You get a special treat today – a guest post on stretching for pole dancing from Mark Rosenberg, a chiropractor and martial arts instructor, who teaches at HowtoStretch.com.

Stretching and Injury Prevention

First, I would like to thank Jennifer for asking me to write this article. I love to pass on what I learned from my teacher, and be of help to others. Particularly in the area of stretching!

Most people start stretching after they hurt themselves, to prevent an injury from happening again. I believe in stretching so you NEVER get injured. OK, it would be a perfect world if we never got injured, but in my 35 plus years of martial arts and practice of chiropractic, I have learned that prevention is better than healing.

Muscles and Pole Dancing

Muscles do one thing, and one thing only. Contract. That is all. If you contract them too hard when they are tight, cold, or otherwise unprepared, you are going to injure yourself. Let us make this applicable to your discipline, pole dancing. The muscles of the shoulder do a lot of work. Your deltoids, lats, biceps, triceps, rhomboid, and serratus muscles all come into play when you initially lift yourself on the pole.

I have noticed that some of you do this with strength (ie, move slowly), and others use momentum. Either way, it is a sudden work load to the shoulder girdle that can lead to injury not only to the rotator cuff, but the elbow and neck.

Simple Stretches to Get You Started

Start by rolling your neck. Why? You are not only stretching and bringing blood flow to the upper neck, but also to the attachments of the muscles by your shoulders.

Next, roll your shoulders back in a circle. Why? You are loosening up muscles under your shoulder blade and arm pits that you cannot get to other wise. If these are tight when you are on the pole, you can tear them. It is not enough to warm them up, they need to be elongated so, as they contract, they do not tear.

Next, swing your arms in a big circle (make sure there is no one near you, and you are not close to a wall or pole). This will bring blood to the deeper regions of your lower arm, preparing them for work, which will take the load off of the shoulder. Now, you are on your way to preventing shoulder injuries through stretching.

Videos on Stretching

Even though I speak generically with no mention of some of the positions you may use for pole dancing, you will find the applications for your art and this will help you tremendously.

Have Fun!
Dr. Mark

Also catch Mark’s blog on stretching and his HowtoStretch youtube channel, where there are beginner to advanced-level stretches (yes, including for the splits!). You can also get his DVD on stretching.

REMEMBER TO GO SLOWLY WITH ANY STRETCH. If you aren’t sure what you’re doing or feeling, stop and ask your instructor or doctor. You can also contact Dr. Mark at howtostretch@howtostretch.com.