Going for Broke Can Break Bones--and Dreams.

Teri Mayers, 40, has taught dance fitness classes since she was 18. Over time, the St. Paul, Minnesota, instructor developed a large, loyal clientele with a style that incorporates jazz, ballet, modern dance, and hip-hop. She also developed a work ethic that left little room for rest, much less recovery. Once, while covering for another instructor, she taught ten classes a week for six weeks straight. On the last day, she blew out the cartilage in her knee. Mayers was back teaching classes in four weeks.

Mayers's go-go attitude came to an abrupt halt on December 3, 1997. While leading a cool-down in a class, she suddenly felt nauseated, developed a splitting headache, and couldn't move her neck or shoulders. She didn't know it at the time, but she had suffered a brain aneurysm. Mayers survived, but this jolt permanently changed the way she cares for her body, her soul--the way she lives her life.

Mayers takes days off now. "Balance is more important than ever," she says. "People talk about it, but don't have it. Don't take your health, fitness, friends, and family for granted. You never know what is going to happen tomorrow."

Dr. Edward Laskowski, co-director of the Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine Center in Rochester, Minnesota, advises dancers and other athletes to weave exercise into their lives. Cross-training is key; mixing up activities can keep overuse injuries at bay. Otherwise, athletes may suffer from what Laskowski calls the "terrible toos."

"That's from too much, too soon, too hard, and too long," Laskowski says. "Any kind of rapid increase, especially in impact activities, can expose one to overuse injuries. Bone and soft tissue are not able to handle it."

Protecting against overuse injuries starts by having solid knowledge and excellent technique. Children, especially, are becoming more susceptible to overuse injuries, so parents should limit the number and amount of activities. "Kids on their own are pretty good policemen of their own activities," Laskowski says. "If they're tired, they stop. It should be fun, fresh to the child."

Still, the impact of dancing can build up over time and cause tendinitis and stress fractures of the tibia, fibula, and bones in the foot. If dancers spend a lot of time on pointe, they may develop tendinitis in the toes.

Injured athletes do not always have to stop activity altogether. Riding stationary cycles or doing water exercise, for example, can maintain conditioning without aggravating the injury.

Ballet instructor David Stright of St. Paul Park, Minnesota, knows about injury. Stright, 45, began taking ballet at the relatively old age of 24. In the early years, he took seven classes a week, one and one-half hours per class. To catch up with his classmates, as his instructor suggested, Stright took double classes two or three times a week.

Over the years, Stright developed a "not-so-good knee" and a "bad knee." He still has trouble with his lower and upper back and both shoulders, especially the right rotator cuff, which stabilizes the head of the humerus within the shoulder joint. Several years ago, while marking a step, his foot caught on the floor. It made a snapping, clapping sound and he crumpled to the floor. He thinks he might have broken a bone in his foot, but X rays were inconclusive. It was two to three years before Stright's flexibility returned and he felt his foot was back to full strength.

Injury and age have changed the roles Stright takes. He only takes "old man" roles now, the things he knows he can do, the things that require more acting and partnering than dancing. One of his favorites: Clara's godfather, Herr Drosselmeyer, in The Nutcracker. "I'm fine doing this kind of stuff," Stright says. "I still get to perform."

Mayers says her aneurysm made her realize how blessed she is, and in some cases, how wrong she was. Before, when unfit people wandered into class for their first time, Mayers would often overwhelm them with dazzling, advanced moves. She does not do that anymore. "It's not about the movement, the choreography, or if you can last through the class," Mayers says. "You get credit just for walking in the door, just for showing up. I want everybody to have a successful workout."

Mayers has also learned to take care of herself. Before, she tried to be the perfect instructor, the perfect dancer, the perfect girlfriend, the perfect daughter. She was exhausted. "I realized that I had to edit people and stuff out of my life. I had to learn how to say no," she says. "If you don't cut out the time for yourself, something will fall apart eventually--your health, your sanity."

For more information on injury prevention, check out these books and Web sites:

Dance Technique and Injury Prevention by Justin Howse and Moira McCormack. Theatre Arts Books. 2000. 224 pages, hardcover. $45.00. ISBN: 0-878301-04-6.

Dance Injuries: Their Prevention and Care by Daniel D. Arnheim. Princeton Book Company. 1991. 234 pages, paper. $19.95. ISBN: 0-871271-46-x.

International Association for Dance Medicine and Science (IADMS): www.iadms.org

Occupational Diseases of Performing Artists, a performing arts medicine bibliography, December 2000: www.sailor.lib.md.us/topics/music/ about_music_00.html

Rhoda Fukushima covers health and fitness for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. In training for her ninth marathon, she never skips her rest days.