What should I do to reduce the pain on my toe and toe nail when going on pointe?

I have been only been on pointe for one year and I have a very low arch. This past week I have been dancing a lot and my toe nail and toe hurts so so much. It is the only part of my foot that hurts too! What should I do to stop the pain????





oh I recently cracked one of my toe nails but it is almost healed


i dont know if that would be a factor but my other toe nail which is not cracked hurts so muchWhat should I do to reduce the pain on my toe and toe nail when going on pointe?
the most important thing to remember when doing pointe ballet is to cut your toenails regularly. not only can it crack if you go on pointe too much but also it can lead to ingrown toenails which can hurt a LOTTT to fix believe me!!!





i had to deal wiht the same thing at one point so here is what i did:


1. ice your foot where it hurts after practice


2. elevate the foot that hurts while you RELAX (i would put ice on the toe and elevate it on a chair while i did my homework)


3. be careful not to stub the toe or wear hard shoes (if the weather is nice wear flip flops so the toe is open and can ';breathe'; (helps it heal faster)


4. limit your practice time as much as possible


5. if you dont already have a toe pad GET ONE!!


6. just take it easy for a while...if your foot really starts to hurt in class, tell your teacher that you need to sit for a little bit...if you get even mroe injured, you might have to stop dance for a while. Don't push yourself.





i hope that helped!! feel better =]





~stephaWhat should I do to reduce the pain on my toe and toe nail when going on pointe?
make sure you're cutting your nails regularly! once a week, about two days before your pointe class so that if you accidentaly one too short it will have time to grow a bit. you want to leave only the smallest white edge at the end. tape up cracked or split nails. ouch pouches also help a lot! not all studios are allowed to use them so ask your instructor first.
ouch pouches! the actual best things ever, i swear by them. and i agree with making sure your toenails are cut short, and checking for ingrown toenails.





if none of this helps, you might just have a longer toe, and might need to think about finding somewhere to get personally made shoes. it's more expensive, but worth it if you're serious about dancing. alternatively, every pair of shoes is hand made, so just try on loads and loads untill they feel comfier.





again, your dance teacher should help you with this, have you asked her/him yet?
Well, you should be cutting your toenails short. If you have long toenails it is obvious it is going to hurt. You might have ingrown toenails. You most likely have shoes that are too small around the box. Try to get fitted for new ones or ask your dance teacher about it.
Are you using enough lambs wool inside your toe pads? Like someone has said, your nails should be short and cut straight across. You ought to speak with your dance teacher about this.
Would you like help correcting your flat feet (a low arch is a flat foot)? If so, email me k.sordo@gmail.com (it's free)
Pointework often causes ingrown toenails, which reeeally hurt on pointe. This could be the reason. If you're doing a lot of pointework your nails should be cut very short. Another solution is: get them romoved. I know it sounds awful but honestly it is amazing. I had it done about a year ago, I had to take two weeks off dancing but it was so worth it. I had them treated as well so they won't grow back, now I'll never have that pain again! The best part is, the skin underneath adapts really quickly to look like a nail, I can even paint mine now and they don't look any different!





Ouch pouches are good, but since you've only had a year on pointe I wouldn't advise too much padding like that, it stops you feeling the floor as much which is essential to good technique and will stop you getting injuries.





Speak to your teacher, she may well be able to look at your dancing and see some flaw that could be causing the pain.





Hope this helps





xxxx