), many dancers use the hamstring in nearly every movement of their bodies, thus making it easy to overwork it. Many dancers especially the young ones experience muscle strength imbalance when they momentarily lose litheness, vigor and stability. The solution to a hamstring injury is sufficient rest with progressive stretching and strengthening program until the dancer gets well (Meade, 2007)

Nikolais and Louis (2005) state that the most common problem is where the dancers back freezes up causing a localized aching problem over a specific joint that limits movement and this is in most cases because of a ruptured disc. The potential cases for back problems in dancers consist of fatigue, hyper mobility (where they wrap their legs around their heads), emotional stress and leg length inequalities. The most brutal cases involve intense spasms where the muscles contract to protect the joint.  Many dancers, who go through this ailment, usually find physical therapy as the best solution to reduce inflammation (Caute, 2005)

In most cases, dancers usually take long time before admitting that there is a problem with their bodies. They are more often than not aware and may even feel that something is not right, but they usually keep mum about the injury until it gets out of hand. This leads to the dancer feeling emotionally overwhelmed and they can start experiencing many different negative emotions for example frustration. A dancer may feel frustrated with his or her body as most of them especially the young ones, cannot comprehend what is happening to them psychically in case of an injury. A dancer can feel that their dance instructors doubt that they are injured and by this, he or she may feel neglected in the dance studio. As a result of this, a dancer can feel very alone and unsupported by the instructors and this can make the dancer believe that he or she is not provided by positive or negative impact. The feeling of anger starts to consume the dancer as he or she feels that he cannot perform to the high standards expected from him. This leads to the feeling of being jealous of their colleagues in the dance studio. Eventually, a dancer becomes depressed.

Depression in dancers
Depression is a medical condition and the symptoms usually lasts for two or more weeks due to biochemical changes in the brain, that was a result of the feelings of frustration and sadness because of various injuries (Berardi, 2005) A dancer often shows the symptoms of worrying, concentration and being irritable even because of small things. As a result, a dancer may find it a daunting task to do some common daily activities such as thinking, sleeping and others. A dancer can experience some psychical challenges mostly associated with depression such as frequent headaches, and digestive problems. According to Norton (2004), there are different types of depression and this may produce additional symptoms. For example, dancers in the northern hemisphere who in most cases develop seasonal affective disorder (SAD) during the late fall, winter months may yearn for sweet and cholesterol high foods, and this will lead weight gain (Norton, 2004). According to Levine (2003), dancers with bipolar disorder usually in addition to depression make hasty decisions such as empting out their bank accounts when extremely happy. However, dancers with the most benevolent type of mood disorder, known as dysthymia, put up with chronic low-grade depression over a long period (Berardi, 2005)

However, whereas some dancers are rendered disabled due to depression, others continue to perform normally but with some obscurity. According to Nikolais and Louis (2005), psychological makeup can also lead to depression in high achievers like dancers. There have been reports of many countless skillful dancers who have still suffered from depression. Mitoma, Zimmer and Stieber (2003) state that the same qualities that create momentous achievement, can also lead to self destruction, depending on a dancers obsessive tendencies.

Therefore, is the art of being a perfectionist destructive The answer is yes and no. Like many successful people, many dancers tend to have exceptionally high standards. In fact being tremendously talented in dance and perfectionism often goes together. This is positive up to points because it drives the dancer to constantly push him or herself on to achieve success. This becomes negative when the dancer avoids failure at all costs and we all know that everybody must encounter failure somewhere in his or her life and we all learn from this. Lamentably, the dancer cultures strong emphasis on a dancer to have a perfect body and technique may push some dancers over the edge, particularly if the dance instructors refuse to make room for fatigue, injuries, and mistakes as they usually set very high standards for the dancer.

Due to the relationship between low self-esteem and depression, it will be more productive if the dance instructors put a strong emphasis on learning goals, where a dancers self esteem is not tied to being perfect. For dancers to manage their own perfectionist behavior and set realistic goals, a dancer should take a more positive approach in dance training. However, in some cases, depression can catch a dancer unaware, especially in a culture that holds stoicism (which is an indifference to pleasure or pain) in high regard. As an outcome of this, dancers and their instructors may view some symptoms associated with depression such as loss of energy and concentration, as signs of weakness. In addition to this, a dancer can abuse a substance for example drugs, alcohol or food in an unsuccessful effort to treat him or herself from depression. However, the best way to treat depression in dancers is by psychotherapy and in some cases, a dancer may be given an antidepressant drug (Caute, 2005)

How to facilitate psychological recovery in dancers
According to Hill (2010), coping with dance injury has physical, psychological and social dimensions, all which involve trust. However, a dancer should first acknowledge that an injury has occurred, and then go for treatment. This is where the dancer must trust that the doctor knows how to avoid and manage dance injuries. Levine (2003) is of the opinion that a majority of dancers do not seek treatment immediately an injury has occurred, for the reason that they do not trust that the doctors are suitably knowledgeable about dance injuries.

However, the dance instructors have a vital role to play in the preventing and facilitating the management of injuries in dancers because they often pose as role models to the dancers. Therefore, an instructor should be serious in the acknowledgement of injury, advising the dancer to see a doctor and helping the dancer to trust their instincts when something is wrong with their bodies. However, it is crucial for the dance instructors to help dancers know and understand the difference between pain that causes serious harm and pain that is a result of sore muscles due to active training (Hill, 2010) Dancers gain greatly from instructors who help them value and look after their bodies well.

Sufficient rest plays a huge role in the healing process. When a dancer does not get sufficient rest, the injury may become worse. The dancer needs sufficient mental and physical rest. Moreover, understanding from the dance instructors and choreographers is a vital part of psychological rehabilitation.

Conclusion
As I have discussed above, dance as a profession is one that is characterized by the risk of injury and psychological problems. The injuries that can be as a result of dance include hip injury, back injury, ankle sprains, and hamstring injury. In most cases, when the injuries happen, the dancers are usually in denial and this often leads to detrimental consequences as I have discussed above. In most cases, dancers are usually highly motivated people, thus they do not pay close attention when they get an injury. In case of an injury, many dancers conform to the idea that they do not trust the medical personnel when they are being treated for an injury. This is because in majority of the cases, the dancers feel that they know and understand their bodies well, thus they question the judgment of the doctors. The dance instructors and choreographers also play a big role in ensuring that the dancers understand their bodies and if they feel that something is amiss, they should take action immediately. However, psychological therapy is also very important to dancers as it will make them be more productive in their profession in the long run as relaxed minds can enable them enjoy their profession to the fullest.