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What's your body type? Are your joints loose or tight? Can you tell? Are your feet flat, or do you have high arches? Why would a dancer be interested in these attributes for any reason other than the aesthetic line that a beautifully pointed foot offers, the excitement that a fabulously high leg kick brings, or the thrill created by a breathtaking backbend?

Not only are dancers and dance audiences eager to watch such astounding physical feats, but also watching are dance directors and the dance medicine and science community. Research in dance medicine and science is an evolving art form. What started as a few health-care providers twenty years ago has blossomed into a robust community that boasts international connections. Dance academies as well as physicians, physical therapists, and other health-care providers now conduct studies. And the research is looking at you. Are your mobile joints and high arches really good for you? With a few simple tests you can get an idea of where you stand.

Let's start with your joint mobility. Can you bend over, with knees straight, and touch your fingers to your toes? How about your palms to the floor? Most dancers can, and think nothing of it. Give yourself a point if you got your palms to the floor.

Next, lift your arms horizontally to the side and take a good look at your outstretched arms. Do you have those alien-type elbows that go backward when they straighten? Think everybody's arms do that? Think again. As a child, I remember giving my cousin, Robert, the creeps with my hyperextended elbows, and how he begged me to stop "bending them the wrong way." I naively replied that everyone's bent that way. This was my first inkling that everyone does not have the same body type. If you have hyperextended elbows, give yourself two more points, one for each elbow. They usually come in pairs.

How about your knees? Can you push them backward also, going beyond straight? If so, give yourself one point for each knee that qualifies. What about your hands? Put your hand on a table palm-side down and see if you can lift the pinkie finger up to make a ninety-degree angle. Give yourself one point for each hand that makes the mark. Also, can you pull your thumbs down to your forearms? Add another point for each of those.

# posted by Medical Information : 2:11 AM