Pointe work, extreme plantarflexion, turnout, and repetitive jumping create injury patterns most physicians rarely see — and treatments that must respect the ranges of motion your art demands.

Posterior impingement — the "nutcracker"

Deep pain behind the ankle on pointe or relevé, often from an os trigonum crushed at maximal plantarflexion. I perform endoscopic os trigonum excision with FHL release — one of the only physicians in Pittsburgh doing this endoscopically — with dancers typically back to demi-pointe around week 4 and full pointe around week 6. Story: the Nutcracker syndrome.

FHL tendinopathy — "dancer's tendinitis"

The tendon that powers relevé can catch, click, and lock the big toe (trigger toe). Most cases respond to targeted rehab; stubborn ones respond to endoscopic release. Guide: FHL injuries in ballet dancers.

Ankle instability

Dancers hide sprains until the ankle gives way in balance work. When rehab isn't enough, the Broström-Gould reconstruction restores stability without sacrificing the motion dance demands.

Sprains, stress injuries, and cartilage

From the sprain that won't heal to cartilage lesions and Achilles problems — diagnosed with on-site weight-bearing CT and ultrasound, treated with the dancer's timeline in mind.