Have you ever suffered from lower back pain after yoga practice? Do you have nagging aches and pains in your joints that just won’t seem to go away? If so, you’re not alone. Though major injuries from yoga practice are relatively rare, minor strains and sprains are among the most commonly reported injuries in regular yoga practitioners.
A 2016 study published in the Orthopaedic Journal of Sports medicine reports that sprains to the shoulders, upper trunk and lower trunk account for nearly 47% of reported yoga injuries from 2001 to 2014. A separate review cites a survey of more than 1300 mainly North American yoga teachers and therapists. Interviewees gave numerous anecdotal reports of minor injuries to the spine, shoulders, and joints amongst their regular yoga students and clientele.
Because yoga provides such a simple, time-tested way to relieve the tension from daily stresses such as prolonged sitting or long commutes, the idea that lower back pain or joint discomfort can arise as a result of yoga practice can be a bit counter-intuitive. Many people have found relief from aches and pains by using yoga to release tension that arises from repetitive daily activities. This release in tension and re-mobilization of the major joints can be very effective in facilitating pain free and free flowing movement patterns, which is why so many people turn to yoga for relief.
However, while establishing a healthy range of motion in your muscles and joints is an important component of realizing a pain free lifestyle, it is still possible to push things too far. If you have a preexisting injury, push too hard while stretching, or cultivate too much flexibility in your joints without strengthening them as well, aches, pains, and injury are more likely to result.
While practicing mindfully and respecting your own boundaries can go a long way in keeping you safe while you practice, Boston based strength and conditioning coach Corey Burns teaches that integrating simple cross-training techniques into your existing routine can help as well. Burns notes that every joint in your body requires a combination of both mobility and stability in order to remain pain free and healthy. Ankles for example, require mobility to navigate unstable terrain and stability to brace the impact of abrupt landings. The knee requires mobility so that it can deliver strength to the hips for movements such as standing walking and jumping. At the same time, the supportive structures around the knee must be strong enough to provide stability during these motions. In all of these examples, if either mobility or stability is lacking, injury is likely to occur.
Unfortunately, many of the joints that we tend to mobilize the most frequently in a yoga practice are also the joints that are the most likely to have problems when overstretched. Burns states that the shoulder joint and the hip joint in particular have less support from other bony structures and ligaments than do other, more stable joints such as the ankle or the knee. In the shoulder in particular, only 25-30 percent of the head of the humerus (arm bone) is covered by the socket (glenoid fossa). This very small amount of contact is what gives the shoulder its amazing range of motion. However, this very same lack of structural support also makes the shoulder very reliant on strength in the surrounding musculature if injury is to be prevented.
Coach Burns notes that the hip also shares very similar characteristics to the shoulder. In both instances, overuse injuries are seen at the shoulder and hip when the supporting musculature isn’t strong enough to support these joints. Muscular imbalances can also arise if these locations are overstretched. Because of this, A yoga practice that emphasizes deep back-bends, forward-folds and twists without reinforcing these joints with additional strengthening techniques is more likely than not to either cause or exacerbate pain in areas such as the lower back or the shoulders over time.
If you’ve ever suffered from aches and pains after a yoga practice, integrating a few simple cross-training practices into your weekly yoga routine might help. Coach Burns recommends that you practice the following 5 exercises three times per week for best effect.
Start with a comfortable weight and do three sets of seven to ten repetitions per exercise.
The Goblet Squat
The goblet squat emphasizes hip mobility and strength. To begin, hold a dumbell in your hands tight to your chest and lower yourself into a seated position by pushing your hips backward and then bending your knees. Make sure to keep a neutral spine position as your lower down. Keep keep your knees pressing outward to engage your glutes. Stand back up and repeat.
Stationary Lunge
The lunge is one of the simplest yet most beneficial exercises if performed correctly. To perform the exercise, take a dumbbell in your outside hand and use your other hand to balance on a stable surface. Drop your inside knee to the ground and drive off of the back leg. Repeat seven to ten times per leg. By maintaining 90 degree angles in both knees this exercise will strengthen and stabilize your glutes and stretch your hip flexor muscles as well.
Romanian Deadlift
This movement is excellent for strengthening the posterior chain of muscles that run along the back of your body. These muscles tend to become elongated and weak due to extended sitting or overstretching. To perform the exercise, start with a dumbell in each hand. Stand tall with your shoulders pushed back. Bending your knees slightly, push your hips slightly backwards and lower the weights to the knee while keeping proper limb alignment. Work to control this movement with your glutes. Hinge from your hips to stand back up and repeat.
Overhead Push Press
The ability to move your scapulae (shoulder blades) plays a huge role in how well you are able to reach over your head. The overhead press highlights scapular mobility and stability and can be therapeutic for the shoulders. Start with one dumbell in each hand and use your upper back to press the weights over head. Do your best to align your elbow, shoulders, hips, and knees over the top of one another while pressing the weights overhead.
Bent Over Row
This exercise requires some practice but has great implications for back, hamstring, and shoulder development. Because yoga practice emphasizes so few pulling exercises, rows are also a great supplemental practice to incorporate into your cross training.
To begin, start with a dumbell in each hand. Bend your knees slightly and push your hips backwards while you stabilize your trunk by assuming an upright chest position. Lower the dumbells down until your arms are straight and then pull them back toward your chest. Make sure to maintain a neutral spine position throughout the exercise.