Wrist Wraps for Pole Studios: A Guide for Studio Owners and Instructors

Many pole studios recommend wrist wraps, or keep a few pairs around for students to try, because pole puts a lot of load on the wrists very quickly and wraps give firm, warm support without getting in the way of grip. The simplest way to kit out a class is to help everyone measure their wrists, encourage each student to own a personal pair, and order together through our group buy, where everyone picks their own pair from one shared link and it all arrives in one parcel with one shipping fee. For anything bigger or more regular than a class order, studios can get in touch with us through our FAQ and contact page.

I teach pole myself at Pandora Art of Pole in Slovenia, so this is written from the instructor's side of the room. It's for studio owners and teachers who get asked about wraps all the time and want a simple, honest way to handle it.

Why do some pole studios keep wrist wraps on hand?

Pole is very hard on wrists in the early months. Students go from everyday life to hanging from their grip, pushing into the floor in floorwork and loading a bent-back wrist in shoulder mounts and handsprings, often within a few weeks. Surveys of pole dancers regularly put the wrist among the most commonly injured areas, behind the shoulder in one large international study (Lee, Lin and Tan, 2020).

That's why many instructors like to point students towards wraps. Firm compression around the joint feels reassuring when you're upside down, it keeps the wrists warm in a chilly studio, and it reminds students to notice whether their wrist is in a strong position. Having a pair or two at the studio lets a curious student feel what a wrap is like before deciding whether they want their own.

Wraps are one part of looking after wrists, and they work best alongside a proper warm-up, gradual progressions and conditioning. Our 10-minute wrist warm-up for pole and aerial is easy to fold into the start of any class.

When should an instructor suggest wraps, and when should they suggest a physio?

Wraps make sense for students whose wrists feel tired or achy after weight-bearing work, who are moving onto handsprings, shoulder mounts and inverts, or who simply feel more confident with some support. They're a support for healthy, hardworking wrists and not a treatment, so as instructors we shouldn't present them as a fix for pain.

Point a student towards a doctor or physio instead if they mention swelling after a fall, numbness or tingling that doesn't go away, pain that wakes them at night, a grip that has become weak, or pain that hasn't improved after a couple of weeks. Pain that sits in one spot and gets worse with every class is worth checking too. Our guide to wrist pain from pole dancing is a good thing to share with students who are unsure.

How do you size a whole class for wrist wraps?

Wraps are sized by wrist circumference, and guessing goes wrong more often than you'd think, so build five minutes of measuring into the end of a class. It only takes a few minutes for the whole room.

1. Hand out soft tape measures or strips of paper. A strip of plain paper about 1 cm wide works perfectly if you mark it with a pen and then hold it against a ruler.
2. Measure right on the wrist joint. That's where the wrap sits, across the small bony bump on the little-finger side, with the hand relaxed and the fingers loose.
3. Keep it snug and flat. The tape should lie flat against the skin without squeezing it.
4. Measure both wrists. They're often slightly different, and the larger one decides the size.
5. Write it down in centimetres, along with the student's name, so nobody has to remember it later.

Anyone between two sizes should take the smaller one, because the wraps are meant to feel firm. They come in two widths, 6 cm for a lower profile and 8 cm to cover more of the wrist, and 6 cm is the easier starting point for most pole dancers. Our full guide to measuring your wrist size is handy to drop into your class group chat.

How do you order wrist wraps for a whole class?

The group buy was made for exactly this. You start a group and share one link with your class, and each student opens it on their phone and picks their own design and size, so you don't have to collect anyone's choices or email addresses. Everything goes into one parcel with one shipping fee, and the discount grows with the group.

As the organiser, you can check out for everyone once they've picked, or close the group when your deadline arrives and check out then. If someone in the class measures as an XS or an L, those made-to-measure sizes can be requested inside the group too, so they're not left out. They usually take 1 to 2 weeks, and because they're made for that person they can't be returned under the 14-day withdrawal right, so double-check those measurements. Stocked sizes can be returned within 14 days if they're unworn.

If you'd like your class or team to match, choose a Regular design, because those are restocked. Limited Editions are single pairs, so they suit students who want something nobody else has. For the full step-by-step, including how to collect money from everyone, read our guide to organising a group order for your pole class.

If you're thinking about a larger order for the studio, or ordering regularly through the year, please get in touch with us through the FAQ and contact page and we'll talk it through with you.

Should students share wrist wraps?

I'd always recommend that each student has their own pair. Wraps sit against warm, sweaty skin for a whole class, so sharing them is a bit like sharing a towel, and public health advice for gyms and sports settings is to avoid sharing personal items like towels and to clean surfaces that touch bare skin (CDC). A personal pair also fits better, because it's the right size for that particular wrist.

If your studio does keep a few pairs for students to try on, a few simple habits keep things fresh.

• Treat them as try-on pairs for a short feel during class, and point students to their own pair if they want to keep using them.
• Wash them after every use, by hand in cool or lukewarm water with a little mild detergent, and let them dry flat and completely before they go back in the basket.
• Keep sizes labelled on the basket or shelf, so students try the size they measured.
• Don't lend them to anyone with a cut, broken skin or a skin irritation on the wrist.

How should students look after their own wraps?

A quick hand wash after sweaty classes, air drying flat away from radiators and closing the Velcro fastening before washing keeps the elastic firm for much longer. Our guide to washing wrist wraps is a nice one to share with a new class, along with the reminder to put wraps on before grip aid so the sticky stuff stays on the hands.

Masha's tip: Do the measuring in the cool-down at the end of class, while everyone's sitting on the floor anyway. Students are relaxed and chatty by then, and you can share the group link before anyone has even packed their bag.