Sport
Aerial silks, the aerial hoop (lyra) and trapeze ask for a lot of pulling, hanging and trunk strength, shoulders that are strong at the top of their range, and the judgement to wrap and drop safely. In a year-long study of 201 US circus artists, aerial work had the highest injury rates per session, and the shoulder and lower back took the most injuries. The most serious injuries are falls: six women broke vertebrae falling from silks onto thin mats or none.
This guide covers what aerial asks of your body, the common injuries, mats, height and rigging, never training alone, wraps and drops, shoulders and hypermobility, coming back after breaks, skin, concussion and the circus stages for returning, who should skip going upside down, and aerial yoga's thin evidence. It includes a 15-minute warm-up and a 50-minute conditioning workout, with a 3D demo of every move.
In 201 US circus artists followed for a year, aerial apparatus had 4.26 injuries per 1,000 sessions, and apparatus fixed to the floor, such as Chinese pole and dance pole, 5.93, against 3.66 for the highest ground discipline. The shoulder took 22% of injuries and the lower back 13%.
Source 1
Six women aged 15 to 36 fell 1 to 5 m during supervised silks training and broke vertebrae where the middle back meets the lower back; four landed on mats under 5 cm thick and two on no mat, and four needed surgery.
Source 2
The National Centre for Circus Arts forbids "any aerial work, regardless of height" alone in a studio, and rigging your own equipment, and asks for a mat or a lower height for new skills. Rigging should be installed and inspected by a competent rigger; the International Pole Sports Federation (IPSF) requires one to rig its competition equipment.
A 2025 circus consensus sets 8 stages for circus artists, with inversions back at stage 4. Recreational aerialists in the UK follow the UK guidelines for grassroots sport, with no competition before day 21.
A 2025 review found no randomised trial of any intervention in circus artists. In other sports, strength training cut injuries to under a third, while stretching made no difference.
No trials of aerial yoga have been published. One uncontrolled study, sponsored by the American Council on Exercise, measured about 4.8 METs (metabolic equivalents) and 320 kcal in a 50-minute class.
Source 9
Aerial silk is two long lengths of fabric hung from one point, 14 to 20 m high in professional shows, climbed and wrapped round the body. The aerial hoop is a steel ring 90 to 100 cm across, hung from one or two points; at IPSF competitions it's a double-point hoop hung between the athlete's chin height and the height reachable with a small jump. Trapeze is a bar on two ropes, static or swinging. Researchers group these as "aerial", and apparatus fixed to the floor, such as Chinese pole and dance pole, as "aerial with ground elements".
Climbs, wraps and foot locks, inversions from a hang, beats (swings), rolls and drops on silks, and poses held in splits and backbends; on hoop and trapeze, mounts and balances on the bar.
Drops and fast descents load your body and the rigging suddenly. The circus concussion consensus gives "A sudden upward pull of the rigging lines as an aerialist is descending quickly, resulting in a rapid deceleration" as one way aerialists are concussed.
Source 5
13 recreational aerialists who trained at least twice a week had excellent flexibility, balance and aerobic fitness and average strength. In 201 circus artists, professionals did more pull-ups and had better handstand balance, fitness, and hamstring and straddle flexibility than pre-professionals.
The Compendium of Physical Activities has no value for silks, hoop or trapeze, so our calories calculator doesn't include them. Aerial yoga in a hammock measured about 4.8 METs in one uncontrolled study.
The sites the studies point to:
Repeated pulling and hanging, trunk strength to invert, shoulder control at the top of your range, flexibility you control rather than force, grip, and legs for dismounts and floor work, alongside the skill to wrap correctly.
The studies count injuries per 1,000 sessions, hours, artist exposures or performances, or ask what artists remember, and they define an injury differently. Figures in different lines aren't directly comparable.
The numbers, by group:
The shoulder took 22% of injuries in US circus artists and 27.7% in Dutch circus students, and caused the greatest clinical burden at a circus college. Across 6 studies of athletes, hypermobile athletes had about three times the odds of a shoulder injury, on low-quality evidence. Our shoulder pain, shoulder impingement, rotator cuff tear, SLAP tear and shoulder dislocation guides cover these.
