Yoga Can Lead To Bone And Muscle Pain If Not Done Right

Yoga is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices. It is a fast growing trend and yet it's so old. What once was known only as an ancient spiritual practice among the Indians, yoga is now recognised as a worldwide trend and a full-blown industry on many aspects on a scale never seen before. Does it mean that more people need stress-relief now more than ever and they are turning to an age-old practice? That's just one of several strong reasons for practising yoga. As per the ASSOCHAM recent estimates, there is about a 30-40% annual increase in demand for Yoga learning in India with a growing publicity and health awareness. This demand trend is likely to accelerate.

People across the world believe yoga to be an alternative or complementary remedy to cure musculoskeletal disorders but latest study states yoga is not as healthy and benefiting as it was previously claimed to be.

The new scientific study conducted by University of Sydney and Mercy College in New York, claims yoga can worsen prevailing wounds and lead to bone and muscle pains. The findings, published in the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, come from the first prospective study to investigate injuries caused from recreational participation in yoga.

Professor Evangelos Pappas, of Sydney University, the study's lead researcher said: "Yoga may be a bit more dangerous than previously thought."

For this study participants aged around 45 years were chosen. They were all based in New York and regarding their experience, they ranged from beginners to advanced yoga followers with nearly 20 years of experience. A total of 354 individuals who practiced yoga were included and then they were followed up for a year. At the end of the year they were given a questionnaire to fill up and were assessed according to their answers. Around 74% of the participants however reported a significant improvement in their low back and neck pain after yoga practice.

Also read: Yoga Can Save You Not Just From Stress But Cancer Too

But the study also found that the incidence of pain caused by yoga is more than 10% per year - which is comparable to the rate of all sports injuries combined among the physically active population, However people consider it to be a very safe activity. Unfortunately, this injury rate is up to 10 times higher than has previously been reported.

In terms of severity, more than one-third of cases of pain caused by yoga were serious enough to prevent yoga participation and lasted more than 3 months.

Most of these injuries tended to be located in the upper extremities, such as in the shoulders, elbows, wrists, and hands. Researchers explain that upper limbs or arms are not weight bearing and putting the body weight on them is not desirable. In yoga there are several postures that involve putting the weight of the whole body on the outstretched hands and arms with downward dog postures and inversions of the body. This could be a reason for the worsening of the upper limb painful conditions say researchers.

 Four poses in particular can be risky, especially for those with injuries. These include the Padmasana, Paschimottanasana, Marichyasana III and Chaturanga Dandasana. For example, you’ll want to forego Padmasana if you already have knee or ankle pain, while those with disk pain will want to steer clear of Paschimottanasana.

These findings can be useful for clinicians and individuals who usually live in denial, to compare the risks of yoga to other exercise enabling them to make informed decisions about which types of activity are best.

Pain caused by yoga might be prevented by careful performance and participants telling yoga teachers of injuries they may have prior to participation, as well as informing their healthcare professionals about their yoga practice.

"We recommend that yoga teachers also discuss with their students the risks for injury if not practiced conscientiously, and the potential for yoga to exacerbate some injuries. "Yoga participants are encouraged to discuss the risks of injury and any pre-existing pain, especially in the upper limbs, with yoga teachers and physiotherapists to explore posture modifications that may results in safer practice" he added.

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