The effect of pole dance training on the strength of shoulder joint rotator muscles

Pole dance is a performance art that involves performing acrobatic tricks and dance maneuvers around or on a vertical metal pole. Surveys have shown that around 40% of injuries related to this sport occur in the shoulder joint, with the most common cause of injury cited as positions involving internal rotation of the shoulder joint. The aim of this study is to characterize how high-level pole dance training affects shoulder joint rotation of practitioners. Shoulder internal and external rotation was assessed using isokinetic dynamometry in 10 high-level pole dancers and 10 controls. The parameters chosen for analysis were peak torque (N m), peak torque in relation to body weight, time to peak torque (ms), acceleration time (ms), and total range of motion (°). Pole dancers were found to have significantly increased torque production in internal rotation of the shoulder ( p < 0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in external rotation torque or total range of motion. The findings with regards to acceleration time and time to peak torque were inconsistent. These results suggest a specific strength adaptation to high level pole dance training, which warrants further research of its implications for shoulder biomechanics and injury risk.