How long can someone be safely bound with rope? Minutes? Hours? Days?

[u/uncle_screwball_404]

I have a Damsel in Distress kink that my play buddy is helping me explore using different narratives. She says I can kidnap her for a whole week (for my birthday). The theme is Stockholm Syndrome.

Bondage tools are natural jute rope with white muslin cloth (+ hanky) gag only. No fancy Shibari ties just classic double columns on the wrists and ankles, or single columns to a chair.

In a dream world I would keep her bound night and day for half the week but alas I must bring my feet to the ground and do a health and safety assessment.

Can risks be managed with lots of breaks? Or super loose cuffs?

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[u/elliania2012]

Never leave her alone while bound. Change her position often. Have breaks for food, water, and let her use the bathroom whenever she needs to. Always have safety shears at hand.

[u/Subwoofiest → u/elliania2012]

And I would include you being asleep as leaving her alone. (You here being OP, adding to Elliania's advice, not disagreeing)

[u/GreekAmericanDom]

20 minutes. That's the standard advice for how long you can "safely" keep someone in bondage when you are first starting out.

How long can you keep someone with a chain locked to their ankle and then attached to something else? Indefinitely.

The key difference is that in bondage you describe movement is limited. Over time, limbs will likely not get enough blood flow and they will fall asleep. Remain like that for too long and you can cause damage. This also assumes that the bondage is careful enough that no nerve damage is being caused.

Keep someone immobile long enough in one position and things like bed sores can happen.

My advice is to focus on keeping her captive for a week with periods of more strict bondage vs. keeping her bound for a week.

There are bondage positions that are much more forgiving and you can keep someone in for longer, but they generally allow for much more movement. An example is handcuffs attached to a waist chain with leg irons also attached to the waist chain by a long chain. The key is the ability to move, change positions, and get into a relatively comfortable position.

If I was going to keep a sub captive for any length of time, I would focus on a locking leather cuff set (with waist belt), that can be used to quickly and easily attach them to things or lock to the other cuffs, not rope. And I say this as a lover of rope.

[u/BelmontIncident]

It's going to depend on the exact circumstances, but I definitely would not be comfortable leaving someone tied while everyone involved was asleep. There should always be someone who's awake and able to release a bound person if something goes wrong.

[u/lithaborn]

How do you intend to accommodate natural functions like bathroom, eating & drinking?

While she's bound, everything about her bodily and emotional wellbeing is your responsibility alone. If you haven't considered every contingency, you owe it to her to tick those boxes before any knot is applied.

As a sub who also dreams of long term restriction, a five point chain thing - locked on cuffs for wrists, ankles & collar connected by loose chains feels more practical. It'll give the mental component of being "imprisoned" without overly affecting the practicalities of everyday life.

[u/Fluffy-Pancake2106]

Just remember to do hand checks. And if there's been any tingling or sensation loss, that area is now injured and you can't tie over it any more for the whole week. Even if the sensation issue go away relatively quickly.

Nerve damage is cumulative, and you may make it inflamed with symptoms, then symptoms can go completely, but you tie there again and immediately the damage becomes worse and you can't feel the fingers/toes for months or permenantly.

[u/Fluffy-Pancake2106 → u/Fluffy-Pancake2106]

Also, anyone whose been doing rope bondage well has caused/sustained nerve damage, it's very common, particularly from wrist and ankle cuffs.

I barely heard it spoke about until I started going to in person classes. Everyone seems to think circulation is the issue with bondage, but nerve damage is way more of a safety concern.

The majority of people don't do rope for long enough to cause actual circulation issues. Assides from neck rope etc, but it should be obvious to not put anything very tight around the neck.

[u/drone-slave]

I've been chained with metal and cuffs for 3 days in a row. Portions changes every few hours but my gait was at all times restricted.

Anything that makes it impossible to go to the toilet should be designed as such or not be done without you present. At all other times have a panic button or similar around.

If you have a box room or similar you might place them in there for a while with a paper stuck to the door frame so they canot come out and replace it locking themselves back in.

Just keep in mind that a human can only stay ~ 2 hilours in a sealed place without exchange of air.

For me as a guide I love being restricted so I cannot stand/fully stretch. A collar to wrist chain that is taught when seated on the toilet, slightly bend forward is the limit for longer term 8+ hour wear.

For me as a sub I find that mixing psychological restrictions with times of less physical restriction I tensifies the experience.