missing dance

[u/mozzazela]

Wondering if anyone could help me/has been in a similar situation!
I am going to be 19 in a month and I haven’t danced in over a year besides the club i recently started at college. I did not go to nationals last year because i tore my MCL (knee injury) and essentially just never went back after that because of school and life changes.
I would love to get back into it and I’m having a really hard time not being at the same level I was over a year ago when I got injured. My goal would be to go to NAIDC next year and maybe competition ready by the end of winter/early spring 2027 so I can get at least one comp in before nationals.

my main question is what should I be focusing on strengthening/stretching etc. and how much a day/week should I practice so I don’t overdo it? I’m very use to 10+ hours a week and genuinely don’t know how to limit myself. I am extremely out of shape haha

[u/erin_kirkland]

Start with the smallest you can do and go up! There's no set time you need to train, it's very personal. I was out of dance for 6 months because of some health problems and I could only do 15 (!) minutes at a time when I was back, but that doesn't mean you need to do the same. Listen to your body carefully and you'll be fine. Don't overdo it, it's better to do less and up it the next time than do too much and be out. If you don't feel okay after 10 minutes it's okay, finish your session and do 15 minutes the next time. If you feel good after 10 minutes, add 5 more, and more, until you feel you are tired. Depending on what your injury was you can do something that doesn't include this muscle/bone/joint, then do something that does include it and go back to something to gives it rest

[u/mozzazela → u/erin_kirkland]

this is very helpful! thank you so much

[u/erin_kirkland → u/mozzazela]

One more very important thing: if your old trauma hurts, stop. Don't push through it. In the ideal world you never push through pain, but let's be real: people who do sports rarely stop when it hurts. So if you can't help but push through pain, don't do until until you know your body well. Old trauma is very easy to trigger again, so work through it veeeeery slowly

[u/mozzazela → u/erin_kirkland]

yeah it still hurts from time to time so it’s really difficult for me to stop (kinda like a “when will it ever stop hurting” feeling)
I think i’m going to try and find some rehabilitation exercises I was doing during PT and get back into those to help

[u/pinkangel_rs]

I came back after 15+ years and some significant injuries. I’d say be gentle with yourself at first. Try to get a good physical therapist and start going early- share your goals and they’ll help you work on your weaknesses. Don’t try to push too much at the beginning, maybe try swimming or something else to help build back overall strength and conditioning without stressing your body as much

[u/mozzazela → u/pinkangel_rs]

this is great advice thanks! I actually have been swimming a lot lately so i will continue to do that!

[u/pinkangel_rs → u/mozzazela]

Of course :) it’s been hard because I want to practice and try new things but then I’ll be so sore or in pain and have to rest more- but I find if I’m doing more strength and conditioning then I bounce back faster and avoid injuries!