How 10 Percent Of Yoga Practitioners Could End Up Hurting Themselves

NEW YORK, NY — Many people turn to yoga as a safe form of exercise because it lacks the high-impact quality of running or the chance of collisions inherent in many forms of competitive sports. Some even turn to yoga as a treatment for back pain.

However, according to a new study published by the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, a surprising amount of people may end up hurting themselves doing yoga, especially if they already have a preexisting injury. (For more national stories, subscribe to the Across America Patch and receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

"While yoga can be beneficial for musculoskeletal pain, like any form of exercise, it can also result in musculoskeletal pain," said Evangelos Pappas, an associate professor from the University of Sydney, who co-authored the study along with Professor Marc Campo from Mercy College, New York. "Our study found that the incidence of pain caused by yoga is more than 10 per cent per year, which is comparable to the injury rate of all sports injuries combined among the physically active population."

He continued: "However, people consider it to be a very safe activity. This injury rate is up to 10 times higher than has previously been reported. We also found that yoga can exacerbate existing pain, with 21 percent of existing injuries made worse by doing yoga, particularly pre-existing musculoskeletal pain in the upper limbs."

The study followed 354 patients at two suburban yoga studios for one year.

Of those who were injured, around one-third stopped doing yoga for at least three months. However, the study also found that the vast majority of people were not injured during the practice. And of those who went into the yoga with preexisting pain, 74 percent said the practice improved with the exercise.

Lauren Coles, the founder and CEO of Daisy Yoga, which specializes in office yoga, said it's not surprising that people hurt themselves when engaging in the practice.

"Physical activity does require pain," she said. "It happens."

But her main worry was that many people doing yoga may be taught by people who are not well-qualified.

"I don’t feel like there’s enough teacher training," she said. "Training isn’t well-regulated; there are unqualified teachers who are going and hurting people."

Nevertheless, Coles said that when done right, yoga can be extremely beneficial. So how can you make sure you're doing it right and not being coached by a teacher who could lead you down a risky path?

"Listen to your body while you’re doing yoga," she said. If a teacher tries to move you into a position that hurts, for instance, don't assume they know what's best. "Trust yourself more than you trust your teacher."

It's also important, especially for those who have preexisting chronic pain, to discuss any new exercise regimens with their doctors.

"Pain caused by yoga might be prevented by careful performance and participants telling their yoga teachers of injuries they may have prior to participation, as well as informing their healthcare professionals about their yoga practice," said Pappas, the author of the study.

According to the study, the most common form of pain people experience as a result of doing yoga is in the upper limbs. Coles said this kind of pain is very common when yoga is not performed correctly.

"That’s a result of the modern sedentary worker lifestyle," she said. Many office workers, for instance, are at risk of carpal tunnel syndrome, which could be exacerbated when people improperly place their weight over their wrists. And improper hand placement can even cause shoulder pain, Coles said.

Coles also warned about yoga sessions in which students get little to no supervision from the instructor, calling them "yoga factories." Traditionally, yoga was practiced one-on-one, she said, with an individual teacher instructing a single pupil.

Unfortunately, Coles said, "It’s becoming more like a workout, than the practice and philosophy it originated as."

Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images