Yoga is supposed to be the source of your mental and physical health. It must bring your body and mind in complete harmony. As it improves the energy, respiration, and vitality of your being, it is widely practiced everywhere. However, an unpleasant aspect of yoga (and other workouts) is that it may cause personal injury to you. According to research conducted recently, yoga injuries have doubled in the last two decades.
If you are intending to practice yoga as your fitness regime, you should be aware of the following common injuries and know how to avoid them:
1. Wrist Injuries
There are many yoga poses that put pressure on your wrists. Poses such as the plank, side plank, downward facing, crow and handstand are very common that are done incorrectly and cause injury to the practitioners.
So, in order to avoid wrist injuries, consider on your wrist alignment in the basic poses as well. Moreover, if you warm up properly, and keep the weight equal between knuckles and thumb, will prevent your wrists from getting injured.
2. Injuries Related To Lower Back
This is the most commonly reported injury while performing yoga. Because it involves poses such as downward dogs or forward folds or keeping the legs too straight, it can cause lower back pain. When the major muscle in the back is over-stretched or these muscles are elongated, the chances of getting injuries becomes higher.
Moreover, it can also hurt the sacroiliac joint which supports the spine and connects the bones of the pelvis with the sacrum. One way to prevent this injury, you should spread the toes out and push the bone beneath the big toe away from your body. Since, this pulls the muscles of your legs towards bones and takes the pressure away from the sacroiliac joint.
3. Shoulders And Elbow Injuries
Shoulders and elbows are also very common areas of the body to receive injuries. The repetitive strain injuries associated with the musculoskeletal or nervous system. These injuries are developed overtime when a pose is repeatedly done wrong. Most often these injuries occur while performing the chaturanga pose incorrectly or performing vinyasas too much over the years.
Many yoga classes and fitness instructors use chaturanga pose to make yoga more effective. But if the person is fatigued, he or she should skip this pose.
4. Knee Injuries
There are many cases when people feel discomfort, strain, and pain in the knees while performing yoga. This is mainly because of the tight hips and preexisting injuries.
A study published a decade ago stated that yoga can lead to a meniscus tear- this is the reason why you should keep knee over your ankle while performing lunges. Also in the bending position, your knees should be aligned with the second middle toe.
5. Hamstring Injuries:
When a person folds forward without contracting the front side of the body, lower abdomen, and quadriceps, hamstring yoga injuries occur.
When your body’s front side is stable, the hamstrings feel safe. When the stretch of hamstring comes from the back body only, the risk of injuries becomes much high.
To prevent this injury, consider engaging the outer hips to midline before bending forward.
Many face injuries during yoga or Pilates can become damaging to their life. The key to prevent any injury is to avoid going past your limits.
5. Hamstring Injuries:
When a person folds forward without contracting the front side of the body, lower abdomen, and quadriceps, hamstring yoga injuries occur.
When your body’s front side is stable, the hamstrings feel safe. When the stretch of hamstring comes from the back body only, the risk of injuries becomes much high.
To prevent this injury, consider engaging the outer hips to midline before bending forward.
Many face injuries during yoga or Pilates can become damaging to their life. The key to prevent any injury is to avoid going past your limits.
And make sure to skip the CrossFit workouts as well since CrossFit sucks for injury prevention and treatment as well.
