Injured Dancers: Keep Training Your Non-Injured Side

We have a couple of people training with us dealing with some fluke issues on one upper limb. A lot of times what will happen is a doctor will say "you can't lift weights for four to six weeks," but you always have to ask: "No lifting weights at all, or just with the injured extremity?"

Because usually the answer is, "just with the injured hand, leg, foot, elbow, etc." And if that's the case, then not only can you keep lifting weights--you *should,* because it can help your injured side recover.

There's a phenomenon in strength and conditioning called "cross-education," which is where resistance training on one side manifests as strength increases on the opposite side.

Meaning, if I've injured my right hand and can't train that side of my upper body, I can still make my right arm stronger by training my LEFT arm. The training effect is largely neural (meaning the strength benefits don't come from building larger muscle on the untrained side), but these neural adaptations can help you maintain some semblance of strength as the injured side recovers.

This is where having a variety of tools available for strength training is helpful. Dumbbells, cables, and kettlebells are all great tools for training unilaterally.