Pointe of No Return? The Biomechanics and Pathology of Ballet’s Iconic Shoe*

We did a thing last Friday! The in-person and online audience spent a rainy morning learning about ballet pointe shoes, and how they work with (and sometimes against) the dancer – creating beautiful, lyrical lines while subjecting the musculoskeletal system to forces that can potentially cause injury and pain… but #performingartsmedicine (PAM) and #dancemedicine and science are here to help. As Ria put it in her introduction: there was a time [in her life] when dance was dance, and medicine was medicine, and the two did not meet… until we [all] discovered Performing Arts Medicine which put them together. So here we are!

Maraming salamat, Dr. Ricardo Fuentes and Dr. Ria Mikhaella Panis. We learned so much last Friday morning (as the medical students put it: “high yield!”) especially that both of you brought your own personal experiences to complement the theoretical concepts. Ricardo’s one year with the Performing Arts Medicine Fellowship in Fort Worth, Texas really shone through during this talk. Ria also spent some time with the fellowship faculty in a less official capacity. Both gave very insightful – and at times mind-blowing – talks during the session and the lively open forum that followed.

Ricardo is actually one of our “honorary Filipinos” through connections with the Philippine American Physiatrist Association (PAPA) connections We were together on a panel discussing adaptive dance at the 2025 Performing Arts Medicine Association (PAMA) international symposium chaired by PAPA president Dr. Niña Carmela Tamayo.

After the educational morning, we extended our world famous Filipino hospitality after the morning educational session by doing the tourist bit in Manila’s Spanish-era old city Intramuros, ending the day with experiential learning at Barbara’s Heritage Restaurant: Filipino food buffet + cultural show with audience participation!

Finally, many thanks to the Philippine General Hospital Department of Rehabilitation Medicine and the Disability First Foundation, Inc. for their support. While our special interest group PAM Advocates National Association of the Philippines (PAMANA PH) is taking baby steps locally towards better health for Filipino artists, we look to PAMA for the professional network that ties all of us together – hopefully we see more collaborations like this in the future.