Ajit Karn
The Most Common Yoga Injuries and How to Avoid Them
You have probably heard at least two friends rave about the benefits of yoga. Yoga has the potential to alleviate chronic pain, reduce anxiety and depression, increase flexibility, and even lower blood pressure.
However, this does not mean that improper yoga practice cannot also result in damage. Let’s examine the most prevalent yoga injuries and the means by which they can be avoided.
Overstretching is an asana-worrying ordeal.
Although the majority of yoga-related injuries are minor and often go unreported, there are instances of more severe complications such as fractures, dislocations, strains, and sprains.
In reality, injuries can occur at any moment, in any activity, or even while traversing the sidewalk; however, terrifying injuries are exceedingly uncommon. The majority of yoga-related injuries develop progressively over the course of years due to chronic misalignment and overstretching.
As with any physical activity, practicing the poses accurately and remaining in tune with your body to prevent overexertion are fundamental to yoga safety.
1. Wrists
When it comes to your wrists, it’s all about leverage. Placing all your weight in your wrists when your hands are on the mat can lead to muscle and joint injuries.
How to find relief
When holding onto your hands in any pose, distribute the weight of your body through both hands by spreading them apart and applying pressure through your knuckles.
By pushing your hips back in Downward-Facing Dog (Adho Muka Svanasana), you can reduce the angle of your forearms in relation to the floor. Expert advises that during arm balances such as Crow Pose (Bakasana), the elbows should be stacked precisely above the wrists.
2. Elbows
Elbow pain may ensue as a consequence of performing side-bends such as Low Plank (Chaturanga Dandasana). Although it may appear more manageable in practice, lowering oneself with forearms pointing outward can cause strain on both the wrists and elbows.
How to find relief
While performing a pose involving elbow flexion, especially Plank or Chaturanga, ensure that the elbows remain tucked in close proximity to the ribcage. Additionally, the creases of your forearms should face forward, Expert advises.
If this poses a significant challenge to your triceps strength, consider commencing the exercise with your knees bent on the floor. It is possible to approach the unaltered version through consistent practice.
3. Shoulders
Circumvent the sigh. By elevating the shoulders toward the ears (as in Urdhva Mukha Shvanasana’s Upward-Faceing Dog), you cease engaging the supporting muscles of the neck, arms, and shoulders.
Additionally, shoulder compression during shrugging can result in muscle injuries, according to Expert. Further, overextending or overstretching can easily cause damage to the shoulder girdle, rotator cuff, or even cause the joint to become dislocated.
How to find relief
Let go. Be careful not to pull too hard on your shoulders in stretches, and always keep them held back and down away from your ears, Livingston says.
4. Ribs
Twists are awesome for releasing tension, but if done improperly they can overextend or bruise the intercostal muscles (the muscles in between your ribs).
How to find relief
Lengthen upward through your spine before twisting. Imagine that someone has a string attached to the crown of your head and is very gently pulling you up toward the ceiling. Twist to the point of feeling a stretch but not past it, even if you’re flexible.
5. Lower back
Lower back pain is a frequently cited yoga injury, and teachers speculate that it’s likely the result of rounding through the spine in poses like Forward Fold (Uttanasana) and Downward-Facing Dog.
Rounding causes your spine to flex the opposite way than it’s supposed to, Livingston says, which can cause disc problems in addition to that achy feeling post-class.
How to find relief
Before hinging at the hips and bending down, imagine lengthening your spine up and away from your hips. This will help you avoid rounding in your spine.
If you’re still struggling to stay on the straight and narrow, try bending your knees in poses like Forward Fold and Downward-Facing Dog, Livingston says, since the culprit could be tight hamstrings.
During Seated Forward Fold (Paschimottanasana), try sitting on a blanket or block to take pressure off your lower back. This will also help you hinge forward even more.
6. Hamstrings
Spend most days sitting in front of a computer, in class, or in a car? Guilty as charged. As a result, many of us have tight hamstrings, so it’s easy to pull or overstretch them in poses like Forward Bend.
How to find relief
Downward-Facing Dog, Warrior I (Virabhadrasana I), and Crescent Lunge (Anjaneyasana) are great ways to stretch out your hamstrings. Just remember to go slowly and work at your own pace.
If you have any kind of hamstring injury, try laying off poses that extend through the back of your body until the injury heals.
7. Hips
It’s easy to overextend the range of motion in your hips in Split (Hanumanasana), Warrior II (Virabhadrasana II), and Wide-Legged Forward Fold (Prasarita Padottasana), Expert says, which might tear the muscles of your inner groin or inner thighs.
How to find relief
A good general rule is to make sure your toes are pointed forward in any pose where your hips are squared off in the same direction (think: Warrior I).
Imagine there are headlights attached to the front of your hips and you’re trying to keep the area straight ahead of you illuminated at all times.
8. Knee
Knee issues can plague even experienced yogis well after class. A common culprit of pain is the cross-legged position, Livingston says. Flexibility carries from your hips first — if your hips are tight in the pose, your knees will be the first place to feel pain or tension.
How to find relief
If you’re regularly bothered by knee pain, avoid sitting in cross-legged position or Full Lotus (Padmasana) for long periods unless your hips are already very flexible, Livingston says. Placing a block or rolled-up blanket under your knees in cross-legged positions can also help reduce strain.
For low lunges, place a blanket under your knees. Any time your knee is bent in a standing pose (such as in Warrior I and Warrior II), look to see that there’s a vertical line from your bent knee to your heel, Expert says. This ensures that your body is bearing weight properly.
Also read: Is Roof suitable Place For Yoga?
9. Neck
Headstand (Sirsasana) and Shoulder Stand (Sarvangasana) can be the worst culprits for neck pain and injury, says Skaarup.
Repeatedly and incorrectly placing pressure on your neck leads to compression and puts pressure on your cervical vertebrae. This can result in joint issues and, in some cases, loss of neck flexion.
How to find relief
For starters, always arrive with a beginner’s mind. When you see others doing cool upside-down postures, it can be tempting to give them a shot well before you’re ready. If you’re newer to yoga, master the modifications and build up your core and shoulder strength before trying these poses.
If you already have chronic neck or shoulder issues, it might be best to avoid full inversions altogether, Expert says. If you really want to advance your practice, attempt them only with close supervision and using props that elevate your neck away from the floor.
If you already practice the pose without props, make sure your shoulder blades are drawn down and back so they’re safely supporting your body. Most importantly, never jerk your head once you’re up in the pose, Skaarup says, because it can destabilize your body, possibly causing a fall.
