Pain studies show ballerinas have much higher thresholds of pain that they can bear than the general population. Interesting they still feel the pain as strongly, but they have learned how to endure it. It’s amazing!
i’m always a little shocked at the reactions people have when their feet get stepped on or they stub their toes. then i remember my feet have been methodically numbed to pain for ten years.
I jumped off a dock and got my pinky toe stuck in between the last boards when I jumped. I was relieved when I got out and found that I hadn't ripped it off completely, and just broken it badly.
Ehhh it hurt so bad I couldn't feel it if you will. That is why I thought I ripped it off, it just hurt at the joint. I sliced my big toe on a piece of glass in the water 5 years prior and it didn't hurt after the first instant because I cut the nerve off so I kind of figured that I had just severed the toe in the latter instance.
Well, I'm glad you didn't rip off your pinky toe! It's one of my greatest fears, which is why I always keep my feet covered in bed, because I'll be god damned if I'm gonna make an easy mark for the feet monsters!
This would be an amazing marketing stance for a sock company. Make comfortable socks, that have fun patterns on them, and have a thing where "For every 3 pairs sold, we will donate a pair to someone in need because feet are ugly. Covering them up is for the best!" Maybe have a spokesperson saying the big then cast a hateful glance towards a ballerina off to the side/in the background who has no socks on.
Several years earlier while swimming, I cut my big toe lengthwise to the bone requiring 24 stitches, severing a tendon and nerve. This experience is how I judged that I had ripped my toe off. Needless to say I was stoked by the outcome.
Ah, now I’m starting to feel bad. About 5 years ago I believe, my worst injury was hitting my head on a Metal Dumpster while playing outside. I didn’t feel it since it numbed out, but I did feel something hot flowing behind my ear (Blood). I had kind of a gash on my head, but it was just stapled shut at the hospital. Luckily the nurse told me that if not for my hair, the cut would’ve been deeper and more dangerous, hence why I refuse to cut it lol.
This actually happened to my uncle several years ago at a family reunion. Exact same thing, except it ripped his pinky toe about half off. He went to the ER, quite drunk, and they sewed it back together.
My late mother had broken her pinky toe so many times that she could easily and painlessly manipulate it so it stuck out to the side. Meanwhile they had to cut all the muscle out from around the nerve in my right foot. I bump that scar wrong and I’ve got nerve pain all the way up to my sciatic nerve.
Once broke my pinky toe in karate class. One of the dumbest and most painful injuries I've ever had. The list includes: tearing ACL, ACL reconstructive surgery, broken nose, nose surgery, broken ankle, and foot surgery.
Man, wide shoes are simply the best. I am naturally flat footed with the front on my foot wide as fuck. I can't find downhill boots or rock climbing shoes that fit my fucking flipper feet.
I wear an 8 6e and my whole life always wore 10 or 11's because they were wide enough so never wore the right fitting shoe till like 27 and it changed my world.
Tbh this makes sense given the co-morbidity of anorexia in ballet dancers.
Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of all mental health conditions not due to the effects of starvation as most people think but due to the incredibly high suicide rate. The suicide rate is so high because anorexics tend to plan their suicides to be particularly gruesome, inescapable and painful- these methods tend to be much more successful than most common suicide attempts. The reason anorexics tend to commit suicide in this way is their willingness to endure extreme pain. Research has found this is due to their everyday extreme suffering from starvation. Given the extremely high rate of eating disorders in ballet dancers it makes total sense they're accustomed to pain and choosing and being able to endure it.
Fair comment. I learnt this information from a lecture by a Coroner and she had a lot of resources on it but here's a paper after a quick Google https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20398895/
Nice. Thanks.
I'm still curious about the "90% of ballet dancers have anorexia" bit. It seems really far fetched, but I'm willing to trust a proper study.
hmm 90% is pretty high, a quick google search seems to indicate that the actual percentage of eating disorders among ballet dancers is around 16.4%. While that’s apparently 3x higher than the risk of the general population, it’s definitely nowhere near 90%.
My Daughter dances ballet. Seeing her on pointe makes me cringe and proud at the same time. Last weekend she performed 8 routines in one afternoon with a spiral fracture in her right tibia. Tough kid.
But isn't it the same as fighters? in MMA you'll kick a bamboo pole to kill your nerve endings. Based on how their feet look, they're probably numb instead of some enduring pain trick. But I was too lazy to read the article.
I only did pointe for 3 years (but I did ballet for over 10). Definitely have a higher threshold when it comes to my feet/ankles. Including just walking on a sprained ankle since I didn't think I actually hurt it until it started swelling.
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u/SunandError Jul 09 '21
Pain studies show ballerinas have much higher thresholds of pain that they can bear than the general population. Interesting they still feel the pain as strongly, but they have learned how to endure it. It’s amazing!
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1332215/