Stretch Your Body Without Worry: Tips to Avoid Injuries During Yoga

Yoga has become a go-to option for many office workers engaging in a sedentary lifestyle. Practising yoga after work or during holidays can relieve work-related stress, ease muscle tension, and sculpt a well-toned body shape.

Every sport can cause injuries, and yoga is not an exception. Although yoga exercises seem slow and gentle, the rate of injury from yoga is not lower than that of other indoor sports. Yoga poses involve stretching and bending the body, which may not be suitable for every person with different strengths and flexibility. Some poses can even increase the burden on the joints. For example, the Lotus pose exerts 4 to 5 times more pressure on the spine and tailbone than sitting in a regular position.

Many yoga beginners especially those without a regular fitness routine often believe that practising more and doing more difficult poses can help ease their long-term lower back pain. But actually, the lower back is the most commonly injured site while doing yoga. If you push yourself too hard or do poses that are too difficult without proper warm-up exercises, you can easily strain your lower back muscles. Some moves that involve excessive bending and twisting of the lower back can even lead to a herniated disc in your spine.

Bending and twisting the lower back can burden the lumbar spine instantly, which may tear the annulus fibrosis of the intervertebral disc and let the nucleus pulposus squeeze through, compressing tissues nearby like the sciatic nerve. This results in a herniated disc. Patients will suffer from back pain that may spread to the hip and legs. They can’t sit or stand for a long time and feel intensified pain when standing or walking. The condition also affects sleep quality and may even impair muscle functions of their legs in severe cases, interfering with their daily lives.

Office workers or people without exercising habits should do warm-up exercises for around 15 minutes. Know your limits and never push yourself too hard when practising yoga as it can induce injuries. Remember, doing simple yoga poses can already relax your mind and body. If you really want to try some of the harder ones, make sure you’ve got a teacher who can help and protect you. Plus, bear in mind that yoga is only a way to stretch your muscles and cannot be a substitute for any treatment.

If your spine is already injured or subluxated and you're not practising yoga with proper posture, you won't be able to relax your muscles and may even further hurt your spine. During exercises, it’s important to pay attention to your body’s reactions. If you experience long-lasting dull pain, especially in the joints, seek help from a professional yoga instructor or chiropractor for an examination as soon as possible.

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