Whether you're a hobbyist or a professional performer, we know that injuries in the circus are far too common (Greenspan and Stuckley, 2023). So how can we mitigate our injury risk? One way is paying
attention to what our body is telling us. So what signs could imply an injury is looming?
The Inability To Concentrate
We have all been there. We are trying that trick we likely have done a hundred times before, but we know our brain isn't in it this time. This increases our risk of misstepping dramatically (Bolling, Mellette, Pasman, 2019). Perhaps we haven't slept well, or something outside of training is stressing us out. Whatever the cause, the moment we notice our concentration slipping is a sign we could be heading for an injury.
Usual Activities Hurt
Sometimes those moves we do so effortlessly, like a straddle up or a basic climb, can suddenly give us the “yuck” when they usually wouldn't. This could be a sign we are overdoing it and heading to an overuse injury (Greenspan, 2021), especially if we are feeling pain. It could also be a sign we are not giving ourselves enough recovery time between training sessions.
Can't Get Warm
We know a warm-up is essential to reducing injury risk (Hakim, Puel, Bertucci, 2020). However, sometimes, try as we might, we just can't get our body warm. This is a point where pushing through could lead to injury, as our body just isn't primed to handle the loads we put upon it.
So what could we do when our bodies tell us “not today”? Maybe it's the perfect opportunity to take a rest day, to come back stronger in the future. Or we could pivot the focus of our session to conditioning instead, reducing the load our body has to handle. Whatever the outcome, listening to our body will be the way forward to keep our injury risk to a minimum.
Reference:
Bolling, C., Mellette, J., Pasman, H. R., Van Mechelen, W., & Verhagen, E. (2019). From the safety net to the injury prevention web: applying systems thinking to unravel injury prevention challenges and opportunities in Cirque du Soleil. BMJ open sport & exercise medicine, 5(1), e000492
Hakim, H., Puel, F., & Bertucci, W. (2020). Injury assessment in circus student-artists population; preliminary study. Science & Sports, 35(3), 154-160.
Greenspan, S. (2021). Injury frequency and characteristics in adolescent and adult Circus artists: a pilot prospective cohort study. Medical Problems of Performing Artists, 36(2), 103-107.
Greenspan, S., & Stuckey, M. I. (2023). Untangling risk factors including discipline-specific exposure for injuries in preprofessional and professional circus artists in the USA. BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine, 9(2), e001551.
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