Dance Pole Safety
and Injury Prevention

With more and more women trying out pole dancing as a way to get fit and have fun, dance pole safety and injury prevention are becoming hot topics. By keeping a few important safety tips in mind, you can help ensure your pole dancing experience is as safe as possible.

Please remember the following dance pole safety tips and suggestions are general in nature, and are not intended to address your specific pole safety needs or issues.

Following the advice given here should result in a safer pole dancing experience, but I cannot guarantee that your experience will be 100% safe and injury-free. Only you can do that, by ensuring your pole is installed correctly according to the manufacturer's instructions, and by exercising caution and common sense as you get to know the limits of your pole and your own body.

In fact, I suggest you use common sense as a starting point when learning about dance pole safety, and always defer to the manufacturer's advice and suggestions on specific dance pole safety matters. After all, they built the pole and they should know its limits.

If in doubt, just contact your pole manufacturer's customer service department a call. More than likely they will be able to give you a definitive answer or some solid advice if you're ever in doubt.

If you are at all concerned about dance pole safety, or if something doesn't seem right with your pole, the manufacturer should be your first contact as they are the experts on their poles.

Dance Pole Safety Precautions and Tips

For example, a friction fit pole that relies on proper fit and installation is inherently less safe than a permanent pole that's bolted to the floor and ceiling. While it would take an extreme amount of force and neglect for the permanent pole to come down, the friction fit pole can do so relatively easily, owing to its design.

To read more about dance pole safety for your specific type of dance pole, just click on the following links:

In addition to the safety issues that are specific to the type of pole you use, here are some general dance pole safety tips that will help you reduce or avoid pole dancing injuries:

• Wash your hands before you dance to remove lotions, creams or any natural oils on your hands, as these can make the pole dangerously slippery. Pole dancing does not mix well with hand lotion, baby oil, or other similar substances!

  If you're sharing your pole in a class setting, frequent hand washing will also help prevent the spread of colds and flu.

• Remove rings, watches and any other loose jewelry, to protect your pole, your jewelry and yourself from injury.

  Rings and watches can scratch your dance pole. And depending on what they're made of, the pole can also damage them, so it's best to get in the habit of removing them every time you dance on your pole.

  Loose jewelry such as necklaces can become a hazard when learning spins and inversions. At best it can distract you as it moves, and at worst it could become caught between you and the pole, causing you to lose your grip and fall.

• Avoid covering your palm with gloves or other fabrics when pole dancing. While gloves marketed specifically for pole dancing may provide the grip you need for climbing safely, they will hinder your spins and other moves. You can read more about pole dancing gloves here, and why I recommend only the gauntlet type that leave your palm uncovered.

  Other fabrics can be downright slick on the pole, and are best avoided if you intend to do any weight bearing or airborne moves. Pole dancing injuries are inevitable if you don't have a good grip on the pole.

  If you get very sweaty palms, I recommend using one of the popular pole dancing grip products that are available worldwide.

• Use a spotter or helper when learning new moves. This is especially important when doing advanced moves such as inversions. The risk of falling is greater, and the consequences of a fall are more serious with these moves, so protect yourself and practice good dance pole safety by having someone spot you.

  A spotter's job is to focus on your and your safety, so make sure there's someone who can give 100% of their attention to you when you practice new moves. The spotter can also help you get your bearings and assist you in correct body placement, which can be a challenge when you're upside down!

• Safety mats are a good option when learning inversions and other advanced moves. While they shouldn't take the place of a spotter, they can give you increased confidence and in case they're ever needed, will help soften the landing.
• Do regular safety checks on your pole, including the fittings and small parts such as cotter pins, screws, etc. The saying that "the devil is in the details" definitely applies here. Take a few moments to do a quick dance pole safety check each time you use it, and you could avoid a painful accident or damage to your property.
• And finally, never take your pole for granted. Treat it with respect and it will give you the same in return. But if you treat it carelessly, it may just show its displeasure with you.

  Play safe and keep a healthy level of respect for your dance pole. You are much less likely to experience a pole dancing injury, and more likely to enjoy this fabulously fun fitness activity!

