Dancing With the Stars is more than halfway through the season and contestants’ mental and physical wear and tear is beginning to show. The ABC series made a big deal out of Jodie Sweetin’s injuries during rehearsals this week, but another star is grappling with something far more serious.
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During Kim Fields’ video package, it was revealed that she’s been having pain in both feet.
“There is some strain right above my ankles from just the constant bouncing,” she explained in the clip. “So [pro] Sasha [Farber] wanted to see what was going on so he knew how hard to push me this week.”
The Real Housewives of Atlanta star had an MRI done, which uncovered a far more serious injury than just a strain. Ben Shamloo, M.D., pain medicine anesthesiologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, discussed the diagnosis with the reality star.
“These are an indication of stress fractures,” he said while holding up her MRI images. “This is not something that you ignore. I want you to not do the rehearsal.”
Fields didn’t listen to one bit of his advice and reassured Farber that she could handle the original Jive choreography he prepared for their number.
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“Are you kidding me right now?” she said to the camera. “I’ve had two kids, OK?”
The former Facts of Life star danced energetically to “You Can’t Stop The Beat” from the movie Hairspray, but one of the judges noticed a bit of hesitation in her dancing this week.
Was she nervous about injuring her ankles further?
“Your energy was just a hair under,” critiqued Carrie Ann Inaba. “It was very good, but it wasn’t quite what I thought it needed to be.”
Fields looked great out on that ballroom floor, but hairline fractures aren’t anything to be messed with. As the pressure and competition intensifies moving into week seven, even more will be expected of the contestants. Will her body hold up?
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Jodie Sweetin was the one who had all of the media buzzing about her nose and foot injuries, but she put those rehearsal struggles away. The actress dug deep this week for a contemporary piece based on Pink’s incredible dance to her single, “Try.”
After watching her dance confidently with partner Keo Motsepe, it felt like all of the injury hype was much ado about nothing.
The other contestant to watch out for on the injury list might be Good Morning America‘s Ginger Zee. She has full-time jobs in and outside the home in addition to her DWTS gig, which requires her to crisscross the country twice each week.
The meteorologist wisely took a few days off of GMA to rest her body, but the new mom admitted she’s feeling the fatigue. Zee was clean in her well-choreographed jazz routine to Janet Jackson’s “Nasty,” but her usual sparkle didn’t join her.
This is the time in the competition when bodies break down, but the true fighters have to find a way to slog through the pain in order to make it to the finals. The cast is medically supervised and they have to be cleared to dance for health and insurance reasons, but if a contestant hides an injury, there is nothing ABC can do.
Let’s hope the celebs take some time to rest in between preparing their dance and the team dance.
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