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Upper Back Pain Not Going Away
Hi All,
I’ll try and keep this short. So about 2 months after I started pole dancing (2 years ago now) I started doing my first inversions. I had TERRIBLE upper back pain (rhomboid area, between shoulder blades) on my right side. So bad I was off pole 1 month.
Anytime since, when I do inversions I sometimes will get a tingling sensation in that area but no pain.
However, anytime we do shoulder mount training (which is only a couple times a year) it sets off that injury EVERY time. And then I’m off pole/all exercise 2-3 weeks. The pain is just unbearable.
I finally saw a physiotherapist last week. I don’t want to knock his experience or anything, he seems fresh out of college so I’m just posting here as sort of a second opinion. He doesn’t have any knowledge of pole but he thinks I might have sprained a vertebrae 2 years ago because he thinks the muscle wasn’t strong enough at the time and maybe the pressure was too much on my spine. But we didn’t do shoulder mounts then, they came MUCH later (of course the pole doesn’t touch your back in normal inverts).
Anyway I keep re-injuring my back when we do the shoulder mount training and he’s right about the muscle obviously not being strong enough. I’m wondering if I should get a scan of my spine? What do you think?
I was off pole 11 days and tried back, it hurt but it was OK. Then I had my appointment with him, lots of pushing on my back to find THE spot. Hurt a lot. Started some exercises he gave me. Back was not happy with me. Attempted an online class on Saturday and just doing a normal inverted V a few times had me catching my breath. I hurt π
I’m so frustrated. Any advice would be appreciated. I’m feeling really down, obviously want to get back on the pole. Thanks so much.
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13 Replies
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PS: I can’t actually do a shoulder mount, it’s literally just the training where you just try a couple times to lift for a second each time. But just doing it a few times sets off this injury every time.
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That sucks! Γ°ΕΈβΕ
Do you currently use a conditioning routine or exercises for the shoulders/back/chest?
Is pole your only workout? If so, do you train on both sides when learning things like inverts etc.?
Do you use the side pole hold method when inverting?
Have you tried different grips for training shoulder mount?
Last thing….before working on SM you should be able to do these Inverted Crucifix, shoulder slides, reverse elbow or handstand, fan legs, and a caterpillar. Can you do all of these?
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Just the usual warm-ups like always. Conditioning would be doing pencils, tucks/pikes but not too often to be honest. A couple V inverts each side. A warm up off the pole would be about 15 min following along a YouTube video (when poling at home). Otherwise at the studio we do a full warm-up of course, but everything has been shut down since September (we’re in our 2nd wave)
I do spinning classes outside of pole (also shut down since Sept) but that doesn’t do much for my back.
Not sure what you mean by the side pole hold method? Or different grips for SM?
Yes for inverted crucifix, not sure what a shoulder slide is or reverse elbow means.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6G7pY2ioYBc Around the 40 second mark is that what you mean for the handstand?
I guess every studio has different names for things! Haven’t heard of a caterpillar before either…fan legs you mean from standing? I think we did that in basic.
At my studio we have basic, level 1, level 2, level 3. I just graduated level 1 before the 2nd lockdown. I’m attaching my cards so you can see the moves I’ve completed.
Thanks so much for the reply!
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Just re-read my (terrible) answer about conditioning. I guess we really don’t do any proper conditioning. The warm-up, while 15 min (in class, and at home when I do it) is off the pole, mostly stretching. The “conditioning” part is climb the pole, do a few inverts, maybe a few tucks/pikes.
Had to go waaaay back in my videos to when I first started!
36 second mark, you mean this for fan legs?
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Yep those are fan legs.
This is a caterpillar https://www.studioveena.com/galleries/view/4f87a110-f2a8-473b-b0db-3d520ac37250
This is reverse handstand https://www.studioveena.com/galleries/view/4f879c27-efa0-4c7f-9ec3-3b2a0ac37250
Prep for shoulder mount should consist of more than getting into position and holding. I’m not sure if you’ve seen but I have a shoulder mount program that would be helpful in that respect.
This shoulder conditioning routine is a good one, but there are individual lessons that would be helpful here too. Doing things like this scapula drill https://www.studioveena.com/lessons/view/5e703c69-9e18-4a1f-9b7b-1c3aac110005 for example. After 12 + yrs of dancing, I still use all of the exercises listed in the Strength and Conditioning section. They really help keep injuries away.
There are several different grips (arm/hand placement) for shoulder mount. It’s in my lesson. https://www.studioveena.com/lessons/view/5f70fdf8-97c8-49e3-bae1-58f1ac110005
The side pole hold is how I teach inverts and it helps keep scapula happy https://www.studioveena.com/lessons/view/5e6a61b4-f650-4605-addb-5b68ac110005
I would continue to do the exercises the physio suggested but before moving on to inverts and shoulder mounts again work on conditioning a bit more to help correct any muscle imbalance. It could be as simple as getting everything back in balance so make sure to add some stretches for the chest, back and shoulders too. If you’ve done your physio and still no improvement it’s always a good idea to go back or get a second opinion. You want to dance for as long as possible without pain and that’s my goal in teaching too. Γ°ΕΈβΕ
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Thanks for your reply! Yes right now I need to wait until the pain in my back goes away before I can even attempt getting back on the pole π I will definitely start with conditioning exercises and try to get that muscle built up for sure. I don’t even want to attempt shoulder mount training for a LONG time.
I actually have another physio appointment in January at a college (cheaper, my insurance is awful) so my 2nd opinion is not too far away!
Do you have an email I can write you about the class prices/packages?
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Keep us posted on your progress. There’s a lot you can still work on to stay ready for pole that wouldn’t be an issue.
Prices are listed under the price link https://www.studioveena.com/accounts/pricing Everything is included when you purchase either option. Programs and all sections.
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For the monthly option, can you cancel at any time? How much notice do you need to give before the following month? Is it in US dollars? Thanks π
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The 99 is a one time charge. The 20 is a subscription but you can cancel anytime and you won’t be rebilled and you will still have access to the end of your subscription. It’s in US dollars.
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Great, thanks!
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And sorry, can you please link me to which ones I could work on while I’m still off the pole? Cheers
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Oh, there’s nothing in particular, I just meant there are other things you can do that are not on the pole. Check out these sections
Floor work https://www.studioveena.com/lessons/view_category/Floor_work
Strength and Conditioning https://www.studioveena.com/lessons/view_category/conditioning-exercises
Stretching and flexibility https://www.studioveena.com/lessons/view_category/stretching-exercises
Routines strength and stretch https://www.studioveena.com/lessons/view_category/ROUTINES_Strength_and_Stretch
30 day flexibility program https://www.studioveena.com/lessons/view_category/30-day-flexy
Chair dance https://www.studioveena.com/lessons/view_category/chair
and Hula hoop https://www.studioveena.com/lessons/view_category/hula-hoop-lessons
All of these are included with the purchase of any lesson package.
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Thank you π
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