Pole Dancing Injuries FAQ
Got Questions About Pole Dance Injuries? Get Help Here!
Injured? Get help here for the most common types of injuries, from pole burn to strains and sprains. You'll find answers to all your questions about minor injuries, as well as simple home remedies to help treat these.
On this page you'll also find answers to frequently asked questions about pole dancing injuries, as well as links to helpful articles to help you avoid and treat common injuries.
You can minimize your risk of pole dancing injuries by following these basic pole safety tips for beginners, but if you do find yourself with bumps, bruises, strains or sprains, this page can help you feel better faster.
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Please note that this section deals with common issues such as bruising and pole burn, that do NOT typically require medical attention.
For pole dancing questions related to health and medical issues, including pregnancy and post-partum questions, please see this section.
Tap or click on the drop down arrow to the left of any question below to see more info and a link to a detailed response.
What about pole burn? Like what happens to you when you're a kid on the monkey bars, your
hands hurt and you lose your grip? Except here, not just on your hands
but also on your body. Ouch?
What about pole burn? Like what happens to you when you're a kid on the monkey bars, your hands hurt and you lose your grip? Except here, not just on your hands but also on your body. Ouch?
Ouch is right Katie! Your Pole Pal feels your pain. Here are some tips for reducing, avoiding and coping with this painful situation.
More Info on Pole Injuries
Reduce Your Risk of Injuries
Reduce your risk of serious injury by following three basic principles.
This short article explains:
- WHY a warm up is important
- HOW body awareness can help you stay safe while you learn
- WHEN to give it a rest and call it quits for the day.
Check out this quick read that can help you enjoy your pole dancing sessions more by keeping injuries at bay.
More Common Pole Dancing Injuries & Treatments
Bumps & Bruises
Bumps and bruises are very common, especially in pole dancers who are just learning to spin and climb. The most common sites for bruising to occur are the ankles and shins, as well as the inner thighs and upper arms.
This is because for many spins and inversions, your legs will be either holding you up on the pole or they will be wrapping around the pole while you're traveling at fairly high speeds. Arms are also involved in a number of strength holds, so they can get bruised up too!
To treat minor bumps and bruises, ice or a cold pack is generally recommended. A bag of frozen vegetables will work just fine though, if you don't have any ice packs on hand.
Put the ice on the affected area as soon as possible, and be sure NOT to place it directly on your skin as this could cause frostbite.
Instead, wrap the ice pack in a towel or cloth and apply for 10 minutes. Repeat every couple of hours to reduce pain, swelling and bruising.
There are also a number of homeopathic and herbal creams on the market that can help with minor pole dancing injuries in general, and bruising in particular.
While some brands are available in tablet form as well as a topical cream, Your Pole Pal's favorite is the cream as it can be gently massaged directly into the injured tissue. Pick these up at your local health food shop, or order from Amazon for quick delivery.
Muscle soreness & stiffness
This is another common complaint, especially among beginning pole dancers. Keep in mind that even if you're in fairly good shape, doing a new activity that you're not accustomed to requires using different muscles. This is why you may experience some pain or stiffness for the first few days after starting to pole dance.
If the pain is not sharp or shooting, you are most likely just experiencing the effects of discovering new muscles. Congratulations! This achy pain should diminish over time, and is usually worse in the first two days after starting the new activity.
But in the meantime, experiencing sore muscles is a fantastic excuse to have a hot epsom salt bath!
Money-Saving Tip: Rather than buying expensive bath salts or drugstore epsom salts in
small boxes, look for larger bags in garden centers. Epsom salts are also used by gardeners, and you'll save money by buying in bulk.
Epsom salts are often available in 10kg or 20lb bags at garden stores and the price is considerably lower than buying a small bag at a drug store.
But if you prefer a nice lavender scent, or you don't have the space to store a large bag, Amazon carries smaller packages, some of which are also scented.
Epsom salts are very high in magnesium, which can help to relax muscles and reduce the minor soreness that sometimes occurs after a hard workout.
More Severe Pain
Intense pain that only occurs when you move a certain way, or sharp, shooting pains may indicate that you have sustained a strain or sprain.
A muscle strain is commonly referred to as a "pulled muscle" while a
sprain involves an injury to the connective tissue in a joint such as a
shoulder, wrist or knee.
The common recommendation for either of these types of injuries is R.I.C.E., which stands for Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation.
While you may be tempted to ignore this pain and continue pole dancing, resting now will probably help you recover faster in the long run.
Icing the injured area can help reduce inflammation, as can wrapping it with a compression bandage and raising the injured area above your head for a few minutes several times each day.
If you suspect that your pole dancing injury is a sprain, you may want to seek medical advice and/or physical therapy.
In order to get back on your pole as soon as possible, it's important to get an accurate diagnosis of what the injury is, and to follow a rehabilitation plan. Otherwise you may find yourself sidelined for weeks or months, which is no fun at all!
Foot Pain
Foot pain can be a real source of frustration for pole dancers. Whether you dance in bare feet, trainers, dance slippers or platform shoes, you too may suffer from foot pain at some point during your pole dancing adventure.
Common pole dancing injuries to the feet include plantar fasciitis (commonly felt as heel pain first thing in the morning when getting out of bed) or pain in the ball of your foot.
The former can be a result of overuse, very tight calf muscles, or even structural issues like very high arches. The latter can be caused by repetitive strain like walking and dancing up on your toes a lot, wearing shoes that don't fit properly, or even landing hard on the ball of your foot.
Other sources of foot pain in pole dancers can included bunions, corns, and hammertoe. For any of these conditions, or to find a solution to any type of persistent foot pain, Your Pole Pal recommends seeing a podiatrist, physical therapist, or another professional who can properly diagnose and treat what ails you.
Remember, it's important to treat pole dancing injuries - whether minor or more serious - as quickly as possible. Delaying treatment, or trying to "work through" pain or injury rarely resolves the issue and can often make it worse.
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