yoga injuries

Beginner’s Guide to the Most Common Yoga Injuries

No wonder that yoga helps you enjoy good physical and mental health. It is a gentle and natural way for you to live with less stress and more happiness. Unfortunately, not following the right body alignment and adjustment does lead to yoga injuries for many.

Yes! Injuries are indeed a part of every workout, that can be as simple as walking in the park. Unfortunately, yoga injuries take time and develop slowly over the years of continuous misalignment and overstretching.

Yoga experts have come up with some of the most common yoga injuries which can occur as a result of poor yoga practice.

Yoga Injuries You Should Know About

Given below are five yoga injuries that occur due to poor body alignment and adjustment.

1. Wrists

Your wrists are a small joint that becomes aggravated with the overuse of computers, especially typing and texting. Moreover, there are yoga postures that require you to be on the wrists. Yoga asanas like Downward Dog, Plank, Side Plank, and Handstand require a good amount of wrist strength.

With wrists, it is all about leverage. However, putting the entire body weight on your wrists with both hands on the mat can lead to muscle and joint injuries.

To help you avoid yoga injuries related to the wrists, yoga experts have a few simple tips:

  • Do not cup your palms and turn the fingers inward.
  • Do not take your shoulders too far past your wrists.
  • Use a yoga prop or towel to take the extra stress off your wrists.
  • Place your knees on the ground to modify the asanas.

2. Lower Back

The most common of all yoga injuries is the one in your lower back. It occurs as a result of the rounding your spine in poses like Forward Fold and Downward Dog. A lower back injury can occur as a result of your legs being too straight when going into specific yoga asanas.

Moreover, the rounding causes your back to move opposite to the way it is supposed to. This further leads to disc problems and lower back muscle issues.

To help you keep this problem at bay, yoga experts have a few simple tips to offer:

  • Bend both knees in forward fold asanas to let the lower back decompress.
  • Maintain a micro-bend in your knees throughout the entire yoga practice.
  • Slow down during yoga twists. Move in and out of these at very slow speeds and with deep breaths.
  • Engage your lower belly. A good core strength contributes immensely to a strong and safe back.

3. Knees

Perhaps, another common yoga injuries which you experience when starting with yoga is a knee injury. It occurs as a result of tight hips or preexisting injuries. Yoga experts recommend that your knee should always be over your second middle toe when in a bent position.

Moreover, you should never let the knee cave inwards. At the same time, try to roll the thigh and butt underneath you. Keep your knee towards the pinkie toe side of the foot. Just remember to maintain a micro-bend in your knee. Under no circumstances should you lock the knee out.

4. Elbows

Pain in your elbows results from bending them out to the sides during yoga asanas like Chaturanga Dandasana. Although it might appear to be simple but lowering down with outward-facing elbows puts unnecessary stress on your elbows and wrists.

Do not worry! Yoga experts have the right information to help you keep this issue at bay.

When bending the elbows in a specific yoga asana, keep them tucked alongside your ribs while bending them.

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5. Ribs

The worst way to suffer yoga injuries is the one that occurs in your ribs. Yes! Yoga twists are an awesome way for you to release all tension and stress. However, if done improperly these can injure the Intercostal muscle which are the muscles in between your ribs.

To avoid this situation, you should extend upward through your spine. Do this by imagining that a string of thread attached to the crown of your head is pulling you toward the ceiling. Twist to feel a gentle stretch and not beyond it even if you are flexible enough to do it.

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Conclusion

Want to practice yoga safely without putting your body at risk? Refer to this guide and learn about the most common yoga injurues and how you can prevent them in the first place.