I have at least eight pairs of dance shoes, smooth and latin, 2 1/2"-3" heels, several different top name companies (Supadance, Werner Kern, etc) but no matter what I do the balls of my feet are always killing me after an hour or two of dancing. I've talked to many people, including judges about this, wondering if it was me or what. The only answers I've gotten were of the "That's the ban of being a woman" type. Are there any secrets to soothe my aching tootsies?

I have to disagree with Anonymous A. I never get pain in my balls when I am dancing jive or any other dance..

On the other hand, I have been similarly 'punished' by long-legged partners in the standard dances on a couple of instances. Perhaps I ought to issue a retraction..

Enjoyed the foot ache thread. Men, although not forced to dance in heels and thankfully so, also tend to have foot problems. Tight shoes, poor-fitting shoes, arch and posture problems and pro/supanation may all lead to that. What some swing dancers as well as ballroom dancers do is to apply a thin, commercially availble strip of a suede sole on a pair of comfortable sneakers. Although they don't appear very hip dancing in them (at social events and even at practise), it does alleviate some of the pain.

Of course, if it doesn't kill you, it only builds charactar, it is said. So I guess we may be in pain but we have all gained a lot of charactar.

I use padded soles for cushioning in my shoes, the same ones I wear in my cleats and running shoes. Seems to help. And the usual gel cushioning for the balls (of the foot) have been helpful, I have heard. I think someone addressed that earlier, so I won't reiterate.

Aside from foot pain though, there is the ankle pain and knee pain from rise and fall, not to mention hip pain from exaggerated cuban action. Wrist pain from clingy partners, and pain in the head and face from errant elbows. Makes me wonder if professional dancers can claim disability from any of these ailments..

Enjoy, and au revoir.

Sri.

While I do agree that costume styles are changing - with all the new materials that are shiny and movable - I don't agree that the high heel shoes will go away. Women like to wear them - Men like to look at them - and as new younger girls begin to dance they will wear heels & so as not to seem old and out of date - all women will wear the high heels. Its just our nature.

We just have to take the best care of our feet while we are dancing and realize the effects of what we do may not be the best for our feet.

High heels can both look good and favorably accent several feminine features of women, but they are more of the past than of the present and have little prospect for the future. Running shoes have become the base line for shoe features and comfort, and against those criteria, high heels have little prospect for regaining much favor. Indeed, high heels are no longer generally available in shoe stores.

In view of the larger content, I think it is a safe bet that high heels on the dance floor, even the competition dance floor, will soon become more the exception than the rule.
What is lost in appearance will be more than made up by the resulting greater appeal of ballroom dancing. Ballroom dancing is more demanding to learn than contras, country-western, cajun, salse, and hustle dancing. In addition, the extensive and expensive lessons, very costly customes required for comeptition, and uncomfortable (or worse) high heels seemingly required have been part major additional "turn offs." But, with such sites as Ballroom Dance.com making instruction more economical, and dance dress and shoes moving more to the general standards of causal, functional and comfortable, ballroom dancing may well become more popular.

So, wear high heels if you wish, but otherwise join the wave of the future, and wear what is more important: shoes that enable you to enjoy your dancing, and that will allow you to dance all night, and then dance the next night away too.

This is where we men are lucky, we almost never have the problems you ladies have. I danced with a lady for almost four years who had major foot problems. She had one major bunion on one foot and the cartilage of the other foot was torn in the last joint of the big toe. This tear caused knife sharp pain whenever she had to step forward or back and rise on that foot such as in the spin of the waltz natural spin turn. Our coach never knew why she could not execute a correct turn after 40 years of dancing. I knew the problem and continued to dance with her, knowing that she would put up with such pain because she loved to dance and compete. We never got good marks in waltz for this reason. Unfortunately the pain reached a level that she could not take and so decided to retire. She still dances socially and takes group classes. She is still a great dancer who has suffered for her enjoyment. I hope my story will put the pain you experience in perspective.

Karen, I know the (aching) feeling! A few years ago, I began to develop what I suspect was bursitis in the balls of my feet from dance shoes. I developed my own "regimen" for keeping my feet in decent shape -- it's worked for me so far!

First, I use gel ball-of-the-foot cushions in all of my latin sandals. Full insoles are too large, and I don't really need cushioning for the whole foot anyway (just the ball). I use the ones made by Dr. Scholl's, and haven't had a single one rupture, despite much abuse. They don't eliminate all soreness (especially when I'm in the shoes for three-hour practices), but they do provide a substantial amount of shock absorption.

The other thing I do for my feet is a post-dance ritual: twenty minutes of soaking and stretching in a very hot foot bath with Epsom salt. It's time-consuming, but I've committed to doing this after every significant night of dancing. On the rare occasions when I've been too tired and skipped it, I have paid for it in pain and soreness the next day.

Good luck, and hope this was somewhat helpful!

Vanessa

Karen:
I feel your pain! I have tried many types of dance shoes also and still get aching feet.Sometimes they swell when I danced many hours. I've found shoes with heavily cushioned insoles help. A good foot massage after dancing and foot stretches will ease some pain. Shoes that are too tight across the ball area of the foot tend to pinch and squeeze the toes -this always adds to the pain. I have used the over-the-counter pain creams rubbed on my feet. Apparently others you have talked with are correct - it is the curse of women to dance in high heels and get the bad feet. I have seen many ads all over the internet for advise on pain for dancers. Plus if your pain is very bad, a sports medicine physician is good to seek for treatment. Good Luck!

Just for the record, girls:

There are points in a dancing career for a guy when he dances in bloody shoes, and in some makes of high-heel (Latin) shoes, we do get pain in the balls, when doing jive, for instance, even with very "light" technique.

However, I would like to put a reference to gender roles here: There's only so much complaining a man can do before he gets labelled a whiner, so we don't.

I do believe, though, that women take the greater pain, especially beginners who get their less protected feet kicked by unexperienced partners, or because they are unexperienced themselves and get their feet in the wrong places. It is a regretful circumstance, but on the other hand, I can't dance with my present partner unless she wears heels (dancing well none the less, thank you).

Just my thoughts on the subject.