Whiplash
Less than a month after incurring whiplash in an auto accident,
Dunya has returned to her dance classes once or twice a week.
Of course, she is taking it easy, and staying within the boundaries
of safe movement. She reports, "The beginning belly dance
class is especially helpful, with its gentle movements of stretching
and isolation. It cheers me up immensely and helps me feel that
I haven't completely lost all my physical abilities. I enjoy
the friendship and support of the women in the class. It's a
good boost, physically and psychologically. Being injured makes
me feel stiff, slow, and old. Dancing the basic moves makes me
feel graceful and pretty."
Back Problems
Ever since an accident in her mid-teens, Karen has had back
problems. The doctors treated it by recommending bed rest, which
occurred for 1-2 weeks every year. She tried swimming, but that
didn't work because her scoliosis caused her to do the moves
improperly, and sometimes led to straining something else. In
her late 40's, she tried belly dancing, and discovered it helped!
The hip circles and shimmies seemed to relieve pain, even during
an attack. As an additional benefit, dancing also relieved menstrual
cramps which often occurred simultaneously with the disk pain.
It took about 2 years before she became comfortable enough with
doing the moves to relax and enjoy the dance. Now, when her back
starts to hurt, she turns on the music!
Since 1975, I've known I had scoliosis. My upper back has
a 26-degree curve, and my lower back has a 40-degree curve. My
day job involves spending hours sitting in front of a desk looking
at a computer screen. I usually dance 2-3 times per week, either
in rehearsals, teaching my dance class, or performing. I've noticed
that if I go for several weeks without dancing, I develop
back pain, but as long as I dance regularly, I manage to stay
reasonably pain-free. When I discussed this with a chiropractor,
he emphasized that dancing regularly is healthy for my poor curved
back, and I should do so for the rest of my life.
High Blood Pressure
One of my students reported that her doctor had ordered her
to take up some form of exercise, so she signed up for my belly
dancing class. In just 4 weeks, her blood pressure had dropped
significantly and her doctor had praised her progress. She hadn't
made any other changes (medication or otherwise) during that
time--just dance.
Hip Prosthesis
Doctors often urge patients recovering from broken hips to
engage in weight-bearing exercises to speed recovery. For most
people, this means walking. But Eva from Brazil decided to try
something else! In 1998 she fell and broke the bone that joins
the hip to the femur. After several surgeries, her doctors determined
she needed a hip prosthesis. With permission from her doctors,
she decided to enroll in a belly dancing class. After only a
month of belly dancing, she was walking normally!
Rickets and Failed Surgery
Daniela in Australia was born with rickets, a condition in
which the bones don't have enough calcium. Doctors told her she
couldn't pursue her dream of becoming a dancer because it could
harm her ankles and hip joints. Between the medical condition
and the results of a failed surgery, her mobility was limited
and she endured stiffness in her joints. When a cousin suggested
belly dancing, she decided to give it a try. Her doctors feared
it would lead to pain in her legs, and advised her against it.
However, the dancing has never led to any pain, and it in fact
has actually improved the flexibility in her hip.
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