THE CLAW: Hand Pain in Aerial Training and What to Do About It

Are you waking up with hands that have suddenly aged 50 years over night? Sore joints? Stiff fingers? THE CLAW? Yup. Either you’ve made like Rip van Winkle, or you’ve been training aerial work! What is that pain? Will it go away? Will chocolate cake help? (yes) Welcome to the world of…. arthritis.

The Most Common Cause of Hand Pain

If you’re encountering dull, achy finger joints in the morning or during training, chances are good that you are experiencing good old-fashioned arthritis**, which is quite common early in aerial work (glamorous, no?).  Simply put, the arthritis were talking about is just light inflammation of the joints (read more here). When we begin our training, we’re asking hands, that haven’t been asked to do much more than hold a pen or wield a tennis racket, to suddenly manipulate our body weight and, you know, keep us from falling on our heads. No biggie. Any time you ask your body to do something hard, or even very different, you may experience some inflammation. Don’t panic! You’ve got options.

** If your hand pain is severe, or located in one spot, see a doc! Speaking of doctors, I’m not one. This post is not intended as a substitute for medical advice or care!

What to do About It

OK – you got this. Here we go!

• Warm up your fingers before you train. Just like the joints and muscles of your shoulders, back, etc., your hands need some love too!
• Stack your digits on fabrics (see the photo above). If you find your fingers sliding on top of one another, use a bit of rock rosin to help you stay put. If grumpy knuckles persist, try a bit of glamor glue (spray rosin) and see if that does the trick. Reduce the amount you use over time if you can.
• Train your grip and hands. There are so many ways to do this! Train on your apparatus, yoga (manipulating your body weight), grip apparatus like Dyna-Flex or stress balls, free-weight training, hand exercises, etc.
• Give it time! Those are muscles in there! They won’t get Herculean overnight.
• Lotions and potions! There are a number of anti-inflammatory creams on the market if you find that the sensation is following you throughout the day. I use Tiger Balm and Penetrex (that one sounds so naughty!).
• NSAIDs. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofin might also be an option – talk to your doc.
• Acupuncture! You may feel like a human pincushion, but acupuncture is one of the most effective ways I’ve found to deal with inflammation. It may even be covered by your insurance!
• Trip to the doctor. Pain getting worse? Feeling “grind-y”? It’s worth a trip to the doctor to find out what’s happening in there.

Click here for a good PDF of hand stretching & strengthening exercises! 

Don’t worry – it won’t last forever, and you’ll be grippin’ like a spider monkey! Love and pull-ups, Laura

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Make Like a Ballerina – Why Dance and Circus Go Hand in Hand

You know this person. They come to class the first time and can’t climb (or do much of anything, really), but DANG they look good! While some of us are heaving ourselves through the air with all the grace and daintiness of a linebacker, they look cool and poised, even when they’re struggling. We hate them just a little (tell the truth!), but we also want to know their secret. I think you know where I’m going with this.

Why Dance Makes for Happy Aerialists & Circus Artists

Even if someone has only studied dance for a few years, it shows. Folks with dance training under their belts:

• have better body awareness (where their body is in space, and what it’s doing)
• have better muscular control
• demonstrate consistently better lines
• have lower rates of injury thanks to better body alignment
• tend to have greater range of motion in joints and muscles

I’ve Never Taken Dance, and I’m 78. Ballet is Intimidating, and What Good Will it Do Me if I Start Now?

Um, I hate to point this out, but you’re going to be 78 whether you dance or not. And didn’t everyone tell you that you were insane for starting circus training so late in life? Tell them to suck it. Also – we’re not aiming for the Bolshoi auditions two weeks from Saturday. We’re aiming for little improvements.

• even a class or two a month makes a difference in your level of body awareness! This doesn’t have to be something you do three times a week unless you’re a hopeless over-achiever. Find an adult class and make with the plies!
• it is gooooooooood to work in front of a mirror. I always think I look SO amazing until I see myself on video and it’s all Bent-Knee-Sickled-Foot-Fest-2014. Correcting your form in real time is so valuable!
• Dance strengthens oodles of supporting muscles that keep joints happy.
• Dance training can reduce your risk of injury by creating muscle memories of strong alignment.
• It’s great to “cross train” – moving your body (stretching, strengthening) in unfamiliar ways.
• Looking more like a linebacker than a ballerina? Time to learn some grace and, even more importantly, how to move from your core.

Don’t be intimidated – you got this!!!! If you’re here in NYC, Circus Warehouse offers a great barre class for aerialists and circus artists – check it out! Love and pull-ups, Laura

Now, for your viewing pleasure, this is one of my favorite YouTube videos of all time. You will die laughing. Enjoy!

