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Pain during basic climbs and sits
I have been pole dancing for fun for about 6 months, and am 2 months into the more serious progressive class at my studio. I feel like I am lagging behind because of the pain I have during climbs and sits and I can’t really progress further. My shins are so bruised and sore after I climb. The skin on my thighs burn so bad that I can barely hold a sit.
My questions is, how much pain is normal and how long will it take to go away. I just bought a pole for my house so I’m hoping that dancing more often will help me get acclimated but any tips would be appreciated. I expected muscle soreness and some bruises but this is intense! Thanks all!
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3 Replies
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I wondered the same thing when I started. I was hurting so bad that I wasn’t sure it was normal and I wasn’t sure if I was doing myself harm. Skin pain is normal. bruising is normal and of course some muscle soreness,etc. what isn’t normal is sharp pain in your joints or muscles. but your skin will be very sore and tender and burned feeling. you just have to rest a couple of days to give your skin a break. it took me 3 months of consistent poling before I could pole sit without pain. pain will become less as you get stronger and use your muscles in a more efficient and coordinated way. If certain tricks are causing you to bruise really bad, you may want to review your technique and make sure you are doing the move correctly. but probably the pain is normal and will subside as you get stronger. veena’s lessons really helped me to get my tricks more efficient. yes, I was taking lessons at a studio but I still needed veena’s lessons to fine tune everything. just give your skin a break and get back to it as soon as you can. also, alternating what you practice will help. if I did climbs one session, I would work on spins my next session. some people suggest using arnica gel, cream, on your skin for bruising. use it after you pole to help heal bruising. take Epsom salt baths also. for me, I noticed that wearing compression pantyhose after poling helped my bruises and pain a lot. I would wear them the day after I poled while I was at work. climbs and sits have been the most painful moves for me , they no longer hurt now. I have been poling about 11months. pain was tolerable at 3 months.
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One of my instructors said that if something hurt my skin, I should squeeze tighter. The next time I did a pole sit, I pretty much strangled the pole with my thighs and sure enough, there was much less pain. A few more times and there was no pain! It makes sense I guess as skin pain comes partly from it being dragged or stretched. Squeezing crazy tight prevents much of that stretching.
Re the climbing, it was only by climbing 2-3 ‘steps’ each side (ie starting with the right leg and then starting with the left leg) every time I poled (4-5 times a week) that the shin pain became less as my form improved. The pressure is now mostly on the inside of my knees (but not painful) and my shins are not getting used so much. Side climb is still a bit painful for my poor knee pit, but a million times less painful than it was! Veena’s lessons were really helpful.
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Wow thank you both, that is so helpful. Now that I will be able to pole at home regularly and not just once a week at the studio I think that will make a difference. I was suspecting that my form might be off on my climb so I will definitely check out Veena’s lessons to do at home. Thanks again!
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