Growth Spurt Case Study

I chose this subject because it interested me about how the changing of the body can influence the dancer’s ability. I was also interested in discovering what the problems that are created through pointe work as well as how dancers can learn how to adapt to dancing with deformities of the feet.

1. What is a Growth Spurts?

According to a baby centre, a growth spurt is ‘a rapid rise in height and weight’.

Growth spurts can occur anytime in a person’s life. However, they are most common when the person is a baby between new-born and 4years old. The growth spurts continue over all the years but are most visible during these times. They begin again when the child reaches puberty which is at different ages for girls (approximately 11-14 years old) and boys

The dancer will usually also experience an increase in injuries such as strained muscles or tendon problems. Larger injuries such as knee and hip problems can also occur making it harder for the dancer. He/she can also experience shin splints or stress fractures.

The loss in body weight when the dancer is self-conscious then causes further damage to the dancer’s performance and ability as her stamina will decrease even more as she is not receiving a sufficient amount of energy. This can also in turn affect a female dancer’s menstrual cycle and cause her to have irregular periods.

There is also a small chance of bone loss due to the constant grinding of bones together when the dancer dances and there is a large amount of impact work.

3. Handling of the Growth