Being a Poler with an Injury

To preface:
Everyone is different.
Every injury is different.
Every person's pole passion is different.
This entry isn't about the ways polers get injured, but rather what happens inside of them after.

This entry is about what it's like to be a poler with an injury.


I say "poler" with an injury because even though we might be off the pole because of our injury, being a poler is a part of our identity. This is a crucial element to understanding the mental and emotional aspects following an injury.

I will be the first to say I am lucky. I have been doing pole for about a year, doing rather tricky aerial moves, and all of my injuries have been relatively minor and have not kept me off of pole for long (/"long").
I am lucky because recently I injured my shoulder and not only did it not hurt when I did it, but I was only out for a month. Well, I say "only" a month if I'm comparing myself to other polers who have been out for months or more from an injury, and I know there are some who are so injured they may never pole again.  I say "only" out of respect for those who have been injured more than I have.

If I wasn't comparing myself to them, I definitely wouldn't say "only."

Being away from pole for days kills me.
Being away for weeks -- it takes a bite out of you. 
Being away because you need to/have to/must is even worse than if you are sick or have been too busy. (Though any time away for me is just difficult no matter what.)

If I am sick, maybe I'll do something simple here or there for a short session.
When I'm injured, and I know I have to stay off the pole, it's different.
(I usually don't because I'm stubborn and hate being away from pole).
But this time I really couldn't go near it.
I needed to stay away because I would risk damaging myself even more if I didn't.
This threat doesn't always scare me but there was something about this injury that I knew was on the brink of serious damage if I pushed it like usual.

I have a pole in my house. When I was injured I would see it every single day and know that if I tried any little move I would try more and more and end up injuring myself.  So I closed the door to that room so I didn't have to see my favorite thing in the world. 

Every day that went by that I wasn't doing anything for pole I just kept realizing "you aren't progressing. You are stagnant. And you have to deal with it." Not only did I feel stagnant, but I knew that I wasn't getting stronger, and not only that, I felt I was getting weaker.

My FaceBook and Instagram is filled up with polers, pole associations, pole competitions, tutorials, routines, pole friends, etc, etc, etc. Knowing that everyone was out there improving while I was staying in place was lowering my self-esteem.
 I wanted to be progressing and getting better. I know the improvements that can be made every single hour on the pole and to know how much I was losing ... was just depressing.
I had no idea how long it would take my shoulder to heal either. Days? Months? Would it ever be the same?

Maybe this sounds like a bunch of cry-baby "deal with it" babble for some people,
but for me it really matters. My identity and my heart and my mind were not at ease.
Injury matters to everyone - but when it means you can't do what makes you whole, it digs in deep.

Realizing that if I didn't heal quickly I could easily be surpassed by people doing pole a fraction of the time was not a pleasant thought either.

I can't imagine what it would be like to be out for longer and I pray to the Powers that Be that that will never be a reality for me.

Pole is a constant risk. You can get injured at any point in time doing anything and not even realize it when it happens.
This is a dangerous sport, and I love it dearly.

This blog isn't to declare that I have had some serious injury or set back, or that I am mentally damaged forever because of my injury.
I know there are people who have struggled longer and harder,
but this blog is just to shed light on that spot in everyone's psyche who has been through something similar to this.
We put ourselves at a constant risk by doing what we do, and we realize this from time to time, and it will never stop us because this is who we are. It's in us.

An amazing performer and aerialist I know has been injured for quite some time after a car wreck a long time ago. She has been finding other ways to get back into her identity, but she injured her shoulder recently as I have and has had to stay away from her normal activity as well.  I asked her to write about her experience as an aerialist with an injury:


"I've been dealing with a shoulder injury for about 2 months now. My shoulder started hurting right before I had two performances, so I was not only rehearsing a lot more, but I wasn't willing to listen to my body and take the time to rest.

 The week of my shows (two in one night) was when I really hurt it badly. I did five straight days in a row, when I'm used to training on lyra only 2 times a week. Then, caught up in the adrenaline and the rush, I went back to practice the day after my shows even though I was so exhausted I felt dizzy and nauseated even on the ground!

  I realized the next morning how badly I was hurt and continued to wake up in pain every day, despite not doing aerial or upper body workouts at the gym. The psychological pain is harder though. Aerial is my passion, it consumes my thoughts every single day and I get more confidence from doing it than any other activity. To lose this from my routine resulted in a very, very rough month of depression; between the physical and psychological pain I ended up missing quite a bit of work and felt very socially isolated, since a lot of my friends are from aerial class.

This is clearly very unhealthy, and I was scolded by those close to me about the need to seek balance and learn how to handle physical setbacks better. And they are right. As athletes, aerialists, pole dancers, we are doing much more with our bodies than the average person so we must not only be more tuned in to what our bodies are telling us, but we must also be mentally prepared for downtime, rest, recovery, and hopefully not too often, the occasional overuse or sudden injury. 

Mine was diagnosed as bursitis by my doctor a couple of days ago, with a prescription of more rest, Aleve, cortisone shot, and starting in a few days, strengthening exercises for my back to help stabilize my shoulders. I'm happy to report  that I've been able to adjust mentally and being instructed to continue to take it easy didn't leave me feeling desperate like it did before. I have to say that being able to workout at my normal gym makes a big difference, the two weeks I couldn't do that at all were the worst. But what has also helped is identifying some non physical activities I can focus on in the meantime."

     --  Instagram: UpsideDownGirl (she's amazing)

For those of you who are injured, I sympathize and I can empathize somewhat as well.
What I held on to was the reality that time away can be time to rest and come back stronger and better. Hang in there - you have a passion that most people will never even be able to dream of <3 <3 <3