The lower back took 13% of injuries in US circus artists and 15.8% in Dutch students. At a Berlin school, spine injuries were 28.6% of men's and 29.0% of women's accidents on apparatus such as trapeze, against 10.8% and 8.4% in floor acrobatics. Our back pain and spondylolisthesis guides cover back pain.
In Argentina and Paraguay, six women aged 15 to 36 fell 1 to 5 m (3.08 m on average) during silks training supervised by an instructor, and broke vertebrae where the middle back meets the lower back. Four landed on mats less than 5 cm thick and two on no mat; four needed surgery; none had nerve damage; and one fracture wasn't diagnosed for 4 days. The height of the fall didn't predict how bad the fracture was. We don't have a guide to spinal fractures after falls in young people yet.
Source 2
Head injuries were about twice as common on apparatus as in floor acrobatics at the Berlin school (14.3% and 16.1% against 8.1% and 7.7%), "due to the direct head contact with the equipment". Cirque du Soleil recorded 1.30 concussions per 10,000 artist exposures between 2010 and 2019, most in acrobats and most often from hitting the apparatus or another artist. Our concussion and neck pain guides cover these.
The wrist took 14.1% of injuries in Dutch circus students and 21.4% in aerial acrobats in Saudi Arabia. In a surgical series of 23 rope friction injuries of the hand, with aerial acrobatics among the causes, 9 had damage to vessels, nerves or tendons, deeper than they looked. An acne medicine, isotretinoin, made one trapeze artist's palms blister and break down. Our wrist pain and gymnast's wrist guides cover wrists; we don't have a skin injury guide yet.
Women had more hip and groin injuries in the US study, and a 12-week programme helped circus students with hip-related pain. The knee took 25% of injuries in aerial acrobats in Saudi Arabia, and the ankle 25% at an Australian circus school, where acrobatics and tumbling were the commonest cause of injury overall. Our hip impingement, hip labral tear, knee pain and ankle sprain guides cover these.
Aerial disciplines per session; adults rather than adolescents; women, and artists over 30, in professionals' medical-attention injuries; a history of an eating disorder (2.27 against 1.48 injuries per artist); fatigue, emotional exhaustion and low confidence (1.8 to 2.8 times the risk in Cirque du Soleil trainees); and the weeks after holidays and breaks. Baseline strength, flexibility, joint mobility and balance didn't predict injury, and coaches' ratings of how risky skills were didn't match the injury rates. These are associations.
A 2025 scoping review found no randomised trial of any intervention in circus artists. The circus school's rules and the concussion consensus are the main guidance, and the strength evidence is borrowed from other sports; each note says so.
Four of the six women who broke vertebrae landed on mats under 5 cm thick, and two on none; the surgeons conclude that "Rigorous training and the use of safety elements are necessary to avoid injuries". The IPSF's 4 cm mat is for competition hoops hung no higher than a small jump. The National Centre for Circus Arts asks for a mat or a lower height for new skills, and the circus consensus treats work below 1 m as lowest risk. Our suggestion: learn every new skill low, over a crash mat thick enough for the height (a thin exercise mat isn't a crash mat), and go higher only once it's repeatable.
For its competitions, the IPSF says "A competent professional who is capable and familiar with rigging human loads must always be used to rig the aerial equipment", with their own public liability insurance. The National Centre for Circus Arts tells members "Do not hard rig your own equipment", to use only rigging they've been inducted in, and to do a pre-use check. The circus consensus lists "appropriate equipment maintenance including rigging checks" first among ways to prevent falls. No study has measured these rules' effect. Our suggestion: rigging installed and inspected by a competent rigger, never a ceiling hook, light fitting or untested beam, and fabric, straps and connectors checked before every session.
"You must not train any activity with an increased risk while alone in a studio. This includes (but is not restricted to) Cyr wheel, handbalancing on canes or any aerial work, regardless of height." The circus consensus adds instruction for skills at height, and mats or spotting.
The consensus's own example: "An aerial acrobat incorrectly wraps the silks so they are not secure when performing a drop skill, resulting in a fall, hitting their head on the ground". Its ladder puts static holds, inversions and knee hangs below 1 m first, then full beats, slack drops and single-plane drops, and multi-planar drops and release moves at full height last. Our suggestion: your teacher checks every new wrap before you let go, and drops are learned low, slowly and one plane at a time.
