Ask Deb: “How Do I Prevent Reverse Curve in My Dancers' Spines?”
October 3, 2017

One of my dancer friends was told by a doctor that she had reverse curve in her spine due to constant forward curves, head-tail movements and backward rolls. Do you have any advice for how to remedy or prevent this?


The answer is: good posture! The constant forward head that students have as they look down at their phones and sit and study at the computer is a huge problem. Don’t even get me started on how many chairs and cars promote poor posture, when you can’t sit upright with your pelvis against the back and your spine in good alignment.

Reverse curves in the cervical spine are created more by poor sitting and standing alignment than by doing backward rolls and other movements that involve rounding of the spine.

I try to impress upon young dancers that what they do outside of dance class has significant influence on the results they get in class. Developing a habit of anatomical and efficient alignment is the greatest gift you can give yourself!

To your success,

Deborah Vogel

Director, The Body Series

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