Sore forearm from inverted grip

by Jessica
(Canada)

Hi, not sure if you can help me here, but I've been having a few issues with a certain hand placement. It makes my forearm extremely sore after only a few tries, but its a very commonly used technique.

The grip is the one where you place one hand high up on the pole and the other lower with my thumb pointed downwards. The idea of it is to push you away from the pole while doing a spin... and I find even with my hardest grip it still causes much pain.

Do you have any tips on how to stop this or maybe what I could be doing wrong?

My grip is not unusually weak or anything, I have been pole dancing on and off as a hobby for a few years now. Thanks

Comments for Sore forearm from inverted grip

Click here to add your own comments

Help for sore forearm (part 1)
by: Susan from PDFF

Thanks for your question Jessica.

I have to give my official disclaimer here and remind you that I'm not a medical professional and therefore can't diagnose your trouble. However it sounds from your description like you may have either a muscle strain (a pulled muscle) and/or you've over-stretched the muscles in your forearm.

Placing your hand in the position required for this spin lengthens the muscle on the inside of your forearm, and if you've overdone things a bit the muscles can go into reaction mode. Another possibility is tendonitis.

I'd suggest you see your doctor or a physiotherapist to pinpoint the specific issue, as being able to see the exact location of the pain will assist in diagnosing. They will also want to put your wrist through various range of motion tests to find out exactly what elicits the pain.

In the meantime, here's a bit of background on how an injury like this may have happened, and some standard treatment suggestions:

When your hand is in this inverted grip, the muscles of your forearm are put under a greater strain. That's because when the wrist is flexed like this, the muscles are being asked to support a load in a weaker position than in a regular grip. This may be why you feel pain only with this specific grip, and why your grip is not necessarily affected.
Help for sore forearm (part 2)
by: Susan from PDFF

Most likely the treatment protocol will be ice if it's a muscle strain, or alternating ice/heat applications if it's a tendon issue (blood flow to the tendons is much less than it is to the muscles, so some people feel that hot/cold gets the blood moving better - without blood flow healing can't take place). And of course rest :(

If you've been pole dancing for a while with no previous issues with your wrist or forearm, then it's most likely a mild injury that will resolve with conservative treatment. But again, I'm not in a position to diagnose, especially via a website, so please do get it checked out.

At the very least, definitely rest it (ie don't do anything that causes the pain) and icing it really can't hurt. Just be sure not to apply ice directly to your skin as that could cause frostbite!

I just want to caution you to take this seriously, even though the injury is probably minor. As we age, we tend to take longer to heal up. Now I don't know how old you are, but I'm in my late 40's so consider me the voice of experience and reason ;)

If you don't take the time to fully recover from an injury you may find that it lingers on and on, keeps coming back to haunt you, or that you never fully recover from it.

It's well worth it in the long run to STOP doing anything that causes the pain, and follow the treatment protocol you receive from your Dr. or physio. Pole withdrawal is painful, but it's not nearly as bad as suffering through years of low grade pain that could have been avoided by prompt and diligent treatment.

I hope this helps Jessica. Thanks for visiting my website, and do come back to let me know how you made out. Hope you're back on your pole and pain-free very soon!

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and make your own submission! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Pole Dancing FAQ.