At the sites, dancers, musicians and other artists can seek treatment from specially trained physical therapists.
The burgeoning performing arts scene in the Lehigh Valley has led Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network and Lehigh Valley Health Network to open performing arts medicine programs.
At the sites, dancers, musicians and other artists can seek treatment from specially trained physical therapists. The goal is to help them heal and, if possible, keep doing what they love -- all while working around their practice and performance schedules.
"(A ballerina) needs to dance. She can't stop dancing," said Cathie Dara, manager of the Good Shepherd site on Eaton Avenue in Bethlehem.
The networks expect the programs to be in high demand. The region has many excellent dance schools and now there's the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts in Bethlehem and Arts Academy Charter School in Salisbury Township, officials said.
Ten percent of all dancers are injured by age 8 and about half of all dancers will have an injury a year by the age of 16, according to Gayanne Grossman, from Lehigh Valley Health Network. With professional dancers, 80 percent report an injury each year.
Small issues ... now
They hope to save performers years of physical therapy and heartache by identifying small bio-mechanical issues that can have a big impact.
A ballerina whose second metatarsal is longer than the first is not going to be able to balance or stand properly, Grossman said. They'll wiggle all over, turn their ankle or perhaps develop tendonitis. All it takes to fix the issue is a toe pad in her shoe.
"It is so frustrating they do everything right. They're strong enough, coordinated enough and they still can't balance," Grossman said. "They think that they aren't very good when it's the alignment of the bones in their foot. If you don't know that, someone could have a year of physical therapy or spend 10 years trying to accomplish something they'll never do."
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The new Performing Arts Rehabilitation Center is located at 800 Eaton Ave. in Bethlehem.
Good Shepherd's new 3,000-square-foot, light-filled office at 800 Eaton
Ave. opens Monday to treatment for performers
and regular patients alike.
"No matter the injury we can treat it here," Dara said.
The equipment can be unique for a medical center. There's a music room with an upright piano and acoustical panels to muffle noise. With a clarinet or piano player, Dara needs to see them play to diagnose them.
There's a sprung dance floor, traditional ballet barre, a wall of mirrors and a sliding privacy door that will allow Dara to take performers through the basics properly.
"I'm going to get a true sense of what they're able to do," said Dara, who has a doctorate in physical therapy and related certifications.
'Expert field'
Lehigh Valley Health Network has wanted to start a performing arts medicine program for years but lacked the skilled clinician, said Susan Sokalsky, director of outpatient rehabilitation services.
Grossman solved that problem. She's the dance clinic director and physical therapist for the nationally ranked, top-10 theater and dance program at Muhlenberg College. She sees patients in a network office on Cedar Crest Boulevard.
"It is definitely an expert field. You really have to understand the dancer's body," said Grossman, who joined the hospital staff in April.
A physical therapist needs to understand how a performer moves and train them to have better motor control, she said.
Both Dara and Grossman want to focus on injury prevention. If Dara starts working with a young child she can ensure his or her form is correct to avoid later injury.
"It makes a huge difference for them," Grossman said.
In addition to treatment for injuries, the practices offer conditioning. According to Grossman, she can show dancers an exercise that will allow them to lift their legs six inches higher in six weeks.