Mom Paralyzed After Pole Dance Stunt Goes Awry

Sept. 17, 2010— -- The recent pole dance fitness craze has taken a traditional strip-club act into the realm of sport and self-expression -- but as with any athletic activity, risk of injury is ever-present, especially when you're dangling upside-down by your ankles, four feet off the ground.

The dangers of pole acrobatics were made clear recently when a 32-year-old U.K. mother of two fell on her head while performing a trick, breaking her neck and severely damaging her spine, according to the U.K. press.

Debbie Plowman of Haxby, U.K., was no newbie. She had been pole dancing for two years and had performed the move that injured her, a cross-ankle release, many times before. She initially was paralyzed and now, nine months later, remains unable to talk or breathe on her own, though she has regained limited movement in her neck, shoulders and stomach, the U.K. press reported.

Pole-themed fitness classes like the one Plowman frequented have brought pole dancing to the masses, filling gyms with amateur enthusiasts and first-time polers. But while pole acrobatics increasingly may be seen as something fun, flirty and empowering, that doesn't mean it should be taken casually. Without proper training, students of the pole easily can get hurt.

"It's a risky sport," said Alexandra Hellquist, 24, a New York-based actor and former pole dance instructor who founded the Brown University Poler Bears pole-dancing troupe when she was a student there.

"You are upside down and using muscle groups you usually don't use in your everyday life," she said. "Any time you have acrobatics and aerial stunts, it's going to have a lot of risk involved.

"I think the fact that it has spread to gyms is a great thing for the art," she added. "But I would really hope that instructors would bear the responsibility of impressing upon their students that it carries its dangers. Safety needs to be your number one priority."