Newsletter: April 2003

Many chiropractors care for famous patients, but Dr. Ethan Feldman takes top prize for having had the most distinguished assistant: Mikhail Baryshnikov, the world-renowned ballet dancer and director of the New York-based White Oak Dance Project.

It occurred about two years ago, when Feldman paid a working visit to Baryshinikov's company while it was performing in his home base of Berkely, California. He was doing an adjustment on one of the company's female dancers and asked Baryshnikov to hold her leg.

"It was just a little tug," Feldman describes, "but the dancer's hip was so out of place that it made this resounding reverberation and she went. "Oh. Oh my God! That is so much better!" She was so happy and I could see the light go on in Baryshnikov's head like, "Okay, this guy must be okay."

Later that day, Baryshnikov asked Feldman to care for him as a patient. Feldman obliged and has since continued, as recently as last month, to treat "the man", as he refers to Baryshnikov, whenever he comes through town and needs a little work.

With all of dancing's beauty and grace, people are often surprised to hear how abused a dancer's body can get. According to an eight-month study reported in the journal Anxiety, Stress and Coping, 61% of the dancers at Seattle's Pacific Northwest Ballet Company sustained injuries that prevented them from performing. This statistic, the study's authors report, puts ballet dancers at the same level of risk as football players.

One of the keys that makes chiropractors especially well-suited to care for dancers is that both the practitioner and the patient understand the importance of movement. From the dancer's ability to control the movement of his or her body parts, to the chiropractor's focus on restoring and maintaining the body's proper movements the marriage between the two is clear. Dance chiropractor Dr. Feldman cites two examples from his own career to illustrate:

Feldman was dancing in a local production of The Nutcracker and was backstage when a dancer couldn't get up on point. He adjusted her foot, and it became "rock solid" -- getting up on point was no longer a problem

A touring English dancer came to see Feldman in pain. Previously, she had stopped dancing for months due to a severe hip injury. She had been seen by physical therapists and osteopaths, but was still in a lot of pain and wasn't sure she could continue. Feldman adjusted her hip and it went right back into place. His chiropractic technique helped her feel well enough to be able to continue with the tour.

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Contact the office:
Dr. Larry Smith D.C., B.P.E.
Chiropractor

P.O. Box 307
255 Island Highway
Parksville, British Columbia
Canada V9P 2G5