Hello,
I dance about 4 times a week and an average of 2 hours at a time. I've only been dancing for 4 months, and since I started picking up on my dancing, my feet are constantly hurting! Am I doing something wrong? Or is this normal? Is there something I can do to make my feet feel better?
Thanks!

Hello, did your feet burn? If you are wearing nylon stocking thats the problem. Try to find microfiber, or a mix of spendex and very low nylon. Hope that will help. Bye.

Two things:

1) Check your shoes. There are so many different brands and styles out there, you might not be wearing the best shoe for your foot. It took me about six years and trying about 20 different styles/brands/sizes of shoes before I found the ones that worked best for me.

2) It takes a while to build up the foot strength to dance. My legs and feet hurt for about the first six months I danced, and then it stopped being a problem. Give yourself foot massages, soak them in warm water, take ibuprofen -- do whatever you need to take care of yourself and make yourself feel better while you build up your strength. And it's not just big muscle strength, either -- all the tiny little muscles in your feet also have to get strong to dance.

How big a problem this is might depend on what kind of pain you're having. It is the overall aching of overuse or do you have pain in a specific part of your foot? If it's overall, more supportive shoes and increasing foot strength may help. If it's in a specific place, I'd recommend seeing a podiatrist or orthopedic doctor. If you are injuring a specific part of your foot, you don't want to neglect the problem untiil it gets worse (I know from experience!).

The best exercise I've found for foot strength is slow toe raises--raise up slowly on your toes for a slow count of 8, hold for 8, lower for 8. I did regualr up-down-up-down toe raises forever without much effect, but doing it slowly with a hold at the top has made a big difference.

My feel also started hurting. I had two distinct pains. One felt like the balls of my feet were getting bruised. The other pain was a strained tendon on the underside of my feet. The tendon spans from the inside of my ankle to underneith my foot, crossing though the arch area. I would feel a burning sensation in this tendon when I would flair my left foot as done in cha cha and rumba. I quit flairing my feet as much and this went away eventually. I bought Dr. Shoals gel inserts for my dance shoes. The bruising is almost gone too. Thats right, I'm gellin' and zinfandellin'. hehe.

As stated above, unless it's a specific pain or a shoe problem, feet pain is very typical. I have been a ballet dancer for many many years and have gone through my share of foot problems, including losing toenails, and developing calluses/blood blisters etc. It does get better! If it is the arch/ball of your foot it may be that your feet are still getting used to wearing heels in such a vigorous manner. When you get used to it and your feet get stronger you will be fine.

Hi angelica
You should go to a physiotherapist to discuss your problem, which is too specific to be answered here. Your feet are so important, that you should really look after them, and if you're getting persistent pain, you must check it out. it can be caused by lots of reasons

I agree with Phil. But I did want to add that, if you find yourself taking ibuprofen or something similar often after you dance, try taking it before. I find it prevents pain and inflammation, so that my feet aren't sore even after it wears off. BUT I don't recommend taking any pain pills on a regular basis without checking with a doctor to be sure there isn't a more serious problem.