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Wrist Issues and Poling
First of all, hi! I'm completely new to the site and the idea of pole fitness, but now that I've check it out I definitely want to try!
But, one tiny little problem: My wrist. Sorry for the following explanation being lengthy, but I've had a weird journey with this one.
I used to get tendonitis in my right wrist constantly, which started my freshman year of high school when I was in color guard (flag corp, whatever you prefer to call it), but it was the constant (repetitive) spins from practicing too much that got me.
Three years ago, I had another massive flare up after (*facepalm*) getting guitar hero and playing it faaar to much over the Christmas holiday. When it didn't immediately clear up, I was referred to a neurologist who diagnosed me with nerve pain/nerve damage and had me immobilize my wrist for a month and a half (while living on heavy pain killers and gabapentin) then she decided I wasn't a good candidate for the nerve conduction study she had wanted me to do and sent me back to the orthopedist.
He pretty much said she was a quack. The problem was, my wrist was no longer swollen, but I still was taking pain killers to function. He was 99% sure that it had been tendonitis, but scheduled an exploratory surgery to find out for sure, simply because the exercises for tendonitis would be killer if I really did have a tear.
I didn't, but the length of time I was in a brace/cast/etc. left my wrist atrophied. He didn't limit me on my activities other than to not to what hurts. I work in theatre and pull ropes on a regular basis with no problem. I'm slowly building back the muscle tone, but he said I should avoid most traditional wrist strengthening exercises since they are repetitive and could cause the tendon to get pissed again. He said to continue using my wrist as a normal, non-atrophied wrist but avoid anything that caused pain. So, three years later, I still have a semi-slender dominant wrist, but it has improved slowly and steadily.
Since pole is more about strength, it seems to me like it might even help me finish working my wrist back to normal. I've watched a thousand videos from beginner to pro staring at wrists (I'm sure my friends think I have a fetish or something), and nothing requires any of the motions that really set off my wrist.
A pole studio finally opened up in my area, but it's new and I don't know much about the instructors. I thought asking here would be a smart option before going down to check it out. Of course, I'll stick to my good old standby of "if it hurts, don't do it." I know the warning twinges.
So…anyone else have wrist issues but still pole and/or suggestions?
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7 Replies
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Welcome to SV! I too have wrist problems. I struggle with mild carpal tunnel and I found that in my first months of poling it was excruciating. The biggest mistake I made was to go straight into learning spins and tricks without doing the strength training. Poling requires alot of body strength including wrist strength because in most instances you're pretty much lifting your entire weight. My friendly advise would be to ensure that you work on strengthening your wrist and upper body muscles as it will make a huge difference in how quickly you learn poling as well as ensuring no injuries. I'm not an expert by any means but this is just what my experiences have taught me. Hope that helpshttps://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif
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I learned (after an injury to my shoulder/arm, falling down my stairs) the my chronic wrist pain was due to hand flexor/extensor problems.
Lesson learned —- to the strengthening AND the stretches!
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I also had wrist problems When I first began poling due to not enough warm up time before going into inverts. I had a ganglion cyst formed on my wrist, it was painful even using the computer keyboard sometimes and I was suggested not to pole for a while. But I felt depressed without pole for a few months, and my wrist pain does not go away either, I decided to pole again with plenty of warmup, and using the wrist a little bit more each day. Surprisingly, the warmth from exercising the wrist actually made my ganglion cyst disappear and my wrist heal eventually! So my suggestion is do not stop poling, but just take it easy, it will get better day by day.
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I get tendonitis really easily/often myself, I'm hoping that pole training will actually eliminate that in the long term.
"Split Grip" pole moves are likely to be too much of a strain on your lower wrist to start with, until the conditioning and strength improvement from other moves starts to make a difference, so avoid them at the beginning, then add them cautiously as you go on, would be my advice 🙂
Good luck.
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My right wrist got pretty badly twisted when I first started learning on a static 50mm pole. I didn’t know how to hold the pole correctly and kicked off into a spin. My body flew into it but my hand stayed in place and wrapped round the pole instead and the pinkie finger side really hurt! My wrist is definitely less than 100% now after almost a year.
But the good thing about having a weakened wrist is that it keeps you very aware of your form and how much strength is really required from it. If your arms, shoulders and chest are strong enough, your wrist won’t have to work so hard. Which is why I’m working to build up my weak upper body strength!
So my advice is to learn the correct way to hold the pole before trying any moves, wear a wristband for support and to keep it warm, and build your upper body strength. It’s still possible to learn pole even with a wrist issue. You just have to be more mindful. Have fun! 🙂
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Oh, and definitely try using a slimmer pole!
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Heya, be extra careful of full bracket holds, especially on spinning poles! Its usually the lower wrist that tal
kes the strain so experiment on placing alternate wrists on top and see which causes less strain.
Try a wrist guard, and a surprise tip: practice poi (chains for fire dancing) are an excellent way to tone wrist and forearms without placing weight and strain on them.
Happy spinning….
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