Welcome back to another tasty pole anatomy treat by The Pole Physio team, where we take your favourite pole dance tricks and break them down to their fundamental anatomy and biomechanics. Sprinkle in trick specific cues and both on and off the pole conditioning and you have yourself a delightful little anatomy series. And today’s blog is a real treat for y’all because we are breaking down everyone’s favourite pole split: the Jade Split. Once you learn it, it becomes a staple move and is still an absolute crowd pleaser. Because above all else, we know a crowd loves… SPLITS! Now do you know t ..read more

Hey there, future pole dancing queen! So, you've decided to take a dip into the fabulous world of pole dancing, huh? Buckle up, because this journey is going to be a mix of excitement, a little bit of nerves, and a whole lot of empowerment. To help you on your journey we've put down our top 10 suggestions to help get you all set for your poleventure! 1. Choose the Right Studio: Think of finding the perfect pole dance studio like picking your favourite outfit or ice cream flavour – it should feel just right. Look for a spot with awesome instructors, a vibe that makes you feel at home and, of c ..read more

Welcome to our latest and greatest anatomy series on the outside leg hang (aka Gemini). In this blog we will be breaking down the physical demands of this move to help you execute it to perfection. Leg hangs become a staple move for pole dancers as they learn how to seamlessly transition between movements on the pole, so nailing this move early becomes a godsend later on. An outside leg hang has three key gripping points: The knee pit The waist The back of the shoulder/armpit To perform this trick, we require: A safe and strong entry (straddle or jasmine) Hip external rotation of the gripp ..read more

Theme of the day is heels love . If you’ve ever worn a pair of pole platforms, you’ll know they take practice to dance, or even stand in! Some people make dancing in heels look as easy as breathing and as smooth as butter. For the rest of us, let’s take a deep dive on the gorgeous platform stiletto. History A blog on heels would be incomplete without acknowledging strippers, who paved the way for recreational polers period, but also to use platform heels. Platform shoes have featured in many cultures throughout history, with recurring themes of being elevated: in social status, stature, or aes ..read more

Are you ready for The Pole Physio Myth Busting Part 2? Because we are ready to crack these myths WIDE open. In this blog we are going to nut out myths around the types of stretching, recovery and why we do not always need to rest after injuries. We are going to make you think about the requirements for imaging and why getting older does not always equate to more injuries. And we have a particular myth close to our hearts about healthcare professionals. But more on that one later! Are you ready to bust some myth and continue to enhance your ‘Poletential’? Because it is time to get cracking… An ..read more

I remember my first-time hearing a fellow poler mention a bird of paradise (BOP) at the studio. Naturally my mind gravitated towards the flower and wondered how on earth they could translate a gorgeous wonder of nature to pole. They must have sensed my confusion because they quickly explained the move and I’m sure my face changed from a look of puzzlement to a look of awe because it certainly didn’t disappoint! And since then, a BOP has always been a dream move to achieve. BOP: The ultimate feat of inversion, strength, and flex. Not a move for the faint hearted. Many have tried to conquer it ..read more

LOWER EXTREMITY GRIP STRENGTHENING We made it! This is the last part of the Grips and Holds blog series to conclude our complete guide for pole dancers. In this final instalment, we’re going to get into some fundamentals of hip strengthening and of course, the ‘piece de resistance’: we’re going to go over grip specific exercises for all our lower extremity holds - on and off the pole! Hip strengthening fundamentals The shoulder gets a lot of attention when it comes to strengthening for pole, but as we mentioned in Part two of this blog series, the hip is the same ball and socket joint as the ..read more

How satisfying is a big hair flick on the beat in a performance? How about a smooth head roll to create a seamless change of direction in choreography class? We all love the aesthetic and the feeling of great head motions or “hairography” as it’s sometimes called. Sadly, these movements don’t always feel so good! If you cringe every time your instructor yells “aaaand HEADROLL”, then this blog is for you friend. Common Neck Symptoms and Causes Have you felt any of these? Cramping or pain in the neck Waking feeling stiff and sore the day after dancing Headaches Dizziness when doing multiple he ..read more

Anterior hip pain (AHP) in pole dancers is a common clinical presentation seen by our online treating therapists, with research likely underreporting its prevalence within our community. Pole dancers often don’t remember a singular cause of injury for their hip pain with the pain often creeping up over time. Seemingly benign in nature with initial onset, it’s not uncommon for dancers to suddenly find their hip range of motion limited or pain flared up when left untreated or ignored. Commonly patients present to our online clinic with a 6+ month history of gradually worsening hip pain before t ..read more

Part 1: Treatment Modalities At the Pole Physio we focus on delivering patient centred evidence-based practice. But what does this actually mean? Patient centred evidence-based practice is the balance of best evidence available, clinical expertise of the therapist and patient goals and values (Engle et al., 2021). Sometimes: the evidence does not always match what we see in clinic the quality of studies available can be poor the population in the studies does not match what we treat the best evidence may not align with what a patient wants As pole dancers – we know we move our bodies in uni ..read more