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Get a Grip! 5 Ways to Improve Hand Strength for Aerial Arts

Hello Dear Danglers! Lets you and I do this one together. Once upon a time, I had a vise-like grip that (I’m sure) rivaled the Terminator. I could dangle happily by my fingertips over a shark tank, covered in Crisco, while sneezing! Well, perhaps I exaggerate (and no one ever offered to pay me to do that anyway), but you get my point. However, four years of motherhood have meant less time for “hanging around” in my preferred manner, and I’ve noticed a disheartening decrease in my grip strength. What’s a dangler to do? Buckle down, and GET A GRIP.

Why Grip Strength is Important

Aside from the obvious benefit of keeping you safely glued to your apparatus or partner, grip has a number of hidden benefits. The muscles of the hand, wrists, and forearm are small and somewhat delicate. By creating a strong web of muscles, we reduce the risk of all sorts of injuries – overuse, structural, and hyper-extensive. Weak grip also leads to sacrifices in alignment in other areas of the body to compensate, most notably through the shoulders, chest, and upper back – no bueno! Add to that the fatigue and frustration of frequent “Popeye” forearms, and you can see why training your digits is a priority.

5 Strategies for Grippy Goodness

1 – Consider stepping awaaaay from the spray rosin during training. Use powdered rosin as needed or preferred, but save the spray stuff for performance  . I know you love your Glamour Glue, but often it’s like using antibiotics for a cold – unnecessary. If you have a limb difference, arthritis, live in a place with seriously dry cold air, are recovering from an upper body injury, etc,  you may find it helpful for a time. That said, spray rosin practically cements you to the apparatus, and gets you used to a SUPER STICKY feeling. Honestly – you probably don’t need it. Can you ease up? Good.

2 – Set aside part of each training session to work grip. I personally like to do this early! Work close to the ground in case you need to come down quickly, and use as little rosin as you need to complete the exercises safely:

• silks & trap – birds nest in the air – hold a silk or rope in each hand, invert to a ball position, slide your shins up the ropes as you extend your legs towards the ceiling and arch your back (newer students can wrap their wrists once or twice to give additional support)
• silks – dangle torture – maintaining a strong, scap-wrapped shoulder, hold a strand in each hand and simply hang with extended arms
• rope, trap, & lyra – one-handed madness – keeping shoulders in the happy zone, practice hanging by one hand (**DO NOT** allow the shoulders to disengage or rotate – keep your feet on the ground if you need help maintaining proper positioning)

3 – Train your grip at home. There are oodles of exercises you can do outside the studio – here are my favorites!

• mini-silk over a pull-up bar, grip and hang
• squeeze a stress ball or tennis ball (great to do on the walk to training or while you’re stretching to warm up your fingers)
• crumple newspaper page by page with one hand
• get yourself a DynaFlex! This is a nifty little gizmo that I like a lot. Not only does it work the muscles of the hand and forearm, but it can also help with PT of the shoulder and elbow.

4 – Warm up your fingers before training!

5 – Keep nails shortish and lose the jewelry. Long nails and rings impair grip, so you’ll just have to choose!

Happy dangling, and I’ll see you in the air!!! Love and pull-ups, Laura

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Hands UP! Essential Hand Warm-Up for Aerial & Circus Training

Hello Dear Danglers! So. You’ve warmed up your shoulders, you’ve stretched out your hamstrings, you’ve sat in a straddle for half an hour chatting with your classmate Jane about last nights episode of “The Vampire Diaries”. Great! BUT – have you warmed up the part of your body that will get the most use in the next hour? Have you warmed up your hands?

When we think “warm up”, we think of the big muscles of the chest, back, abs, legs, etc. But the small muscles of the hand need some lovin’ too! Especially in the early days, you may find yourself waking up with “claw hands”, or soreness in the finger joints. Totally normal! This is inflammation in the joints, otherwise known as arthritis. Now, before you freak out, know that this soreness is usually temporary, and doesn’t meaningfully affect training. But a good hand warm-up can go a long way towards steering you away from chronic hand issues down the line, and prepares your hands for the important work of, you know, gripping the apparatus to keep you alive. 😉

Below is my hand warm-up that I do before training and performance. It ain’t fancy, just takes my hands through their expected range of motion and gets those joints lubed up before I abuse them. I hope you find it useful! Do you have any hand exercises that you love? Share them in the comments below! Love and pull-ups, Laura

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How to Get a Smokin’ Hot Hip Key PICTURE Update!