Source 5
Across 25 trials in other sports (26,610 people), strength training cut sports injuries to under a third, while stretching made no difference. No trial has tested it in aerialists.
Source 8
34.5% of US circus artists met the criteria for hypermobility, but only 1.5% reported a connective tissue disorder, and joint mobility didn't predict injury. In 23 circus students whose shoulders were unstable without a specific injury, a 12-week shoulder programme delivered by telehealth improved symptoms and strength, with no comparison group. In 100 adults with hypermobile shoulders, heavier strengthening helped a little more than light exercise at 16 weeks. Our hypermobility guide's rules apply: strength and control first, in the middle of the range, and no hanging passively at the end of it.
In 29 performers on a Cirque du Soleil tour, one set of single-leg calf raises to fatigue on each leg, once a day on workdays for 9 weeks, raised calf endurance by about 23 raises, with 93.5% of sessions done, but lower-leg injuries didn't change (51.9% against 52.5%).
Source 32
At a circus college, injuries rose for 3 weeks after the summer and winter holidays and before exams. In professional acrobats, medical-attention injuries were 1.45 times as common after breaks, and the authors suggest that 2-day breaks every 4 to 6 weeks may be enough. Fatigue and emotional exhaustion went with injury. Our suggestion: come back from holidays and illness with shorter, lower sessions for 2 to 3 weeks.
No randomised trial of any intervention exists in circus artists, and the management studies included only 57 people. Screening tests of strength, flexibility and balance didn't predict who got hurt, and coaches' theoretical risk ratings didn't match the injuries seen.
No training trial has measured aerial performance (our search), so most of this is borrowed or our suggestion, and each note says so.
Professionals did more pull-ups, held handstands better and were fitter and more flexible in the hamstrings and straddle than pre-professionals; men had more shoulder flexibility and upper-body strength, and women more hip and lower-back flexibility and hip strength. Recreational aerialists had excellent flexibility, balance and fitness and average strength, with the hamstrings weaker than the thigh muscles on the non-dominant leg. These describe trained people; they don't show what training produces.
97% of vocational circus students said strength training was a required part of their training, on about 4 days a week.
Source 33
A 12-week shoulder instability programme delivered by telehealth during a COVID-19 lockdown improved symptoms, strength and shoulder-blade movement in 23 circus students aged 15 to 35, and a 12-week hip programme improved quality of life and strength in 28 circus students with hip-related pain. Neither had a comparison group, and the exercises aren't given in the summaries, so our workout doesn't copy them.
One set of single-leg calf raises to fatigue on each leg, once a day on workdays, built calf endurance in touring Cirque performers. Our conditioning workout includes it.
Source 32
No study has tested it. Our suggestion: full run-throughs at show intensity in the last 2 weeks, fewer new skills, and shorter sessions in the final days.
Our suggestion: 2 strength sessions a week, on lighter aerial days, with classes on the other days. After a holiday, 2 to 3 weeks of lower, shorter sessions, because injuries rose after breaks at a circus college and in a professional company.
From the National Centre for Circus Arts' Open Training code (last updated 31 October 2025) and health and safety statement (reviewed August 2021), and the IPSF's Apparatus Norms 2022 and Aerial Hoop Code of Points 2024 to 2025. No study has measured these rules' effect on injuries (our search).
For its open training members, in its own words:
Source 3
Training safety measures "may be reduced or absent for rehearsals or performance" only with the consent of the teachers and the year manager, case by case, once everyone agrees the performer can work safely that way.
Source 34
For aerial hoop and aerial pole at its competitions:
Source 4
Novice athletes (10 to 14) "are not permitted to perform aerial flips" or flip-outs, and a fall, "a sudden rapid uncontrolled drop onto the floor", costs 3 points. Athletes must be fit and healthy and not knowingly pregnant, as in pole.
Source 35
No UK circus body publishes a public code for home rigs that we could find. Our suggestion: only with a rig installed and inspected by a competent rigger, rated hardware, a crash mat and someone else there; never a ceiling hook, a light fitting or a beam nobody has checked.
Recreational aerialists in the UK follow the UK guidelines for grassroots sport: "If in doubt, sit them out", no return that day, NHS (National Health Service) 111 or a healthcare professional within 24 hours, a graduated return, and no competition before day 21. Our concussion guide has the stages.
