is it common?

[hidatsachic24]

hay yall..well i danced jingle at the toledo,ohio powwow and i pulled a muscle...i havent danced in long time so is that common?
i was the only one dancing and people layed down money which i gave to the drum...one girl who was suppose to dance never did instead she switched right away after grand entry from jingle to fancy shawl...needless to say i felt nervous
another thing is there a way i can prevent this from happening i mean any stretches or aything cuz man my legs kill.. :D

[buckskin pantyhose]

OUCH!!! Sounds like you need to be stretchin' to warm them legs up. If you've been outta the circle for awhile & recently started dancing again, then YES, you should be stretchin' your legs a lot. Especially with the demands jingle puts on your bod, it's not easy to get out there & expect to be 100%.
Stretching is good for you anyway, it improves strength & flexiblity. I know there are a lot of dancers who never stretch, & find themselves sore as hell by the end of the powwow. You put yourself at a higher risk of gettin' hurt if you don't, because your body may not be ready to go full force, which is required for comp. I actually dance traditional & still get sore if i don't stretch & we don't hop around or anything.

Now get to stretchin!!! :p :D :)
~Buckskinz

[nativelohaus]

I would say that you obviously need to stretch if you got a cramp. Before you stretch you may need to warm up with a couple of intertribals or grand entry. It is always better to warm up prior to stretching. As far as other factors associated with the stretch, I would think your level of hydration may have been involved. I would recommend drinking enough water prior to your dancing (night before) just to ensure the body is properly hydrated. It sounds like you may have come back and just plain overdid it. Depending on your age and fitness, the body was probably stressed more than usual. Ease your way back into things. This is my expertise as I am going to school for physical therapy. If you have any questions, then please feel free to PM me.

[dancing bear]

Hey
You all are quite correct. Dancing is very hard on the body and is physical activity, come to think of it, :D.
I always stretch when I dance and even stretch during the week when I'm not dancing. Got to take care of the body, you know?? So, to avoid cramps, pulled muscles and stuff like that, take care of your body, and you'll be dancing for a long time to come.
:Angel:
the bear

[Singing Otter]

Bengay. :D

[eap7]

Okay here are some stretches you can do. I'll try to describe them as best as I can....

Put one leg in front of the other. Bend the leg in front so that the other leg is straight, like you're lunging forward. It's helpful to have someone in front of you to push against or a chair or wall or something so you won't fall over. This will stretch the back of your knee and leg (in the leg that's straight in back).

Stand on one leg and pull the other leg back so your foot touches ur butt. But keep your leg down...so your knees will be next to each other, but your foot will be up. Make sense? Then hold the foot thats touching ur butt with ur hand. It helps again to have someone either steady u, or hold on to something w/ the other hand so u won't fall! This stretches the muscle in the front of the leg.

Stand with your feet a little more than shoulder width apart and have ur toes pointing out. Then lean to one side, hold, and lean to the other. This will stretch the inside of ur thighs.

Umm that's basically what I do. Oh one more, you can put ur feet shoulder width apart, and bend over with ur arms danging. Keep ur knees bent JUST A LITTLE so u won't hurt urself. That stretches ur back and ur muscles at the back of ur legs a bit. This one is good if u've been sitting down and ur back is all stiff.

<b>THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF ALL THESE STRETCHES</b>:
only stretch a little bit at first. You can go farther as you get better, day by day. If it hurts then ur stretching too far, don't lean so much. You should feel a little bit of a stretch but no pain. If u stretch too far, u'll pull muscles w/ out even dancing!!!

This should be good enuf.

Oh also something really weird abt water-if u drink too much water before you dance, it'll just go right thru u if ur not sweating. Then, your body will be the same as if you didn't drink at all. When I was at a powwow this summer I drank too much water before I danced and it wasn't hot, so I didn't sweat. Then I kept going to the bathroom. When I danced, I felt so sick and dizzy and I almost fell down at the end. I ended up going to the hospital after a nurse who was doing the whole diabetes awareness tent there wanted to take me in an ambulance (!) But my mom just drove me there. The doctor said "Oh u didn't drink enuf water eh?" So just be careful about that. My doctor said to drink gatorade or water with all the electrolytes and stuff in it. ALso, don't drink much water until after you sweat-that is when ur body is loosing the nutrients.

Okay I know this is long. Hope the stretches help-if u or NE of u ladies have questions abt my descriptions, please feel free to ask! Also, just wanted to share the water thing so no one else passes out in the arena!

Dance hard and take care of urself!
:D

[n8tivechick]

hey... ice your legs before and after you dance.... i just went to my doc and i have a knee problem and he said that it is from the jumping in the jingle dance the musclegoes over my knee cap and it HURTS!:Cry so he told me to ice your muscles that have recently hurt before and after you dance.

hope this helps

-Kelli

[nativelohaus]

I wouldn't ice my muscles before I dance. Ice would make the muscle's contrtactility reduce. It would also reduce the blood flow to the muscles forcing a longer warm up time. However, if you do have inflammation of the muscles or tendonitis, then I would follow up with ice after dancing. It is best to put ice in a bag with a little water to allow it to conform to the tissue. I would then place a moist towel over the skin and follow it with the ice. Twenty minutes should be adequate but make sure the ice does not cause you to get frost bite. Go for the numb sensation in the area. This will allow the heat from the tissue to conduct to the ice cooling the area down. Just my two cents and what I have learned from schooling.

[Czechy]

Yeah, stretching is key. Some of those exercises also strengthen the leg and ankle muscles which is good, especially if you do them several times a week. Also be careful when dancing on concrete. Its a lot harder on your feet and legs than dancing on grass. Make sure your have good padded insoles in your mocs. This will also help prevent a major source of soreness.

[just hangin']

And one more thought : stretches should be slow and controlled or you're going to suffer girl! I learned from experience... and if you want to be really jamming, exercise regularly ( both cardio and muscular strength and endurance)