Nerve damage in back ... from inverting? Or one-sided pole?

Ekinkah started this discussion · 2/1/2012

Ever since I started inverting I have had occasions where the spot between two vertebrae, between my shoulder blades hurts after practice. Most of the time it is fine, but a few days ago I came home and it was aggravated again - my boyfriend hugged me gently from behind and touched this spot, and it spasmed and hurt so much that I almost fell over! I knew it would be fine if I didn't touch it and go away in a few days, as it usually does, so I ignored it. The next day when I woke up it seemed fine - but thenI moved my head, and a loud CRACK in my neck for no reason I could find resulted in me with my head stuck on the left (held by my hands, not neck) and a lot of pain! I finally got my car back and went to a physio, and he says the two vertebrae are not stacked or aligned properly, and that I have nerve damage there and possibly in my neck. He also says that my right side is much stronger than my left, which I'm guessing could be contributing to that (I mostly do inverts on the right - I know, I know, that's a priority for me to fix!). I'm terrified that I've done permanent damage that will affect me daily now, and even more terrified that I might have to stop pole dancing. Has anyone been in this situation? I am wondering if it is sloppy inverting, too much pole on one side and not the other, bad lack or something else that could be the cause! Also, does anyone here have experience with chiropracters? The family physio I went to also does acupressure and acupuncture as well as chinese herbal medicinal treatments, all of which he is doing for me, but I read that chiropracters specialise in vertebral subluxations. Any words of wisdom or story sharing here would be very, very greatly appreciated!

19 replies

trickivix · 2/1/2012
Hi Ekinkah, I was hoping you were from Australia - chiros have a bad name overseas but I know first hand that chiropractors in Australia are real medical practitioners that do as many years studying as other medical practitioners. I'm on the Goldy and go to a really good chiro in Broadbeach. He has fixed me from many pole ailments. Does it hurt when you take a deep breath? From what you have described, it sounds like you may have misaligned ribs. Something I got a few times about a year ago from pole. It is when the rib is not sitting properly in the socket within your spine. At first it just feels a bit annoying, but it will keep agitating the back muscles until it becomes inflamed and incredibly painful. When it is adjusted back, it will stay very painful for a couple of days as the inflammation settles and you will need to be careful as the cartilage that normally holds the rib in place will be torn and weaker. You may need to take a couple of weeks off pole. It is normally caused by incorrect technique or weak muscles. So for inverting, it would mean that you are either not pulling your shoulder blades back and down when doing this move, or you are relying on momentum to get up and putting sudden pressure on your back, or your back muscles are not strong enough (or fatigued) to hold your weight. After getting this, I become very particular about technique and strengthening muscles with weight training because the pain was so intense, I didn't want it to happen again. Anyway, let me know if you'd like the name of my chiro :)
trickivix · 2/1/2012
Sorry, just re-read your comment about the vertabrae not being aligned. Different to what I have described... I would still see a chiro though...
Ekinkah · 2/1/2012
Hey aerialvixen, thanks for the reply! Even though your injury was different, it sounds to me that yours and mine both happened in the exact same way! Pulling the shoulders back and down would probably protect and strengthen the area that I've hurt - I think it's that one sloppy invert every few weeks, or a tired practice session where my technique fails that has led to this! Aside from inverting properly and with control, what exercises do you do to strengthen both sides of that area? Interesting what you've said about chiropractors! A lot of people I know seem to be of the opinion that it's not a science and that theyre quacks - I knew nothing of the difference between Australia and overseas! I am definitely going to go to a chiropractor soon, though - I was hoping to get an x-ray first, though! Do people usually take x-rays to chiropractors? Although I'm not glad you got hurt, it makes me feel better to know I'm not the only one... if that makes sense. It sucks feeling alone!
trickivix · 2/1/2012
I go to the gym a lot so I do a lot of weights there. I work my back and shoulder area doing all types of rows (seated rows, upright rows, barbell rows), reverse flies, lateral raises, chin ups, etc. If you have some dumbbell weights at home, you should google the exercises, most of them you be able to do at home. Youtube have some good tutorials to help make sure your technique is good and that you're activating the right muscles. There's always a "cheaters" way (like with pole) and doing it incorrectly can lead to injury and will slow the development of the muscles. If you have a pole at home, you can do a thing my studio calls pole tucks - holding the pole like you are going to invert, but instead of inverting, just slowly lift your knees to your chest and slowly back down. Try doing it without touching the floor. Just remember to keep the shoulders back and activated. Another good one for the back on the pole are like pull ups - place hands above head but don't extend too far and pull yourself up while squeezing your shoulder blades together, hold the squeeze at the top. Don't jump into it, really pull yourself up and then slowly lower your body. Yeah I know, I don't know what the qualifications are overseas but you need to do 5 years of uni in Australia which is the same as a physio but there are only four universities in Australia that offer the chiro degree, whereas physio is offered at four universities in Queensland alone. My chiro doesn't need x-rays but you can take one in if you want. I know of other chiros that require an x-ray first. So... up to you... x-rays can be expensive though. haha I know what you mean, it's good to know you're not the only one that's falling apart.