Avoiding and Treating Common Injuries

Injury Avoidance Tips

• Warm up adequately before each session of pole dancing, to minimize your risk of injury and to maximize your enjoyment. Use movements that mimic what you will be doing on the pole, so that you'll be warming up the specific muscles you'll be using. Five to ten minutes of gentle movement and dynamic stretching is what professionals and fitness instructors aim for.
• Cultivate a sense of body awareness, and incorporate this into your pole dancing. Knowing where all your body parts are as you're spinning or inverted on your pole is extremely important in avoiding injury. And while it sounds simple, it's quite common to lose track of where you are in time and space when your body is in motion or in an inverted position.

  One way to do this is to practice putting your body into the position it will be in during a spin or inversion, while you're still safely on the floor. This helps to create the neuro-muscular patterns you'll need in order to make the moves appear smooth and effortless. In fact, they will actually become easier to do as a result, and this will help to reduce the chance of injury.

• Quit while you're ahead, in other words, stop before you overdo it! Many women love pole dancing so much that they don't realize how long they've been at it or how hard they're working. This fun factor is a real benefit of pole dancing, but the downside is that injuries are more likely to occur when you're tired.

  So leave yourself wanting more, especially when you first start pole dancing. While it may be hard to stop when you're having such a great time, your body will thank you for easing into this strenuous new activity gradually.

Treating Common Minor Injuries

• Bumps and bruises are very common, especially in new pole dancers who are learning to spin. Common sites for bruising to occur are the ankles and shins, as well as the inner thighs. This is because for many spins and inversions, your legs will be either holding you up on the pole or they will be wrapping around the pole while you're traveling at fairly high speeds.

  To treat minor bumps and bruises, ice or a cold pack is always helpful. Put the ice on the affected area as soon as possible, and be sure NOT to place it directly on your skin as this could cause frostbite. Wrap the ice pack in a towel or cloth and apply for 10 minutes. Repeat every couple of hours to reduce pain, swelling and bruising.

  There are also many herbal and homeopathic creams on the market to help with bruising and other minor injuries. One of the most popular is Traumeel, which is a homeopathic remedy available in both tablets and a topical cream.

• Muscle soreness and stiffness is another common complaint in beginning pole dancers. Keep in mind that even if you're in fairly good shape, doing a new activity that you're not accustomed to requires using different muscles. This is why you may experience some pain or stiffness for the first few days after starting to pole dance.

  If the pain is not sharp or shooting, you are most likely experiencing the effects of discovering new muscles. Congratulations! This achy pain should diminish over time, and is usually worse in the first two days.

  To treat minor muscle aches, a hot epsom salt bath is a traditional remedy. Rather than buying expensive bath salts or drugstore epsom salts in small boxes, I like to buy mine in bulk. These are often available in 10kg or 20lb bags at feed stores and the price is considerably lower this way. I keep mine under the sink in the bathroom, and put up to 4 cups in a hot bath when I'm really stiff or sore.

• More severe pain, or pain that only occurs when you move a certain way, or sharp, shooting pains may indicate that you have sustained a strain or sprain. A muscle strain is commonly referred to as a "pulled muscle" while a sprain involves an injury to a joint such as a shoulder, wrist or knee.

  The common recommendations for either of these types of injuries is R.I.C.E., which stands for Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation.

  While you may be tempted to ignore this pain and continue pole dancing, resting now will help you recover faster in the long run. Icing the injured area can help reduce inflammation, as can wrapping it with a compression bandage and raising the injured area above your head for a period of time each day.

  If you suspect you have a sprain you may want to seek medical advice and/or physical therapy. In order to get back on your pole as soon as possible, it's important to get an accurate diagnosis of what the injury is, and to follow a rehabilitation plan. Otherwise you may find yourself sidelined for weeks or months, which is no fun at all!

I hope the above dance pole safety and injury prevention tips will help you avoid any major pole dancing injuries. Remember to always ensure your pole is installed correctly, treat your pole with a healthy dose of respect, and never take your dance pole safety for granted.

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