Source 6
A 2025 circus-specific extension of the international concussion consensus says an artist "should not be permitted to return to any physical activity until they have been evaluated by an appropriately qualified" healthcare professional. It sets 8 stages, each lasting at least 24 hours:
Source 5
The consensus's earliest return, full training from day 8 and performance from day 9, is for circus artists supervised by a healthcare professional trained in concussion. Without one, and for young artists, its authors advise a slower return. In UK classes without such a clinician, the UK guidelines' day 21 applies, and in our reading the circus stages tell students and teachers which skills come back when.
The consensus's action plan: don't move the artist or take off their costume except to protect the airway or in immediate danger; don't send them home or leave them alone, and have a responsible adult watch them for at least 3 hours; no driving, alcohol, drugs, painkillers or anti-inflammatories until a healthcare professional clears them; and the show doesn't have to go on.
Source 5
We found no concussion policy from the IPSF or from a UK circus body. Our concussion guide covers the UK guidelines' stages.
Source 35
Skip inversions with glaucoma unless your eye specialist agrees, while high blood pressure isn't controlled, and after a recent wrist, elbow or shoulder injury, including a shoulder dislocation; ask your heart team first with heart disease, and don't start learning them in pregnancy. Hanging upside down in a hammock or a hip key can keep your head down for longer than a handstand (our reading).
A 51-year-old who felt faint hanging upside down in aerial yoga turned out to have a heart tumour blocking blood flow; it was removed and she went back to aerial yoga. It's a single case, but fainting or nearly fainting when inverted needs a GP, and fainting during exercise needs 999.
In a study sponsored by the American Council on Exercise, 16 active women averaged about 4.8 METs, 47.7% of their heart rate reserve and 320 kcal in a 50-minute class; after 6 weeks of 3 classes a week, their aerobic fitness rose by 10.9% and their systolic blood pressure fell by 8.6 mmHg (millimetres of mercury). There was no comparison group, and we found no peer-reviewed version.
Source 9
Our yoga types guide found no published trials of aerial yoga, so claims that it decompresses the spine, boosts circulation or detoxes the body have no evidence behind them. Hanging upside down raises eye pressure and blood pressure, as our handstand guide explains.
Source 9
Learn with a qualified teacher in a studio with a professional rig, keep inversions short at first, come down if you feel dizzy or unwell, and check the handstand guide's list before you go upside down.
Built on our warm-up guide and our climbing and gymnastics warm-ups (editorial): no aerial warm-up has been tested on injuries. The doses are those warm-ups', with the low tucks our suggestion; the checks follow the National Centre for Circus Arts' code.
Loading the 3D figure…
The movement on the figure: Scapular pull-up
Hangs and pulls for climbs, knee and leg raises and hollow holds for inversions, a support hold for hoop and trapeze mounts, shoulder care, pushing, grip and calves. Each has a 3D demo.
3D demoBar hangIntermediate · Pull-up bar + A step
3D demoScapular pull-upIntermediate · Pull-up bar
3D demoPull-upAdvanced · Pull-up bar
3D demoInverted rowIntermediate · Pull-up bar
3D demoHanging knee raiseIntermediate · Pull-up bar
3D demoHanging straight-leg raiseAdvanced · Pull-up bar
3D demoHollow body holdIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoRing support holdIntermediate · Gymnastic rings
3D demoStanding band external rotationBeginner · A band + An anchor point
3D demoProne Y-T-W raisesBeginner · No equipment
3D demoFace pullIntermediate · A band
3D demoPush-upIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoFarmer's carryBeginner · A dumbbell + A kettlebell
3D demoSingle-leg calf raise from a stepIntermediate · A step + A wallThe first two are new: a conditioning workout off the apparatus and a warm-up for class. The climbing, pull-up, dip and grip sessions add pulling, pushing and grip; the rest add shoulder care, hypermobility, gymnastics conditioning, flexibility, wrists and light exercise after a concussion.
A 50-minute session for aerialists: hangs, pull-ups and rows, knee raises, hollow and support holds, shoulder care, push-ups, legs, calf raises and grip work.
50 minIntermediate21 movesA band, Pull-up barA 15-minute warm-up for aerial classes: step jacks, shoulder circles, cat-cow, leg swings, wrist and finger work, shoulder-blade pulls, a graded hang and tucks.
