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Are there any folks out there with physical limitations?
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I am missing a little chunck out of five ribs on my left side. In 2006 I took a bullet from a 357 and it blew through my ribs and left lung. When I first started poliing last year, I was still sore at times, and it felt like my ribs were pulling and poking my insides when I started Inverting and doin shoulder mounts. Doesn’t really bother me now,I just don’t do a lot of leg hangs with my left side against the pole.
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I am missing a little chunck out of five ribs on my left side. In 2006 I took a bullet from a 357 and it blew through my ribs and left lung. When I first started poliing last year, I was still sore at times, and it felt like my ribs were pulling and poking my insides when I started Inverting and doin shoulder mounts. Doesn’t really bother me now,I just don’t do a lot of leg hangs with my left side against the pole.
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I have moderate scoliosis (my spine curves to the right below my ribs). Bending backwards is difficult, because my spine isn't straight so the lower part of my back doesn't really curve. And I'm used to pretty constant backache which dancing (exercise in generally) definitely makes worse. Oh, and my knees hyperextend and my ankles roll inwards, which combined with the scoliosis means my hips are all out of joint too. From the waist down I'm a bit of a state, lol. But I'd rather dance now and end up with arthritis and backpain later in life than be in my 60's, have great mobility, but know that I'd had to give up the things that make me happy.
Not really a limitation, but I'm also one of those people that doesn't have a joint in their body that doesn't crunch, crackle, pop or click. 😛
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wow, i'm glad i started this thread! *big hugs to all of you* sometimes i feel kind of alienated because of my limitations. pole dance has been my compromise. i used to rock climb but now i can't mostly due to decreased dexterity and peripheral neuropathy. so, now i get creative and do a lot of thigh stuff to fill the climbing void with my pole. i have mitochondrial myopothy (with all sorts of fun complications) and degenerative disk disease from l3-s1. yoga, dance, and pole help me so much. thanks to everyone for sharing, keep on poling <3
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I know this thread is old, but it's encouraging to see other people with scoliosis have managed to push through with pole. I get really frustrated with my hips and legs as they turn inward and I'm not sure if I'll ever get a middle split, but I don't want to give up pole cos of it 😀
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@Tali I feel the same way about that damn middle split! Ugh, scoliosis. But, I am definitely amazed at my own strength in pushing through and accomplishing all of the things I have accomplished in pole. Also, I don't know if you know who Allison Sipes is, but she is an amazing pole dancer who has scoliosis (her youtube channel is AllieGatorUF) and she is a huge inspiration to me.
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Lyme Disease, which i still have lingering effects of numbness and tingling in my hands and fingers. Heahaches some days but also joint pain daily. I am almost symptom free, not sure about these last things. Just know not to pole when my hands are numb! Do what u are able and be proud of it! 🙂
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I too have scoliosis with two lateral curves in opposite directions. My back looks like an S. The muscles in my back are also curved, so strengthening it is very hard. I also have a weak spot where my curves change directions (middle of the S) and if I do too much ab work (bicycles kill) then that place in my back hurts so much I have to stop. Still, I keep working and I have noticed a difference in my back flexibility since starting in October.
I also have a bad knee, which requires surgery. It doesn't bother me in every day activities, but if I run longer than a quarter mile, do anything strenuous, or are on my feet all day, it swells up and is very painful. I've had that happen a few times with pole fitness workouts at the studio, but I know to listen to my body and stop if it gets too much. It has swollen after class a few times with the strain. I know from physical therapy that if I don't push it, I will never strengthen the muscles surrounding my knee that help me do more with less pain. So, I don't worry if it swells a little bit, but I do listen and stop when the level of pain gets to that point where it's no longer good for me and more of a detriment.
My weak ankles make it very hard to wear shoes and stay on my tip toes, but that isn't as much of a problem. I just rarely wear shoes!
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This is a great thread! I'm missing a few fingers, a rib that pops out occasionally due to a horse riding accident, and have hips that pop out of socket easily. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one with health difficulties doing pole!
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I have mixed connective tissue disease (it has some of the symptoms of Lupus and three other autoimmune diseases) and I also have Raynaud's syndrome which cuts of the circulation to my hands and feet when it gets too cold.
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I have a bad wrist. But pole actually made it better. Havent had much pain with it since I started pole a year ago. But maaaaan it hurt at first!
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I have a herniated disc in C4 with degenerative disease of the spine. I have arthritis really bad in my knees, so much that it sounds like a bowl of rice crispies when I walk up or down stairs. I have a torn meniscus in my knee and I'm totally avoiding the surgery they want to do on it. Same with my neck, they have a surgery they want to do there but I won't do it. My neck causes me the most problems but I do physical therapy stuff to get through it and nurse it when I have too. None of this stops me from doing the pole, and until it does, I'm not going to have any surgeries. The neck one scares me because one wrong move in the surgery and I could be paralyzed and that's just not a risk I'm willing to take. I'd rather deal with the pain than run that risk. I also broke a finger from a fall when I was on the pole. It's healed now, but it can still cause issues, sometimes when I've been putting too much strain on that finger I feel it and it hurts for a few days. But the way I see it, I'll keep poling until my body no longers allow me too.
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Persian – I have never heard of Raynaud's syndrome before! I probably don't have it, but my hands and feet get EXTREMELY cold when it's cold out (and I start to shiver if they get cold.) I need to keep my hands and feet warm or else my whole body feels cold. If they get cold, I have to stick then between my mans legs for about an hour to get them to warm up! It's probably part of being female for me.
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25 years old and nothing wrong with me except ungratefulness. Thank you to all of you for sharing your daily struggles and how you overcome them. Your inspiring persistence has reminded me yet again to live intentionally since I have been blessed thus far with extraordinary health and God has not yet used infirmity to strengthen my character.
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Maurer, oh to be 25 and healthy! Take your good fortune and go to town on that pole!
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