Rachel Wise, Physical Therapist with Athletico and the Joffrey Ballet joins Dr. Brian Cole and Steve Kashul to discuss physical therapy for dancers. They discuss how physical therapy for dance differs from other sports, the most common dance injuries, and the everyday schedule of a physical therapist traveling with a dance company.

Rachel Wise, PT, DPT, OCS: As an Athletico physical therapist, I have been supporting The Joffrey Ballet for more than five years. I usually work with the dancers while they are rehearsing and performing in Chicago, where my job is to triage, evaluate and treat issues that may arise from their rigorous rehearsal and performance schedule.

Recently, my career with The Joffrey Ballet took me beyond Chicago, when I traveled with the company to three different cities across the country. We started in snowy, cold Minneapolis for two performances of a full length ballet called Anna Karenina, then off to Santa Barbara for two mixed repertory shows, and finished with one final performance in San Diego.