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hyper mobility in students
Hi everyone just looking for a bit of advice from anyone who knows a bit about hyper mobility and pole. I have maybe came across one or two students in my classes in the past with hyper mobile knees but it didnt seem to cause too much problems when poling. We have one student in class with hyper mobile elbows who is having a very tough time performing certain moves (in particular split grip moves that require the eblow to be locked or take a lot of pressure) for example the carousel and simlar type moves and thigs like the flat line scorpio. She says its very painful so we now avoid these moves with her for the time being as we dont want to cause any long term damage or injury. However she wants to learn these moves and does not want to be excluded. How can we teach her these moves in a safe way? is that possible or do we have to avoid it all together? is there strenghtening techniques we can use to help her? Thanks for any advice guys we want to keep her and any future hyper mobile students safe when poling. xxx
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8 Replies
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Interesting conversation and some good tips here:
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@amberpoledancer: Good choice on avoiding the moves that are causing your student pain rather than succumbing to her eagerness to learn tricks that might not be safe for her body. You can modify spins using a baseball grip rather than the split grip. Instead of pushing herself away from the pole with her lower arm in a precarious underhand grip, she'll be encouraged generate spin impulse (centrifugal force) and sustain her spins using the strength of her back and core.
Baseball grip also simplifies the process of learning joint stability because it's symmetrical. Split grip on the other hand, requires the complex muscular coordination skills of stabilizing the pull of the top arm with the simultaneous push of the bottom arm. Neuromuscularly that's a lot to process and accomplish in a way that's biomechanically safe for most people. So I consider split grip an advanced grip that's only introduced when students have a strong shoulder girdle; the muscular strength to maintain an open chest and stabilize their scapula against resistance. When doing a split grip, however, I encourage a "micro-bend" at the elbow to make it a muscularly stabilized grip rather than a bone-on-bone grip, so to speak. To someone with hypermobile elbows, a mere "micro-bend" will feel like a bicep curl (lol).
Strength exercises might include isometric bicep curls such as the ones seen here: http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/rehabilitation-exercises/triceps-biceps-exercises/isometric-biceps
Also, modified serratus push-ups against the wall like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p81Iw9Hg3yw
I hope that helps. And I'm sure your student will appreciate your desire to keep her training safe.
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I have hypermobil elbows aswell. In the beginning when split gripping, I always went into kind of an oversplit. (didnt hurt though) but it made my grip unsafe and hard to hold my body up. I learned to really thigten my arms to make a straight line. It took some strenght, but split grip is what I do best now. You just have to take it slow to not cause injury. Now Idont even think about it, I just know to keep the arms in a straight line.
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My experience reflects @keex‘s. When I was in college my tae kwon do teacher noticed I was hyperextending my elbows on punches, and encouraged the same micro-bend. I’d say that fixed/prevented any problems, although I learned my lesson a little too well and tend to be subconsciously paranoid about straightening my elbows all the way to this day!
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I have hyperextended elbows (and fingers) too and I've been microbending to prevent injury and to be able to do some moves. Sometimes I find that I can do certain moves with my bent arms while hyperextended and it doesn't hurt me, so my teachers and I just leave it at that. It's a challenge, and I learn certain moves much later than other students who don't have this, but I've just learned to accept it and take it in stride. I just have to try a little harder and be patient with myself, or my teachers work with me to find a modification that I can do despite my elbows. Sometimes, I choose to work on something else and I save certain moves for later when I am stronger in general, as sometimes my wrists or elbows hurt from trying to compensate. My lyra teacher thinks my funny elbows work to my advantage sometimes because I am able to grab behind me in strange positions with not much discomfort. I try not to think of it as a disadvantage, though I have yet to find a trick in pole where my hypermobile elbows are useful https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif.
I think aside from the safety precautions, the other thing you can do for your student is to continue to be encouraging, patient and supportive and not make her feel like a freak or excluded from the class when you are teaching a trick that requires straight elbows. Though I'm sure you are doing that now just by asking this question on this forum https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_wink.gif I've had a few teachers who have been pessimistic or negative to me learning some moves because of this… and let's just say I no longer wish to be their student and am flourishing under the guidance of others. Another thing is to always communicate. My current teachers don't know all the answers to my elbow situation, but they are aware of it. Whenever I do have a problem or if they spot me doing a move and think I am doing something unsafe, we always work together to find a middle ground that works for me. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_flower.gif
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Thank you everyone for the helpful info you’ve been great! Just to clarify micro bending pretty much means just bending the elbow slightly to make it look straight as opposed to over extended? Would those of you who do this recommend this technique for moves like flatline Scorpio, butterfly, catterpillar, apprentice/jamilla
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Yes, the goal is "straight" or even slightly bent. I always do split grip (aka push/pull grip) with my bottom elbow slightly bent to provide more muscular stability. It helps me to engage my biceps, pecs and anterior delt more. (I have slightly hyperextended elbows)
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Ok dokes I will try this out with my student and also the strengthening exercises too, glad I could get more info on this to help her out xxx
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