Breakdancing (aka breaking) has been around and thriving since the 1980s, but recently the culture’s top performers have rightfully become recognized as elite athletes after the inception of the sport (more of a lifestyle) into the Summer Olympic Games. Breaking was a big hit at Paris 2024 and is expected to blow up even further when the Games arrive in Los Angeles for 2028. This newfound respect (from the mainstream, that is) has also shined a spotlight on the training and preparedness of its participants. One extremely important component to the health and wellness of a breakdancer is physiotherapy. If you’re a B-Boy or B-Girl, please read ahead to learn more about why physio is as critical to your repertoire as a windmill.
Why Breakdancers Must Make Physical Therapy a Key Component of Their Training Regime
Breakdancer Injury Repair and Prevention
As with any intense physical activity (more so, to be honest) breakdancers are vulnerable to a wide number of musculoskeletal injuries, both chronic and acute. The most common breakdancing injuries include the following:
- Achilles tendonitis
- Ankle sprains
- Cartilage tears
- Flexor hallucis longus tenosynovitis (type of tendonitis that causes pain at the back of the ankle, under the mid-foot or the base of the big toe)
- Patellofemoral syndrome (causes a dull, aching pain in the front of the knee)
- Neck strain
- Shin splints
- Snapping hip syndrome (condition in which a breaker feels a snapping sensation or hears a popping sound in their hip)
One or more of these injuries have occurred, or will occur, in your life as a breaker. Physiotherapy interventions ranging from chiropractic work, massage therapy, acupuncture and IMS dry needling, athletic taping, and more will be employed to both treat existing injuries and help prevent them from occurring as each battle unfolds.
Performance Enhancement for Breakdancing Moves
Injury repair and prevention are logically critical components to your success as a breaker, however, regular physiotherapy will also enhance your performance. A physiotherapist will provide you with a regime of stretches and exercises to perform before (warm-up) and after (cool-down) to enhance overall flexibility and movement. Further, a full service physiotherapist offering orthotics services will asses your gait and footwork, and will prescribe custom orthotic inserts for your Nike, Adidas, Puma, Vans, Converse, or New Balance wear. On that latter note (New Balance) regular physiotherapy will greatly improve your core and improve your balance, both of which are critical to performance. Simply stated, physiotherapy can make you better at all of the following:
- Flares
- Flips
- Footwork
- Freezes
- Go downs
- Handglides
- Headspins
- Power moves
- Toprocks
- Transitions
- Tricks
- 2000s
- Windmills
Are you located in Greater Vancouver BC? If so, our Burnaby clinic and team of specialists will repair your chronic pains and prepare you to train, compete, and succeed in breakdancing. Pop-and-lock your way into our clinic today.