15 minBeginner13 movesA wall, Pull-up barA 15-minute climbing warm-up: easy movement, shoulder and hip mobility, wrist and finger glides, scapular pulls, then hangs of 5, 10 and 20 seconds.
15 minBeginner9 movesPull-up bar, A bandA 30-minute antagonist workout for climbers: push-ups and presses, band rotations, Y-T-W raises and face pulls, wrist and finger extensions, and a side plank.
30 minBeginner13 movesA band, A dumbbellWork up to your first pull-up: dead hangs, scapular pulls, rows, negatives and assisted pull-ups.
25 minBeginner7 movesPull-up bar, A stepTrain for your first pull-up: hangs, shoulder-blade pulls, rows, band- or machine-assisted pull-ups, slow negatives and grip work in one session.
30 minBeginner8 movesPull-up bar, A stepBuild to a bar muscle-up: hollow holds, high pull-ups, deep dips and slow negatives, with transition drills and attempts while you're fresh.
30 minAdvanced7 movesPull-up bar, A stepWork up to bar dips: bent-knee and straight-leg bench dips, a support hold, slow lowering and assisted dips, then full dips and ring dips.
20 minBeginner9 movesA band, A bench or boxA 20-minute grip session: warm up the wrists and fingers, train the hand and forearm muscles, then carry and hang to load your grip the way everyday life does.
20 minBeginner10 movesOther / check instructions, A bandA 25-minute band routine for healthy shoulders: move the shoulder and upper back through their range, then strengthen the rotator cuff and shoulder blades.
25 minBeginner12 movesA wall, A bandA 25-minute low-load routine for hypermobile joints: hip, trunk and shoulder control plus balance, done slowly in the middle of your range.
25 minBeginner15 movesA bench or box, A wallA gymnastics warm-up: skips, wrist circles and rocks, shoulder work, cat-cow, hollow and arch holds, leg swings, short splits holds and landings.
15 minBeginner18 movesA band, A wallA gymnastics conditioning session: jumps from the youth vault trial, landings, wrist and shoulder strength, wall handstands, and hollow and arch holds.
45 minIntermediate22 movesOther / check instructions, A stepHard core training: ab wheel rollouts, hanging leg raises, L-sits, Copenhagen planks, plank walk-ups and dragon flags.
30 minAdvanced6 movesAn ab wheel, Pull-up barFront-split and middle-split days: hip flexor, hamstring and inner-thigh stretches, then strength in the stretched position. Alternate them 3 to 4 times a week.
25 minIntermediate16 movesA wall, An anchor pointBuild toward a handstand: wrist prep, dolphin pose, pike push-ups, crow, the wall handstand and freestanding holds.
25 minAdvanced8 movesA wallBuild toward a supported headstand: downward dog, forearm plank, dolphin, the walk-in, tucks at a wall, then the headstand with a slow way down.
15 minAdvanced6 movesA wallWrist mobility and forearm strength for desk work, climbing, push-ups and handstands.
10 minBeginner7 movesA wall, A dumbbellA 10-minute cool-down for after a run, a class or a gym session: a few minutes of easy movement, stretches for the muscles you used, then slow breathing.
10 minBeginner9 movesCardio machine, A wallA 20-minute light session after a concussion: a symptom check, 10 to 15 minutes of easy cycling or walking, gentle bodyweight moves and a cool-down.
20 minBeginner8 movesCardio machine, A bench or boxTwo strength sessions a week fit around aerial classes.
Two full-body strength sessions a week: the minimum that meets health guidelines, with every set, rep and rest, and an 8-week progression.
2 training days45 minBeginner3 days a weekA beginner gym plan: three full-body sessions a week, alternating workouts A and B, with sets, reps, rest and an 8-week progression.
3 training days45 minBeginner3 days a weekA 12-week calisthenics plan for beginners: three bodyweight sessions a week with push-up, pull-up, squat and dip ladders, and a bar if you have one.
3 training days40 minBeginnerThe PAR-Q+ (Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire for Everyone) asks about a heart condition or high blood pressure, chest pain, dizziness or losing consciousness, other long-term conditions and their medicines, a bone or joint problem that activity could make worse, and being told to exercise only under supervision. If you answer yes to any, check with your doctor or a qualified exercise professional first, and wait if you're ill.
