International Dance Day

As it is International Dance Day I thought I would share my favourite photos from recent shoot with Chris Rennison Rae.

On a freezing cold morning in March, we travelled to different locations along the North East coast to catch the sunrise and still spring morning. Here are the results…

Thankfully Chris chose a much warmer location for the following shoot which took place at the Grand Hotel in Tynemouth. I think this has been my favourite shoot yet! Take a look and see what you think!

Let me know what you think!

All photography by Rennison Rae Photography. Find it here - http://www.rennisonraephotography.com/

Wearing – Mirella leotard and Bloch tights, Plume Tutu, Plume White Skirt, Black hand-made skirt and Freed Pointe Shoes.

-E

The misconception of helmets

Photography by Micheal Oakes

The topic of concussion is something I have been interested in since working with rugby league, rugby union and American Football teams. Having read the book ‘Concussion’ by Jeanne Marie Laskas (a brilliant but worrying story) it just highlights the mistaken views of players within these sports.

I constantly have players telling me they are risk free from concussion, due to wearing helmets or scrum caps. I am able to educate my own player s that this is not the case. However it can be very frustrating for professional sport medics like myself when others believe they do offer complete protection, and then act in a reckless fashion with their heads. What really needs to be understood is the mechanism of concussion (see my next post).

Photography by Micheal Oakes

HELMETS DO NOT PREVENT CONCUSSION!

American football has one of the highest incidences of traumatic brain injury than all major sports, including rugby union, rugby league and ice hockey. ‘But they wear helmets’ you might be thinking, ‘this protect them from concussion’. WRONG!

A helmet does not protect the skull from concussion. A helmet can help to protect the skull from fracture and lacerations.

However, steps are being taken to look at reducing the trauma to the brain. Riddell an American Football helmet manufacturer, is designing helmets to aim to minimise the impact of a hit by diffusing the energy of the hit throughout the helmet, and also using sensors inside the helmet to alert side-line officials of possible concussions. This is all well and good within the NFL, but at grass-roots levels, there is no way this level of technology can be paid for.

Take a look at how these two helmets have changed over the years…

The oldest of the two helmets (aged at roughly 18 years old) is constructed of hard foam and a blow-up rubber inner tube.

The newest helmet (1 year old) is constructed of a compression liner which acts a suspension system to keep the head secure while the shell moves independently. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-T1g_-dSo4).

It’s not perfect, but it’s the start of ongoing improvements.

The rubber inner-tube

The old Shutt VRS4

The Xenith Epic

The vastly different insides of new American Football helmets.

Please remember that safety comes first! Don’t be reckless with your head, it’s the most important part of you!

Tankie's Battle

On Friday evening I had the honour of working at a benefit match held at the Newcastle Falcons ground Kingston Park. This match, named ‘Tankie’s Battle’, was in honour of Paul Van-Zandvliet (also known as Tank), an ex-Falcons player who has recently been diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer. Tank organised this match consisting of former team-mates and select North-East team players, including his son Leon. This was in aid of raising funds towards a trust fund for his young daughter Hope Elle and other charities.

It was a wonderful evening with a superb turn up and I felt extremely lucky to be working alongside some very experienced professionals, with a perfect view of the action. The whole atmosphere at the game was better than any matches I have attended at the ground. Everyone was in high spirits, with the Falcons Legends scoring 10 tries to 4.

As I was working pre-game I met some wonderful people including John Pearson, or ‘Tommy Tight pants’ as he introduced himself, an international ref who after the game praised my work with him pre-game. The stories I heard were incredible and confirmed my love of working as a sports therapist as you often hear some fascinating stories.

After the game we saw, and practically chased Johnny Wilkinson across the pitch for a selfie but with no luck. It must have taken him about half an hour to make it down the stands due to the number of people trying to take a snap (his cheeks must have been aching by the end). So it turned out we were unlucky to catch him before he headed off. However, I wasn’t too bothered as I think I will remember the chase more than a photo with him haha!

It was a really great evening and I hope the event raised lots of money for a great cause!

5 tips to keeping motivated for supplementary dance training

Photo : Chris Rennison Rae

Here are my 5 tips to keeping motivated for training after a long day in the dance studio.

1.       Do the type of training you enjoy

There is no good doing an activity you don’t enjoy as motivation will drop and you will end up not sticking to your programme and possibly giving up.

2.       Build supplementary training into your weekly schedule

Don’t think of your training as separate to dance class but part of it. Yes, it makes the day longer, but it is only there to enhance your performance like your other compulsory classes.

3.       Few sessions but hard work

You don’t have to train daily to get results. You may train well, following correct technique and progression, allowing rest days and still see great results. Work around your schedule and don’t follow the hype that the more work completed, the better the training session. Train hard and don’t do more than necessary, or risk overtraining!

4.       Train together

Plan your sessions with fellow class mates or friends. By sticking together you can encourage each other as well as correct form and spot one another. Additionally, if one of you is feeling unmotivated then you’re more likely to stick at it and turn it into an enjoyable session.

5.       Follow a programme

Get advice from a qualified professional with knowledge of dance who can create a tailored programme to your needs. Once you have this programme (which should be specially tailored to your available time) you can work hard and see the results. And once you do, you’ll be hooked! I find it helpful to keep a diary when I train so I can look back at my progression.

Let me know how you get on!

-          E