You\u2019ve probably heard a friend or two commend the virtues of yoga. Among the many possible benefits of yoga are improved flexibility, reduced anxiety as well as depression, lowered chronic pain as well as even lowered blood pressure.<\/p>\n
However, if you\u2019re not careful yoga can also cause injury, specifically to your wrists, lower back, shoulders, elbows, knees, hamstrings as well as neck. In fact, a 2016 study found that yoga-related injuries have almost doubled from 2001 to 2014.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s have a look at the most common yoga injuries and how we are able to prevent them.<\/p>\n
When it comes down to your wrists, it\u2019s all about leverage. Putting all of your weight in your wrists when your hands are on the mat can lead to muscle as well as joint<\/a> injuries.<\/p>\n In any asana where you put weight on your hands, spread your body\u2019s weight through both hands by spreading them wide and then pressing through your fingers.<\/p>\n In the Downward-Facing Dog Pose (Adho Muka Svanasana), push your hips back in order to decrease the angle of your wrists versus the floor. In terms of arm balances, such as Crow Pose (Bakasana), look to see that your elbows are stacked directly over your wrists.<\/p>\n Lower back pain is the most often-cited yoga injury owing to rounding through the spine in asanas such as forward folds and downward dog, or \u2013 alternatively – keeping the legs too straight when going into an asana<\/a>.<\/p>\n Rounding results in the spine flexing in the opposite way it\u2019s supposed to, which can lead to disc problems as well as lower back muscular problems. Over-stretching the chief muscle groups in your back, or pushing muscles into elongation, is a recipe for injury as well as irritation.<\/p>\n In addition, it can hurt your SI (sacroiliac) joint, which connects the sacrum as well as the bones of the pelvis. The SI joint supports the spine. People injure the ligaments around this area below the lower back in poses when one leg is floating in the air, behind your body, in moves such as Warrior III or half moon.<\/p>\n The key to avoiding this injury is to spread your toes out and then push the bone under your big toe joint away from your body. This draws all of your leg muscles towards the bones, taking the pressure away from the SI joint.<\/p>\nHow To Find Relief<\/u><\/strong><\/h4>\n
Lower Back<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n
How To Find Relief<\/u><\/strong><\/h4>\n