Landing, turning and jumping with less strain on your knees and ankles
Dr Nicola Tik
A great class leaves you buzzing, but sometimes your knees or ankles feel it the next day, especially after lots of jumps and turns. Most of the strain in dance comes from how you land and how you turn, and those are both things you can practise. A few small changes to your technique, plus some simple balance work at home, can make a real difference.
In a single class you might land from dozens of jumps, many of them on one leg. Each landing asks your ankles, knees and hips to absorb force and bring you to a controlled stop. Turns add twisting, which your knees in particular prefer to keep to a minimum.
Researchers who study dancers have noticed something encouraging. Dancers tend to have fewer serious knee injuries than people who play team sports like football or netball. One likely reason is how dancers are taught to land. When they come down from a jump, their knees point the same way as their toes rather than falling inwards, and their body stays upright over their legs. They also land on the balls of their feet first and let their heels come down gently afterwards, which softens the impact. So the technique your teacher drills is protecting your joints as well as making the movement look good.
The aim is a quiet landing. If your landings sound loud, your joints are probably taking more of the force than your muscles are.
Something to focus on in class:
Your knee is built mainly to bend and straighten, not to twist. During turns, the rotation works best when it comes from your hips and your supporting foot, with your knee staying lined up over your toes.
The same idea applies to turnout. Rotation that comes from the hips protects your knees and feet. Forcing your feet further out than your hips can rotate tends to push that twist into your knees instead. Working within the turnout your hips allow is a good habit to keep, even if it looks less dramatic at first.
Studies show that landing technique tends to slip when people are tired. Knees drift inwards and landings become heavier, even in experienced dancers.
This is worth knowing when you plan your practice. You could try placing your hardest jumps earlier in a session, or taking a short pause before repeating a tricky sequence. If you notice your landings getting louder, that is a good cue to ease off or switch to something lighter for a while.
Good balance helps your body react quickly when a landing or turn goes slightly off. In sport, programmes that include balance training have reduced ankle sprains by nearly half in some studies, and the same skills carry over to dance.
A few drills to try, two or three times a week:
Start on a firm floor, near a wall or chair for support, and build up as you feel steadier. If you would like guided strength work to go alongside these drills, VIDA has short videos of heel raises and lunges you can follow at your own pace.
Pick one thing to focus on at a time, rather than trying to change everything at once. You could spend a week noticing your landings, then move on to turns. Over time, these small changes start to feel natural, and your knees and ankles will thank you for them.