Dancing Paws · 2/1/2012
If I were you, I wouldn't go to a chiropracter so much as a physical therapist. PT's can still tweak your spine, but they also focus on rehabilitation exercises to fix you. That is what I am doing for my headaches. Apparently my whole left side is tight (lower back, upper back, chest, neck.) They are giving me all kinds of exercises to strengthen where I am weak and she starts out each session by loosening up the muscles where I am tight. If your spine is misaligned in any way, your muscles will tighten to compensate. I found this out when I strained my left side of my lower back and all the muscles there are WAY tighter than my right side. My left hip actually lifted higher than my right. PT's will work on that. The combo of adjusting your body (not necessarily spine cracking) and the proper exercises should help you.
chemgoddess1 · 2/1/2012
Sounds to me like you are inverting probably before you should be. There are a few threads on here regarding when you should invert. Everyone wants to go upside down so quickly and do not engage in theh proper conditioning. Those of us that have been around for a while are not just saying this stuff to keep you guys "down"....we are saying it because when we learned we were taught sloppy technique and ended up injured. You most likely have a knot under your shoulder blade that is spasming. I personally go to a sports massage therapist about every 6 weeks. If the muscle is swollen it does not matter what a chiro does for alignment, if they do not do anything to alleviate the swelling/knot the muscle is just going to push your vertebra out of alignment again.
SashaMae · 2/1/2012
I agree wholeheartedly with everything Chem said. Im a massage therapist and while I love working with chiros, I feel some give their patients the idea that they don't need massage. Muscles move bones. If the chiros are realigning you without having you go to an MT before or after treatment, your tight muscles will undo their work. It's a money machine! I like to recommend using both chiros and mts because they compliment each other so well. :)
Dancing Paws · 2/1/2012
FYI, physical therapists also worked to relax the muscles that are tight. If you go to a PT they can hit the muscle and alignment issues at once. I personally see a massage therapist and PT for my headaches, but the PT is doing a lot more to get my muscles to relax with exericises, stretching, "adjusting," and rubbing out the tight muscles. I put adjusting in quotes because they haven't cracked me; they are more moving the vertebre in my neck and my clavicals to get them mobile again (right now they are stuck.) A doctor might be able to recommend the really good PT's in your area. If you have a muscle issue, the foam roller on your back might help, but I use this thing to self massage and it is AMAZING: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006VJ6TO/ref=oh_o01_s00_i00_details That thing is the best invention!!!
Ekinkah · 2/1/2012
Thanks for all the advice, guys! Chemgoddess, although it hurts my pride somewhat, I did consider your suggestion! I had been poling for about 6 months before I started inverting, which is long enough for some people, and not for others. The difference here is that I had multiple experienced instructers working with me, and none of them would give anyone the go ahead who they thought wasn't ready! I had a look at this site: http://heartofpole.net/for-beginners/when-can-i-go-upside-down.html and I satisfy the criteria for that, except for the 'twinges in the back', but I have only ever had these twinges after inverting when exhausted, or when I know my technique is crappy. I have been inverting for almost 2 years now and can do it as a dead lift with no jumping, and I suspect that the subluxed vertebrae either happened early on, when maybe I didn't have the strength I do now, or just from poor technique when I started - and that even though inverting is smooth and natural to me now, it doesn't matter because the damage is done. What do you think? Definitely agree with the muscle thing - after all, wasn't it my muscles that pulled the vertebrae out of place anyway? My physio is a sports/remedial massage therapist as well, and I'm going in tomorrow for round two of remedial massage. I had no idea PT's could do that sort of stuff, though! Well, I guess I hadn't thought about it! Aerialvixen, I will definitely look more into that! My dumbells are looking at me from accross the room, and they think they should be used, too! =)
chemgoddess1 · 2/1/2012
I did not know your background or that you had been inverting for so long. I am also happy that you did get proper instruction. I cannot tell you how many people have injured their back from inversions (almost as many as hurt shoulders from twisted grip/reverse grabs or forearms from bracket holds). Were you doing anything else when you inverted, as in trying to spin it or try a new move? I have had times when even slipping a little with my hands I will twist my torso ever so slightly and I will end up with issues. Right now it is just best to let it rest (yeah, some of the hardest words for a pole dancer to hear). Deep freaking painful massage has been the only thing that has helped me. If I were you though I would get an xray done just to be sure that there is no other damage. The last thing you want to do is mess up your spine.
