Hey everyone! It's been a while since I've posted.
Some of you might remember that I suffered a small L5/S1 disc bulge about two years ago. Thankfully, I managed to work through it, competed all last year, and have continued training around five times a week.
This year I've started dancing with a new partner who's a couple of grades above me. It's been fantastic for my development, and she's very body-aware and technically strong. Together with our new Latin coach, they've corrected a lot of my biomechanics, including my squat technique and some of my Latin positioning.
The one challenge has been the floor.
For the past three years I've mainly trained on a very smooth floor, but my partner lives an hour away and her studio floor is much stickier. We've been doing a lot of pivots and rotational actions recently, and although I've tried using talc/cornstarch (and more recently tape on my shoes) to help the shoes release, there have still been a few occasions where my foot has grabbed during a pivot and I've felt my knee twist or stretch.
Over the last few weeks my knee has become a bit irritated. I don't remember one dramatic injury, pop, or swelling episode but rather just a few moments where the foot caught and the knee didn't feel happy afterwards during a pivot where it stretched/pulled a bit.
I saw my physio (who I normally see for my back), and I had a positive McMurray's test. After reassessing it a week later, he thinks it's likely a small meniscal tear and has referred me to a specialist/MRI for confirmation.
The good news is:
- No locking
- No catching
- No giving way
- No significant swelling
I can still dance and recently got through a 90-minute Latin session, but the knee feels slightly irritated afterwards. Not sharp or swollen, just a bit clicky.
pivoting on that side is becoming a little more uncomfortable compared to the other side. Not huegely, just a bit.
I'm honestly pretty devastated because dancing has become a huge part of my life, and after finally learning to manage my back, I'm terrified that a knee injury is going to stop my progress.
So I have a couple of questions for those who've been through something similar:
- Has anyone here returned to competitive dancing after a meniscus tear without surgery?
- If you did manage it conservatively, what helped the most?
- If you ended up needing surgery, were you able to get back to the same standard of dancing?
- Has anyone else dealt with sticky competition/practice floors causing problems with pivots, and how did you manage it?
I'm really worried as I don't want surgery as I know removing the meniscus leads to arthritis, less cushioning etc.
I'm trying not to catastrophise before I've even had an MRI, but I'd really appreciate hearing some real experiences from dancers who've been through this.
Thanks everyone.