Dealing with the psychological effects of injury.

Starlight

Hey! I haven’t been on here in sooooo long but I just felt like I needed some advice and didn’t know where to turn to as I’ve already spoken to so many people I know but I just wanted to see if there was any more advice or anything out there.

I’m currently a full time dance student at a dance college dancing up to 7 hours each day. Last October I started experiencing lower back pain and I went to a physiotherapist and I thought my problems had resolved and I was maintaining the issues. However my pain has come back again and it has started to play with my mental health. I’m constantly scared of moving and dancing and scared it is going to affect my potential career as a dancer. I’ve been feeling extremely down the past couple of weeks and have spoken to my college about it and they have been incredibly supportive and I’ve spoken to my GP today and I’m going to try a new physio and re evaluate in 4-6 weeks. However, it is still so unknown and that’s really hard to deal with, I’m currently sitting out and not dancing for at least the next week and have already been started to be pulled from opportunities at conventions and other performance opportunities due to how unknown it is and we don’t know how long it might take to heal. My mum keeps saying it might never heal and that really scares me even more because I don’t want to not dance, there is nothing I would want to do with my life, it’s my livelihood and the the thing keeping me going and without it I don’t know what I’d do.

Just wondering if anyone has any advice or experience on staying positive and hopeful throughout this waiting game it feels like I’m playing.

Thanks

Brookee

Hey @Starlight

That sounds really infuriating for you, but it sounds like you're doing everything you can, and getting professional support is really really great! It's understandable to feel upset and deflated about this when it's something you enjoy, and you're not sure what's going to happen, but rest can be your best friend through this time. Also, try to be kind to yourself, you're doing the best you can, and doing everything right to get better. I know this can be really difficult to navigate, but you're not alone, we're always here for you, whenever you need. I would say to just do what makes you feel happy, relaxed and comfortable right now, what sort of things do you enjoy that may be able to distract you even short-term until these appointments are in place?

Are you able to do any kind of movements like yoga or something in the meantime, or is it affecting basically all your routes to moving? It can be really helpful to just try and stay in the present for now, I know it's hard when the thing you love most has been taken away from you for the moment, but nobody knows what the future will hold, and overthinking that will just have an even more negative impact on your mental health. You're very important, and you and your mental health are the biggest priorities. I wonder if you've ever tried guided meditation? It can be as small as 5 minutes, but it can help bring you into the present, and focus on taking things one step at a time, because honestly, the smaller steps are often the ones that are the most important.

Sending you love and strength right now, please always remember you're not alone, we're always here for you whenever you need

Dandelion

Hey @Starlight it has been a while, it’s great to hear from you. I’m sorry to hear you’ve been having to deal with this. It’s great to hear that you’ve already spoken to physio, GP and your uni I think that’s really positive. I totally understand how frustrating it is to not be able to do what you want to. Whilst I’m not a dancer I do enjoy running and have too had injuries that have stopped me for a while. I know it’s so annoying having to sit out but it’s definitely worth it as you don’t want to hurt yourself further. I agree to what Brooke has said above, is there anything you can do like lightly? Have you got anything else you enjoy or any hobbies you haven’t had time for until now? That’s what I like to do to turn a negative into a positive think about it as okay I can’t do dance for a little bit but maybe I can start something I’ve wanted to do. I know it must be really tough, but you’ve got this and I really hope you feel better soon xx

Starlight

Thank you for the great comments @Brookee and @Dandelion I really appreciate you both!! I wish I could try to find other outlets but it’s quite hard right now as I still am meant to be in college everyday for all lessons to watch or sit somewhere else to do coursework and I could ask to leave the building if I don’t have assessment classes, my peers are a great support system for me so I’d rather be in college still it’s just trying to find the right balance I guess.

I don’t know about movement honestly, all I’ve been told is don’t dance and to be quite honest with you even before I saw the doctor I was soo scared to dance or do anything movement related anyways since my pain has been on and off for so long now and I’m always so scared it’s going to come back even when I’m not in pain. I’m going to try to have a gentle stretch each day as I need to do at least something beneficial to keep my sane but apart from that not sure what else. Also made the decision with my mum to continue teaching on Saturdays since it’s mostly younger classes and I know I will be sensible in what I do and I need it for my mental health because without it I’d be so so lost it’s one of my favourite days of the week and I love all the kids I teach!!

Trying my best to focus on the present because I know I should but it’s so much easier said than done and especially when I’m not surrounded by the right people it’s incredible difficult.

Thanks again for all your support really can’t even begin to say how grateful I am!!

independent_

Hey @Starlight lovely to hear from you.

I too suffer from lower back pain and I get how awful it is. I feel like it's worse for us tall people (I recall you're tall like me) because we put a lot of strain on our backs in day to day life and that's before you add your sport into the mix. I go to swimming classes, used to be more serious about it but when I hurt my back it all changed, so I get how you feel. It is scary the thought of having to give up something you love because of something you can't control.

I don't have any advice really, I just wanted to validate your feelings and make sure you know you aren't alone. I hope the physio is able to help, I had physio too for a while and it helped but only up to a point. I really hope this new physio can make a difference for you.

Take care and I'm always here if you need to chat

Laura_tigger82

Hey @Starlight

Thanks for reaching out to us. I always appreciate how much courage it must take to reach out for support. However, I can see that you are really brave in reaching out for support that you know you need and deserve. Is there any type of support you are looking for in particular?

I ask this question because it sounds like you have a clear idea of what does not work for you, so I am wondering if you have any ideas about what types of support you might find beneficial. That way we can make sure you have the most appropriate support possible.

It sounds really tough for you that your pain has started to affect your mental health. I think it is really important that you are patient with yourself and kind to yourself at this time. Though I can completely hear difficult it must be for you when you love to dance and are worried about the potential outcomes based on how you are currently feeling. I hope you receive the answers you are looking for soon.

With these kinds of things, I like to say slow and steady wins the race. It could be that your body just needs some temporary rest to heal and feel better. You could then build up the amount of activity (dance and day to day activity) once your body is feeling healed and better. Then hopefully, with time, you will get back to where you want to be!

Ultimately though, it is okay not to feel ok sometimes and we are always listening to you, here for you, and supporting you. You never have to be alone in this or anything else for that matter