I fell on my head again...I think I am done
Been poling for almost 3 years as an intermediate/advanced poler (handsprings, ayeshas and transitions, shoulder mounts, aerial inverts, pegasus being my latest "hard" trick). I don't do much floorwork since my background is not in flexibility/dance. I'm 36 y.o.
The first time was last June without a mat at a studio with hardwood floors where I just let go after failing my hunter press. I did not go to hospital and resumed as normal because I didn't experience any unconsciousness, any instant headaches, any light sensitivities or distorted speech. Had a huge migraine a month afterwards that required an ER visit and experienced some mental fog but was able to jump back into pole.
This time was last night at a xpole studio stage at an "aerial playground" party full of strangers and pole instructors at night. Again no mat. 🫣 I fell out of a shape I was familiar (gargoyle) with when my knee grip slipped and I hit my head on the stage. People only noticed the loud sound but were not actively watching. After calming down the nerves, I spun a few more times to get some tricks in and regain confidence. Soon after, the adrenaline quickly bottomed out and was extremely embarrassed and started getting extremely emotional. We decided to Irish goodbye out so I wouldn't call attention to myself. My partner was there so he was able to drive us back home.
We are taking more precautions this time where I am resting and going to go for a brain test. I am taking a day off of work tomorrow. I feel more hopeless about starting the pole journey again if I do recover. This feels like a frequent occurrence. I'm quickly getting into an age where I can't quickly bounce back from injuries. Usually doing one to two pole classes a week is enough for me. Unfortunately, I can't find myself going back to those spaces without being embarrassed that I may possibly hurt myself again. I can't exactly wear a helmet while poling. I do find pole dancing exhilarating but I don't know if it's worth the cost of my own health, both mental (for still feeling cringy and knowing instructors/studio owners saw this happen) and physical (for obvious reasons). I don't typically find flow classes not helpful since everytime I do the routine, I end up deleting it afterwards.
I hope I find another activity as awesome as this, but hopefully people have suggestions on other activities that are low in health risks.
Posted Sep 28, 2025, 1:40 PM UTC