Dr. Carrie Skony-PERFORM Active Wellness + Dance Medicine

Dr. Carrie Skony-PERFORM Active Wellness + Dance Medicine Dr. Carrie Skony practices physical rehabilitation, chiropractic, and sports medicine in the Chicago

Dr. Carrie Skony is passionate about empowering and inspiring others to live healthier versions of their lives. She believes each patient is a unique individual with different needs, goals and capacities. She honors this by providing personalized and comprehensive treatment with respect and empathy. Dr. Skony practices evidence based medicine, wherein she combines her clinical expertise with the best available research evidence to make the most appropriate treatment decisions for each patient. She takes an integrative, functional, and preventative approach to treating patients. And utilizes a myriad of physical medicine and complementary techniques to decrease pain, improve function, and optimize health. She finds the greatest joy in empowering her patients to take active roles in their health care. She does this by making patient education a priority, providing her patients with a greater understanding of their body so they can better care for themselves in the long term.

Body positivity in dance isn’t about ignoring pain, forcing confidence, or pretending you love every part of yourself. I...
10/21/2025

Body positivity in dance isn’t about ignoring pain, forcing confidence, or pretending you love every part of yourself. It’s about practicing respect, awareness, and gratitude for the body that lets you train, perform, and express yourself.

Small daily actions—like reflection, mindful movement, recovery, and positive language—make a bigger impact than generic affirmations. Loving your body is something you do, not just something you say.

Whether you are a dancer or a dance teacher, try putting these ideas into action in the studio. Your body is your instrument—take care of it, listen to it, and give it credit for all it does.

We’re excited when you’re excited! 🩷🩷🩷
10/18/2025

We’re excited when you’re excited! 🩷🩷🩷

10/17/2025

When an injured dancer “doesn’t have time” to address their pain, the schedule IS part of the problem.

If a dancer is hurt but their calendar is so overloaded that they can’t get treatment, that’s a major red flag 🚩🚩🚩—not just for their injury, but for their overall training load and well-being.

We regularly hear things like:

“She’s been in pain for 6 weeks, but the only time she’s available to see you is every other Friday at 8pm.”

“Can you get her in at 6pm on Sunday? That’s literally her only free time.”

“She’s in 8/10 pain and can’t walk comfortably, but she only has a 30-minute gap once a week after school—and she has to be at the studio to sit and watch class.”

“I can’t do my rehab because I’m at dance every night, then homework from 10pm–12am. Oh and I can’t come to appointments for the next two weeks because of extra rehearsals.”

✨These aren’t time-management problems—they’re signs of overtraining, overscheduling, and misplaced priorities.✨

Here’s the reality:

✅ You cannot heal what you don’t make time to treat.
✅ Injuries do not resolve on their own with a packed schedule.
✅ If health isn’t prioritized, recovery will be delayed—or never fully achieved.
✅ Studios, parents, and dancers all play a role in creating space for healing.

Most dance injuries can be treated efficiently—with minimal time lost—when care is addressed early and consistently. We move mountains to accommodate busy dancers, but we can’t do our jobs if there’s no room in the schedule to even begin.

Pain is not a scheduling inconvenience—it’s a signal that something needs to change. Prioritizing treatment isn’t optional. It’s part of being an athlete.

Staying involved in technique class during injury can make a big difference in recovery.While some movements may need to...
10/15/2025

Staying involved in technique class during injury can make a big difference in recovery.

While some movements may need to be modified—whether that means reducing intensity, limiting range of motion, or skipping certain exercises—remaining in class helps dancers stay connected to their training, alignment, and muscle memory without going completely sedentary.

With clear communication between the dancer, clinician, and teacher, technique class becomes a safe, structured way to keep the body moving and the mind engaged.

We encourage dancers to stay involved in class and for teachers to allow brief modifications when recommended so we can have better long term outcomes.

This approach often supports better healing, prevents deconditioning, and allows for a smoother, faster return once the injury has resolved.

The goal isn’t to “push through” pain—it’s to participate safely and intentionally so return to dance from injury doesn’t mean starting from zero.

Hip pain is one of the most common reasons we see dancers, and can affect dancers of ALL ages. Common hip injuries in da...
10/09/2025

Hip pain is one of the most common reasons we see dancers, and can affect dancers of ALL ages.

Common hip injuries in dancers and gymnasts include femoral acetabular impingement, hip flexor tendinitis, snapping hip syndrome, and labral tears.

We strive to get to the root cause of these injuries with comprehensive evaluations that leave no stone unturned. We love helping patients return to activities pain-free, often ending months or years of frustration.

Swipe to see some of our most offered advice to dancers about protecting their hips from these injuries!

Have questions about hip injuries? Let’s hear it! 👇🏻

This one might sting a little, but it’s not personal 🫶🏻We work with many wonderful, inspiring instructors who are doing ...
10/09/2025

This one might sting a little, but it’s not personal 🫶🏻

We work with many wonderful, inspiring instructors who are doing a lot of great things for dancers to ensure safety, health, and longevity. We love this for everyone involved! 🙌🏻🩷

And also, there’s still a lot of room for improvement within the community as a whole. We find ourselves still having several of these conversations each year. 😭

It’s IMPOSSIBLE to do it all perfectly, but there is always some room for improvement to keep advancing forward and producing physically and emotionally healthy dancers who can continue to dance and have healthy bodies for a lifetime!

