Torn Suspension Hook

Occasionally while performing a suspension, one of the hooks can put enough pressure on the skin to tear it. Generally the person suspending can feel the skin beginning to tear and will be able to come down before further damage is caused. Very rarely the hook will rip right through the skin before the person can get their weight off it.

This isn't a risk beginners generally need to worry about, as people tend to start with suspensions with hooks placed in the back (which is very tough), or with many hooks spreading the weight evenly. Ripping most often happens during chest suspensions, as some people have very thin skin on the chest, or during knee suspensions where too few hooks are used. And of course some torn out hooks come from people doing stupid things, like trying to suspend from a single elbow, or trying to lift their 200lb friend while in the air. If you are concerned that your skin seems very thin in the area you wish to suspend from, speak to your suspension team; they may recommend using more, or thicker, hooks than normal, to spread the weight more evenly.

The consequences of the skin tearing are not severe, suspension teams carry suture kits to allow the quick repair of any tears. A torn out hook will probably leave a scar, the size of which will depend on how long the tear was, where on the body it was, and how the person heals.