Ekinkah · 2/1/2012
Thanks for the replies =) Chem, you should hear me preaching to the newer students at my studio - they always want to try the advanced moves after seeing me do it, and after my neck inury they seem more reluctant - I always say, POOR TECHNIQUE = INJURY! Haha =D I totally understand, though - everyone wants to get off the ground before they're ready, and safety is the last thing on your mind when you just want to fly! No amount of "she fell out of an invert and seriously DIED" will put fear in the hearts of the young, unfortunately! It's hard for me to pinpoint the first time I had pain in this area, but the most recent session that aggravated it I was doing all sorts of silly things - mostly watching other students and trying to imitate, without proper instruction! It seems to me that if I'm about to invert and do something new following the invert, I'm so busy thinking about steps 2 and 3 that my actual invert is the last thing on my mind, and I don't engage the muscles between my shoulder blades! Just a theory! I'm (hopefully) on my way to get an x-ray in a few minutes (taking it seriously, after much goading - "No really, I'm fine, *please* still come to my performance night, *please* still let me do lyra, It's just a sore muscle!" *goes to pick up a cup, starts to cry*)! Looking forward to my deep freaking painful massage tomorrow, too. Sensual - my boyfriend has a foam roller which I might steal, and I have a friend who is a PT! Connections, connections.
Dancing Paws · 2/1/2012
Awesome! Yeah PT's can do a lot of things. Mine said they may put acupuncture needles in my muscles to get them to loosen up.
aliceBheartless · 2/1/2012
I know that when I was marathon training I had a lot of little training pains, trigger points, and muscle overuse injuries. I went to a sports chiropracter who specializes in Active Release Technique (A.R.T.) which is a soft tissue manipulation method that works to release muscle scar tissue to ease overuse injuries similar to massage (very very generalized description) and IT CHANGED MY LIFE. As a runner that is. I have also found it to be a really helpful therapy for injuries I have acquired in aerial training. ART can be administered by a chiro, LMT, or PT though it originated from the chiropractic field. If it's not something that you have tried yet, it might be worthwhile if you can find a practitioner.
trickivix · 2/1/2012
It seems that there's a perception that chiros only "crack". My chiro is also a sports chiro and he spends most of the time massaging and relieving tension in my tight muscles. He gives me all types of strengthening exercises, stretches and warm up advice for pole and I haven't had an injury where he hasn't been able to fix and be so exact on how long it would take to heal (if I do the exercises he recommends). Ekinkah, I think when sensual was saying PT, she means physical therapist/physiotherapist which you are already seeing... I think aussies normally refer to personal trainer as PT so not sure if you misunderstood?
nymphdancer · 2/1/2012
Aerial my chiro is like yours. Tons of therapy not just cracking. A good one is a fantastic thing.
aliceBheartless · 2/1/2012
I would agree, don't discount chiropractic. There are some amazing practitioners out there who are more than capable of administering treatments, as well as recommending exercise and stretching regimens etc, to correct the underlying issues. At heart, it has to do with alignment, but most of them do not stop there, though I suppose it depends on where you go. I have found that chiropracters, like doctors, often have a specialty demographic, so find a sports chiro with emphasis in dance/gymnastics. I would go to the chiropracter weekly if only I could afford it. 🙂
Ekinkah · 2/1/2012
So many wonderful suggestions! I'm very inclined to give most specialties a chance, including chiro - the way I see it, even if they all deal with a little bit of something particular, everything in your body is so connected that it's bound to help in some way! I got an x-ray today, and saw a doctor *before* the x-ray - x-ray revealed only mild scoliosis (curvature to my left), and the doctor said it was unlikely there would be nerve damage. That being said, he spent probably about a minute looking at me, the twinge in my back didn't happen to pop up during the visit, and he didn't seem to understand what pole dancing was or what bearing it would have on my body (the right-side-stronger thing). Last choice doctor :rolleyes: Unsure if he was terribly rushed and not very thorough like I suspect, or if I was just expecting to hear more and am reluctant to believe that this kind of problem is mostly 'normal'. Vixen, you're right - I was thinking 'personal trainer'! Here I was thinking my personal trainer friend could fix me right up, when really he's just going to yell at me and make me do squats till my legs fall off! :D
heathalynne · 2/3/2012
Doesn't sound like nerve damage, more like trigger points. Esp in those specific locations and symptoms. Trust me, Google it! Haha! Trigger points are a common muscle straining problem with polers and aerialists. Tell your doctor its a trigger point and get a prescription for a muscle relaxer like robaxin or flexeril. They will probably also prescribed naproxen or take motrin. Use bengay patches in the mean time. It's deep penetrating heat. Oh and I'm a registered nurse also with scioliosis. I don't see a chiropractor as my yoga practice helps align my posture. Good luck!
trickivix · 2/3/2012
Haha that's right Ekinkah, the only way your personal trainer friend will help get rid of your back pain is by making the rest of your body sore!