Source 38
The spinal fractures came from falls of 1 to 5 m onto thin mats or none, and a wrong wrap on a drop is the consensus's own example of a fall. Learn with a teacher, over a crash mat, new skills low, drops only once the wrap is checked, and never alone.
The shoulder is circus's commonest injury site, a third of circus artists are hypermobile, and hypermobile athletes had about three times the odds of shoulder injury. See a physiotherapist, ideally one who knows circus; strength and control come first, and hangs stay out after a recent dislocation until you're cleared.
Adults had more injuries per exposure than adolescents, and professionals over 30 had more medical-attention injuries. Check the PAR-Q+ and build up gradually (our suggestion); our older adults guide explains more.
Injuries rose after holidays at a circus college and after breaks in a professional company. Take 2 to 3 weeks of shorter, lower sessions (our suggestion).
These went with 1.8 to 2.8 times the injury risk in Cirque du Soleil trainees. Rest, tell your teacher, and choose easier skills that day (our suggestion).
Source 27
A history of an eating disorder went with more injuries, 35.7% of adolescent girls in the US study had had periods stop, and low energy availability harms health and performance. See a GP; our eating disorders and menstrual cycle guides explain more.
Our handstand guide explains how hanging upside down raises eye pressure and blood pressure; skip inversions unless your specialist agrees. A near-faint upside down in aerial yoga led to one woman's heart tumour being found, so see a GP after fainting or nearly fainting.
The acne medicine made one trapeze artist's palms blister and break down. Tell your teacher and your prescriber, and build up time on the apparatus gradually (our suggestion).
Source 17
The NHS advises against sports with a risk of falling or bumping your tummy in pregnancy, and IPSF competitors must not be knowingly pregnant. Aerial work carries a risk of falling (our reading): don't start in pregnancy, and if you already train, ask your midwife.
Our epilepsy guide explains that the International League Against Epilepsy puts climbing in its high-risk group. Aerial arts aren't named; in our reading, aerial work at height is like climbing. Agree it with your neurologist, and never train alone.
Children's circus programmes reported physical and social benefits, mostly in studies without a comparison group. Under-15s may not flip off a competition hoop, and at the National Centre for Circus Arts under-14s train only in youth classes and "must be supervised by an adult at all times". Choose a qualified teacher, and see our gymnastics page's growth-spurt advice and our children's guide.
Follow the UK guidelines, with no competition before day 21; inversions come back at the circus consensus's stage 4. Our concussion guide has the stages.
The circus action plan's red flags are neck pain or tenderness, a seizure, loss of vision or double vision, loss of consciousness, increasing confusion or drowsiness, weakness, numbness or tingling in more than one arm or leg, repeated vomiting, a severe or worsening headache, increasing restlessness or agitation, and a visibly deformed skull. Call an ambulance, and don't move them except to protect the airway or in immediate danger. The NHS also says to call 999 if someone who hit their head has fallen from a height of more than 1 metre or 5 stairs.
If in doubt, sit them out: off the apparatus at once and no return that day. Get help from NHS 111 if they're being sick, feel dizzy, or take medicine that thins the blood.
Call 999 or go to A&E (accident and emergency) for back pain that started after a serious accident, or with pain, tingling, weakness or numbness in both legs, loss of feeling around your genitals or bottom, or changes in your bladder or bowels. One silks fracture wasn't diagnosed for 4 days, so get any fall onto your back checked, even if you can walk (our suggestion).
After a sudden stop at the end of a drop, ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 if you have tingling or pins and needles on one or both sides of your body, problems walking or sitting upright, a sudden electric-shock feeling in your neck and back, or weak hands, arms or legs. See a GP if neck pain or stiffness doesn't go away after a few weeks.
Unwrap and change position (our suggestion). See a GP if pins and needles are constant or keep coming back; our meralgia paresthetica guide covers numbness of the outer thigh from pressure at the front of the hip.
Source 46
Call 999 or go to A&E if you can't stop the bleeding, lose feeling near the wound or have trouble moving it, have a bad cut on the palm of your hand, or the wound is very large or deep. Rope friction injuries of the hand can go deeper than they look.
Go to A&E if you can't move your arm or your shoulder looks out of place or has changed shape. Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 for sudden or very bad shoulder pain, pins and needles that don't go away, or pain that started after a fall.
