Misty's Ballet Career in Jeopardy

PBS - Independent Lens—February 8, 2016

In a recent episode of PBS' A Ballerina's Tale, Misty Copeland, the first African American female principal dancer with the American Ballet Theater, shares her experience of sustaining a lower leg stress fracture that potentially could end her career.

The episode highlights Misty's visit to Hospital for Special Surgery with Martin J. O'Malley, MD, a foot and ankle surgeon at the hospital. According to the episode, Dr. O'Malley states, "The diagnosis is a mid-tibia stress fracture, which occurs very commonly in jumping athletes...The mid-shaft leg bone takes all the stress. Instead of breaking in half, it gets a tiny little break in the cortex surface-or the outer surface-of the bone."

To learn more about Misty's diagnosis and recovery, visit PBS.org.