How pole dancing changed the life of a woman with multiple sclerosis

Shelly Sutton is a 42-year-old woman who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in the year 2021. She is originally from Essex, UK, but is residing in Merthyr Tydfil as of now. Shelly’s life began to fall apart when she got to know about her condition.

After undergoing diagnosis at a hospital in Carmarthen, the doctors declared that there was little to no hope that Shelly might be able to walk again. However, an unusual thing that came to her rescue and proved the doctors wrong was Pole Dancing.

Yes, the exercise that has long been known for its bad reputation and is sexualized almost every time a person hears its name, is the one that helped Shelly regain her physical mobility and her confidence.

Let’s look in depth at how pole dancing helped a Multiple Sclerosis patient to dance her way out of her misery.

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Shelly and her struggle with multiple sclerosis

Shelly Sutton has relapsing and remitting Multiple Sclerosis (Image by Freepic.diller on Freepik)

Multiple Sclerosis is a disorder affecting the central nervous system of the body, resulting in the person losing their ability to balance or coordinate themselves. The fact that there is currently no available cure for MS makes this disease even scarier. However, certain drugs available can help reduce the symptoms.

Shelly Sutton is suffering from relapsing and remitting MS. As the name suggests, the symptoms get reduced for some time but tend to flare up suddenly in the relapse stage. The right side of Shelly's body was affected by the disease.

After knowing the doctor's verdict, all she was terrified of was that her life would be confined to a wheelchair. Despite this, she decided to give pole dancing a chance. Now almost two years later, she is doing her best while still dealing with the disease.

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Does pole dancing help with Multiple Sclerosis?

Pole dancing helps to engage all the muscles in the body (Image by Master1305 on Freepik)

Shelly decided that she had to regain control over her body and prove the doctors wrong, so she began to look for alternative methods to make her physical mobility better. Then, she stumbled upon "Pole2Fitness", a pole dancing studio owned by Lee Gardener in Aberbargoed, Caerphilly County.

Lee has been a pole dancer for 14 years and opened his studio about a year ago. He was very welcoming towards people from all backgrounds and aimed at destigmatizing pole dancing. He believes that pole dancing is a dance form that engages all the types of muscles in the body, and thus, can be helpful for Multiple Sclerosis patients.

Expressing her gratitude towards her instructor Lee, Shelly told BBC News:

“Before coming I could never get upside down on the pole, I’d never have dreamed of it. But with Lee’s help I’ve been able to master that.”

She also mentioned how this form of dancing not only helped her physically but also helped to regain her confidence. She said:

“Pole dancing is a way of life. It's not just a fitness class, it becomes like a family. Everyone's very together in that way, we support each other through the bad and good times.”

Even though there are several benefits of pole dancing, one must remember that there is not much research on this topic about the association of this dance form with the betterment of Multiple Sclerosis symptoms. Therefore, it is essential to talk to your doctor before getting started with any such exercises.

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Therefore, Shelly Sutton’s journey with Multiple Sclerosis shows how one can change their fate if they are determined to do so. It also sheds light on the importance of removing the stigma around pole dancing and understanding it is just another form of exercise.