Call 999 if someone faints while exercising, or for sudden chest pain that doesn't go away, or pain that spreads to your arms, neck, jaw, stomach or back.
Only if it's wrapped correctly: the circus consensus's own example is a wrong wrap, a fall and a head strike, and six women broke vertebrae falling 1 to 5 m during supervised silks training.
Four of the six women with spinal fractures landed on mats under 5 cm thick, and two on none. The IPSF's 4 cm mat is for competition hoops hung no higher than a small jump.
No trial of aerial yoga has been published (our yoga types guide), and hanging upside down raises eye pressure and blood pressure (our handstand guide). The one study measured intensity and fitness, not any of these.
Source 9
No rule or study sets a flexibility requirement (our search). Recreational aerialists were very flexible and a third of circus artists were hypermobile, but that describes people who already train, and flexibility didn't predict injury.
The IPSF uses competent riggers with liability insurance and hoops rated to a working load of at least 3 kN, and the National Centre for Circus Arts forbids rigging your own equipment. Rigging should be installed and inspected by a competent rigger.
80% of Cirque du Soleil injuries with exposure data needed 7 or fewer treatments, and professional circus injuries are mostly minor soft-tissue injuries. Serious falls do happen, which is why mats, height and rigging matter.
97% of vocational circus students said strength training was required, professionals did more pull-ups than pre-professionals, and strength training cut injuries across other sports; it hasn't been tested in aerialists.
No study has measured the energy cost of silks, hoop or trapeze, and the Compendium has no value for them; aerial yoga measured about 4.8 METs in one uncontrolled study. Our weight loss guide covers what works for weight.
Injuries are common, mostly to muscles and tendons: in a year-long study, aerial apparatus had about 4 injuries per 1,000 sessions, among the highest rates in circus. The serious injuries are falls, and six women broke vertebrae falling 1 to 5 m from silks onto thin mats or none. Learn with a teacher, low, over a crash mat, and never train alone.
The shoulder (22% of injuries in US circus artists) and the lower back (13%), with wrists, knees and ankles in other groups. Falls and hitting the apparatus cause the head and spine injuries.
It builds pulling, grip and trunk strength and flexibility: recreational aerialists had excellent flexibility, balance and fitness, and professionals did more pull-ups than pre-professionals. Its energy cost hasn't been measured, and the Compendium of Physical Activities has no value for it.
Hangs, pull-ups and rows for climbs, hanging knee raises and hollow holds for inversions, rotator cuff and shoulder-blade work, pushing to balance the pulling, grip, and legs for dismounts. No programme has been tested on aerial injuries, but strength training cut injuries in other sports, and our conditioning workout puts these together.
Only with a rig installed and inspected by a competent rigger, rated hardware, a crash mat and someone else there. The National Centre for Circus Arts forbids rigging your own equipment and aerial work alone at any height, and competition hoops are rigged by competent professionals with their own insurance.
Rig height is a question for a competent rigger, and we found no UK standard for it. For learning, height is the risk: the circus concussion consensus treats work below 1 m as lowest risk, and the silks fractures came from falls of 1 to 5 m.
Stop at once, don't go back that day, and see a healthcare professional. Recreational aerialists follow the UK guidelines, with no competition before day 21; the circus consensus brings inversions back at stage 4, with an earlier return only for circus artists supervised by a clinician trained in concussion.
No trials of aerial yoga have been published, so claims about decompression, circulation or detox aren't supported. Hanging upside down raises eye pressure and blood pressure, so skip inversions with glaucoma or uncontrolled blood pressure, and see a GP if you feel faint upside down.
Yes, with strength first. A third of circus artists met the criteria for hypermobility, and flexibility didn't predict injury, while a structured programme helped circus students with unstable shoulders. Strength and control in the middle of your range come first.
Children's circus programmes reported physical and social benefits, mostly in studies without a comparison group. Competition hoop rules keep flips out of the under-15 category, and a national circus school keeps under-14s to youth classes with adults supervising. Choose a qualified teacher, low heights and crash mats.
Exercise education for people who play sport, not a personal prescription or a diagnosis, and clinical review of these pages is pending. Check with a GP or physiotherapist before hard training if you have a heart condition, chest pain, dizziness or an injury that isn't settling, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