We believe that when people know better, they do better! So this is our PSA on “knowing better.” 😘

Strong dancers come from strong systems. 💪🏻 We’re happy to help to build those systems together. Want collaboration, workshops, or in-studio support? Let’s talk.

The highest percentage of dance injuries often occurs in October—about four weeks into the new season. And it’s not alwa...
10/08/2025

The highest percentage of dance injuries often occurs in October—about four weeks into the new season.

And it’s not always because dancers are “out of shape” after break. The most common issue is a sudden spike in workload without adequate recovery time as you get back to a new season.

Companies that intentionally plan a gradual return to full workload over the first month of the season see:

✨ Fewer overuse injuries
✨ Better adaptation to training load
✨ Happier, healthier dancers
✨ Stronger performance across the year
✨And less time loss from class

Here are some simple suggestions for studios and dancers that can help keep October injury free...

1. Gradually increase class hours in the Fall. Start with a light return to technique classes and perhaps light choreo weeks to get back in the swing. Then add in additional classes in week 3 or 4.

2. Work on ramping up your conditioning effort gradually, instead of expecting to perform peak effort on week 1 or 2 of the season.

3. Remember to schedule rest/recovery days (at least 1 day per week).

4. Monitor fatigue + soreness.

Teachers—check in with your dancers that first month. What is their Rate of Perceived Exertion (1-10) during class each week?

Dancers—monitor how much sleep you are getting once back into a Fall schedule and what your body feels like.

Dancers that are tired or consistently exerting 7+/10 effort at the beginning of a season are more likely to experience injury.

5. Use the Summer to cross train in ways somewhat different than dance, to build overall strength and endurance.

6. Intentionally build in “active rest” at some point in your Summer instead of back to back intensives. There should be an off-season for every dancer that helps their body prepare for the start of a new season.

If October has you achy or injured, or you want to know how to prevent injuries from happening, give us a shout 🫶🏻

We’ve been loving our blood flow restriction cuffs from 😍Blood Flow Restriction stimulates muscle protein synthesis and...
10/06/2025

We’ve been loving our blood flow restriction cuffs from 😍

Blood Flow Restriction stimulates muscle protein synthesis and increases muscle fiber recruitment. It has allowed us to help our athletes recover better and return to their activities faster!

Treatments in our office are used in combination with functional rehab exercises for optimal benefits and strengthening!💪

Want to learn more? Let us help!

We close up the office for a few days each Fall to attend the International Association of Dance Medicine & Science ann...
10/06/2025

We close up the office for a few days each Fall to attend the International Association of Dance Medicine & Science annual conference, our favorite event! It’s a busy several days, chock full of learning, networking, strategizing, dreaming, laughing, and connecting with our professional friends. It’s a blessing to be a part of this community for so many years, full of people who inspire us and challenge us to continue to be the best we can be for the dance community. AND fun to meet so many new members and make new friends every year. This community continues to grow, which is so promising for the future of performing arts!

We have too many pictures (!) and too much information (!) to post it all here, but check out just a sampling of the classes we attended while in Las Vegas this year.

We always come back fired up about helping our local dancers, teachers, and dance community be the best they can be. It’s an honor to play even a small part in the process of their success!

We’re armed with new research and plenty of new ideas. Are you ready to work together this season?? We are!!

Getting enough protein is one of the biggest keys to energy, recovery, and injury prevention — especially for dancers an...
09/22/2025

Getting enough protein is one of the biggest keys to energy, recovery, and injury prevention — especially for dancers and athletes training 15–20+ hours each week, and ESPECIALLY for growing athletes.

We’ve been having this conversation a lot already this season. How do athletes who are vegetarian (or picky about meat) get enough protein to support their training and recovery? It can be done. But we recommend being really intentional about it for best results.

Adolescents should aim for 50–75% of their body weight (in pounds) in grams of protein each day. For example, a 120 lb dancer needs approximately 60–90 grams daily for optimal performance and repair (*can vary some depending on other factors).

Even without meat, there are plenty of powerful protein options. Foods like Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, eggs, lentils, tofu, tempeh, edamame, beans, and nuts can all add up quickly — especially when you know how many grams each serving provides.

The goal: include protein at every meal and snack to fuel strong muscles, support recovery, and keep energy steady all day.

Would it be helpful to see some recipe options for meals/snacks for vegetarians?

It wouldn’t be a dance injury series without mentioning the ankle! We treat foot and ankle conditions every single day i...
09/18/2025

It wouldn’t be a dance injury series without mentioning the ankle! We treat foot and ankle conditions every single day in our office, so we know how frustrating they can be for dancers and teachers alike!

Swipe to learn about some of the most common ankle injuries we see and what to do about them!

Need more info? Let us help YOU with your ankle pain!

Dance teachers! Raise your hand if students have come to you before or during class with a complaint of knee pain🙋‍♀️🙋‍♀...
09/17/2025

Dance teachers! Raise your hand if students have come to you before or during class with a complaint of knee pain🙋‍♀️🙋‍♀️🙋‍♀️🙋‍♀️🙋‍♀️

Swipe to learn what steps students with knee pain can take immediately and in the long run to prevent further injury!

Want to learn more about knee pain and how to prevent it? Let us help!

Address

3080 Ogden Avenue, Suite 202
Lisle, IL
60532

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 1pm
Tuesday 1pm - 7pm
Wednesday 9am - 1pm
Thursday 1pm - 7pm

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