Avoid these Yoga postures if you have Osteoporosis or Osteopenia

Plough Pose – Yoga in Wake Forest, NC. Recommend avoiding this pose if you have Osteoporosis or Osteopenia

Most injuries in Yoga are mild and can be attributed to “over-doing” the muscles. Mild muscle strains from myofascial overuse , or from “pushing” it too far, can certainly heal if managed correctly. These risks are usually benign but there could be more serious risks depending on your medical history. A more severe injury that is noted in the literature is a bony fracture.

Spinal Flexion Yoga Poses that load the anterior cervical spine, midthoracic, thoracolumbar, and upper lumbar spine are recommended to avoid. Most vertebral compression fractures occur in those areas.

Some of the poses can be fine if no additional loading is pushed through the spine. But, the weight of the body is also added in a closed kinetic chain, multiplying the amount of pressure that the vertebral body must withstand.

Here are two Yoga poses that we recommend you avoiding if you have Osteoporosis or Osteopenia.

We do not recommend anyone avoid Yoga (or any other exercise!), but we do recommend modifications if you have pain or at risk medically, such as if you have Osteoporosis or Osteopenia. We want you to protect your spine, shoulders, hips, and other musculoskeletal structures so you can keep staying active!

Therefore, here are some pose modifications you can do instead of the Plough and Seated Forward Fold!

Our goal is to help keep you moving and living an active lifestyle!

If you are looking for Yoga in Wake Forest, NC; I hope we can have you join us at our studio!