Hello Dear Danglers! Ask and ye shall receive! Here are photos illustrating the three steps to a glorious hip key – enjoy! Love and pull-ups, Laura

(excerpted from “The Secret to a Sexy Hip Key”)

The 3 Parts of a Sexy Hip Key

I’m not going to go deeply into the physical mechanics of a hip key – your instructor can take you through that. But I WILL let you in on some secrets to make it smokin’ hot!

1. Red lipstick. OH – and a solid first position I like to call, “Look at your butt.” First, make sure your elbows are glued to your waist. Let’s say I’m keying right. I bring my fabric to the right side of my body (as if I were inverting). I then bring my right leg straight forward, my left leg back. Now, look at your butt – there should be a fabric on it. Legs should be straight here (bent legs = Poopy Technique).

2. Sassy librarian hair. AND a very wide straddle! After the fabric is on your butt & you scissor it between your legs, you should do the biggest, most indelicate straddle you possibly can. Your legs should be even, and straight out in front of you. DON’T allow one leg to go higher than the other – you should look as if you’re sitting on the floor.

3. Stilettos. Tap the taut (“live”) fabric with the left foot as you key over. Leg too low to tap? You’ve got Droopy Drawer Syndrome – your butt’s not high enough!

Many thanks to the stunning and gorgeous Ashley Ortiz (who I totally ambushed with these photos – heh heh).

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The Secret to a Sassy Hip Key

Heh heh heh – I DO love watching my Dear Danglers first attempts at hip keys – ya’ll are hilarious! I say that with lots of love. 🙂 There’s a whole lotta flailing going on up there! What to do? “To nail your key, hit all three!”

The 3 Parts of a Sassy Hip Key

I’m not going to go deeply into the physical mechanics of a hip key – your instructor can take you through that. But I WILL let you in on some secrets to make it smokin’ hot!

1. Red lipstick. OH – and a solid first position I like to call, “Look at your butt.” First, make sure your elbows are glued to your waist. Let’s say I’m keying right. I bring my fabric to the right side of my body (as if I were inverting). I then bring my right leg straight forward, my left leg back. Now, look at your butt – there should be a fabric on it, and your hip should be hiked up and squeezing towards your ribs (like a side crunch).  If it helps, you can think of putting your tiddly bits on the fabric! Legs should be straight here (bent legs = Poopy Technique).

2. Slutty legs (a very wide straddle)! After the fabric is on your butt & you scissor it between your legs, you should do the biggest, most indelicate straddle you possibly can. Your legs should be even, and straight out in front of you or above the horizon. DON’T allow one leg to go higher than the other – you should look as if you’re sitting on the floor.

3. Tap the taut (“live” or “pole”) fabric with the left foot as you key over. Leg too low to tap? You’ve got Droopy Drawer Syndrome – your butt’s not high enough!

Troubleshooting

1. You’ve got to walk before you can fly, friend! In-the-air hip keys require a solid inversion/back straddle. Not in the cards for you yet? Practice the position by wrapping it on the ground.

2. In step two, make sure you’re not dropping one leg in an effort to haul the other one over! Not only is it unproductive, but it’s spastic (in an ugly way, not a charming French-Canadian circus school kind of way).

3. Shallow straddle – In step two, that wild, indelicate straddle should scoot the fabric all the way to the upper thigh. Don’t be shy! Hint: if the fabric keeps winding up around your knees, straddle for all you’re worth and lift those feet!

4. SPEED KEY! I’m sad to say that your commitment to speed is no substitute for proper, sassy form. Also? No matter how fast you go, I still see you. Slow down, speed demon.

5. Not enough of an invert/rolling too early. If you’re not able to tap the fabric with the far leg as it cartwheels over, you’re not in a good position (good = fabric tail falling squarely over the lower back). Fun fix? Instead of rolling to the side to complete the key, invert straight back and eliminate the side roll to train yourself to get your hips up high enough. Once that becomes easy-peasy, add the key to the side back in.

6. Terrifyingly bent legs. No. No no no no no. NO. Shut. that. down. Work for straight legs every time. You can do it! If you train it, it will come.

Well, that’s all I have to say about that. Hope it wasn’t too confusing! Maybe I’ll post a demo pic or two when I get back.  I’m off to Wheel Weekend in Chicago! I’m super excited, and super nervous. Just hoping not to embarrass myself too badly! I’ll report back! Love and pull-ups, Laura

As always, if you like this post, share it on your blog, the F-books, Twitter, and wherever else you crazy kids are sharing things these days.