Lessons from Runners and Circus Artists!
People often ask me… if my special interest lies in circus and pole physiotherapy, how can I possibly understand or treat ‘general population’ injuries or athletes from other sports like running?
The answer is simple: the human body doesn’t change based on the sport, the principles of injury, healing, and performance are universal. Whether someone is sprinting down a track, hanging from a trapeze, or simply chasing after their kids, the same tissues, mechanics, and rehabilitation principles apply.
In fact, my background working with circus and pole athletes sharpens my clinical skills. These disciplines demand an intricate understanding of joint control, strength, flexibility, and injury prevention under extreme conditions, skills that translate seamlessly into managing all types of injuries, from everyday sprains to elite athletic performance issues.
Working with high-load, high-complexity athletes makes me more attuned to subtle compensations, movement patterns, and recovery strategies. This attention to detail allows me to provide excellent care to everyone, whether you’re training for a marathon, returning to the gym, or simply trying to move better day-to-day.
If I can rehab someone back to hanging upside-down one-armed from 5 meters in the air, I can certainly help you get back to your running program, your tennis game, or simply living pain-free.
How Runners and Pole/Circus Athletes Are More Alike Than You Think.
At first glance, runners and pole or circus athletes might seem like they’re from completely different worlds. One moves endlessly forward, pounding the pavement or trail; the other soars, flips, spins, and suspends from apparatuses in dazzling displays of strength and grace. But dig a little deeper, and you’ll find that these athletes share far more in common than you might expect.
In fact, the worlds of running and pole/circus arts are deeply intertwined through the fundamentals of athletic performance: discipline, resilience, body awareness, and an endless pursuit of self-mastery.
Let’s explore how.
- Discipline and Consistency Are Everything.
Whether you’re training for a marathon or mastering a handspring mount on a pole, success doesn’t happen overnight. Runners must build their mileage carefully over time, layering in strength and recovery to avoid burnout. Pole and circus athletes, similarly, commit to endless drills, progressive overload, and technique refinements. Both groups know: if you skip the basics or cut corners, you’ll pay for it later, often with injury.
- Strength, Endurance, and Power Matter.
It’s easy to underestimate the strength it takes to run a fast 10K or to deadlift into an iron-X on a pole. Both activities require:
- Muscular endurance (to last the distance or the duration of an act).
- Explosive power (to sprint up a hill or launch into an aerial trick).
- Core stability (to maintain control over form and movement).
Both runners and circus athletes know that how you move is just as important as how much you move.
- Injury Risk Is Part of the Game.
When your body is your instrument, injury prevention and recovery become a constant focus. Overuse injuries — like tendinopathies, stress fractures, and joint strain, are common in both worlds. Circus athletes battle hand, shoulder, and back injuries; runners commonly deal with knees, hips, and feet. Both groups benefit enormously from cross-training, mobility work, strength training, and listening (really listening) to their bodies.
- Mental Toughness Defines Success.
Physical prowess is important, but what truly separates the successful from the struggling is mindset. Both runners and pole/circus athletes cultivate:
- Grit: The ability to push through discomfort.
- Focus: The necessity of being present in the moment.
- Resilience: The courage to get back up after a fall, a failure, or a setback
Whether it’s facing “the wall” at mile 20 or climbing back on the pole after a bruising fall, mental strength is critical.
- Goal Setting and Progression.
Running often involves structured goals: new distances, faster times, specific races. Pole and circus arts work similarly, with performers chasing new tricks, longer routines, or more complex choreography. Both types of athletes are constantly setting, pursuing, and reassessing their goals, and finding joy not just in achievement, but in the journey toward it.
- The Joy of Movement.
At the heart of it, runners, pole dancers, and circus performers are connected by a shared love of movement. Whether it’s the rhythm of a long run or the flow of an aerial sequence, there’s a profound satisfaction in moving the body purposefully, skillfully, and expressively. Both disciplines remind us: movement is not just about fitness. It’s about freedom, creativity, and celebrating what the human body can do. Pole and circus athletes may glitter under stage lights, while runners often race under the open sky. But behind the scenes, they are united by an incredible work ethic, a deep respect for the human body, and an unstoppable passion for pushing limits. No matter what path you take, running, pole, circus, or simply becoming stronger in everyday life, the fundamentals of human performance and healing are the same.
And I’m here to support every step (or climb!) of your journey.
Warm regards,
Jane x
Chartered Physiotherapist & Founder of Pole Kinetics PT