Osteoporosis is a disease in which the bones become thinner and more porous as time goes by due to the loss of mineral content in them, preceded by bone loss on a smaller scale that has not reached the stage of diagnosis, called osteopenia . Both should be considered very seriously when doing any physical activity due to its physical consequences.
There are yoga positions that could cause or aggravate the symptoms caused by this disease to the point of immobilizing the affected person. (Lee, Humtoon and Sinaki., 2019).
Learn more about the spinal poses that affect osteoporosis .
The danger of spinal yoga poses
Yoga poses that flex the spine beyond its limits can increase the risk of a compression fracture in people with bone thinning caused by osteoporosis, according to research from the Mayo Clinic.
The researchers examined the health records of 89 people, the majority of whom were women, from 2006 to 2018, for pain they attributed to their yoga practice. The common denominator was pain in the back, neck, shoulder, knee, or a combination of several ailments.
The patients identified 12 yoga poses as the worst for their physical pain. Among the most mentioned were extreme flexion or extension of the spine.
After examining patient health records, medical examinations, and imaging to confirm and classify injuries as soft tissue, bone, or joint injuries, they identified 29 bone injuries, including disc degeneration, slipped vertebrae. and compression fractures. The latter seemed to be related to postures that put additional pressure on the vertebrae .
Can you practice yoga with osteoporosis?
"Yoga has many benefits – it improves balance, flexibility, strength, and is a good activity for socializing," says Mehrsheed Sinaki, a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist at the Mayo Clinic and lead author of the study. However, it also says that if you have osteopenia or osteoporosis, you should modify your postures to suit your condition.
With a very apt comment, Edward Laskowki, co-chair of the Mayo Clinic, asked yoga patients, teachers, and providers to work together to obtain individualized exercise prescriptions that consider the medical history of the yoga practitioner to protect against injury and obtain the maximum benefits.
Finally, the authors pointed out the limitations of the study. One of them is that the patients were cared for in a musculoskeletal clinic in a tertiary care center, which makes generalizations difficult. That is, there is no certainty that spinal poses affect everyone who has this disease.
conclusion
Yoga is an activity with many benefits. If you suffer from osteoporosis, be sure to consult with your yoga teacher so that together you can find the most suitable yoga positions for your condition, in this way you will avoid negative consequences in the long term.
References
- Lee, M., Huntoon, E., Sinaki. M. (2019) Soft Tissue and Bony Injuries Attributed to the Practice of Yoga: A Biomechanical Analysis and Implications for Management. Mayo Clinic Proceedings , 2019. Doi: 10.1016 / j.mayocp.2018.09.024
