Hip Replacement – Swan Ache
Ballet is one of the most gracious art forms but it also
is incredibly physically demanding and can have devastating effects
on the joints. Ballet dancer, Darcey Bussell, required a hip
replacement after years of the activity.
According to a report in the Daily Mail, Royal Ballet veteran,
Darcey Bussell, was left in considerable discomfort after over 30
years of ballet left her in need of a hip replacement operation.
Now 38, the ballet dancer faces a decision over whether to go ahead
with a hip replacement procedure that could help eradicate the
joint pain that she feels as a result of seriously deteriorated
bones emanating from being involved in ballet since the age of
5.
Hip Replacement – Suffering For Your Art
So far as injuries go, ballet, despite its gracious appearance,
can be extremely brutal and ballet dancers rarely go an entire
season without suffering a major injury of some sort. The irregular
leg movements and high impact of ballet means that a lot of stress
is placed on the joints, particularly the hip joints, and this was
the case with Royal Ballet veteran, Darcey Bussell, who was told
she would need a hip replacement operation to alleviate her joint
pain. Speaking to the Daily Mail, the ballet star stated, “My style
of dancing has made it worse: I don't move like the great
ballerinas of years ago. I am supremely athletic and have paid the
price for that. Ten years ago, an orthopaedic surgeon told me that
my hips were only 50 per cent as good as they should be for someone
my age and that I would probably need hip replacement
operations.”
Hip Replacement – Range of Movements
Ballet as a discipline requires movements that the body isn’t
particularly well suited for and this is undoubtedly the reason why
so many performers in ballet experience injuries and joint pains;
in the case of Darcey Bussell, the very real possibility that she
may need a hip replacement procedure before she reaches the age of
40. Speaking to the Daily Mail, Darcey Bussell explains the
movements of ballet and how they can lead to problems, “Ballet
requires movements which are very unnatural. With every step, you
do a circular movement of the hip. You turn out from the hip and
make your knees point out to the side, instead of forward.” It is
apparent that a lot of ballet dancers are suffering for their art
but, despite requiring a hip replacement, Darcey Bussell says she
doesn’t regret her time in ballet dancing, “But dancing is a
wonderful way of expressing yourself, and my daughters are taking
lessons. Even when I think of the pain I have endured and the
degradation of my hips, I can't say I regret dancing. It's been a
joy for me.”