The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › General Hot Yoga Discussion › Hot Yoga *faq* › Could I break my spine in an inversion?
The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › General Hot Yoga Discussion › Hot Yoga *faq* › Could I break my spine in an inversion?
-
AuthorPosts
-
Hello,
I realize I’m a beginner and my question may sound foolish but yesterday I made my first inversion and though I was amazed at my own flexibility -I was able to put my feet up my head on the floor- now I’m panicking at doing it again and bending my body over and breaking my neck or spine… Is this an irrational fear? What should I ask my teacher about it? It’s not a private class, so she wasn’t checking on each one of us…Thank you in advance for your attention,
Betty.Hi Betty
May I ask if you have a weakness or have you had an injury that makes you worried that you could befall such a calamitous outcome?
Also would you be able to tell me which pose you were doing? Was it plow pose? Do you know the name or maybe can you describe it in greater detail?
Generally (in most cases) the fear is not rational. I still don’t want to dismiss this without knowing more. Sometimes people leave out important details. For example if you said you had some debilitating illness that expressed itself in bone fragility or if you had some vertebral fusions then the answer may be different.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂I had a disk fusion about 17 years ago & I worry about some moves even back bends. I can’t go back that far. I went to a class thursday nite & really think I over did it. I was sore until today. Should I watch for certain poses? Which ones should I be careful of.
Hey mountaingirl
What poses need to be modified and how deeply you can go really depends on which vertebrae are fused. Which ones?
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂L4 & L5 this way I can let my instructors know. Thanks!!
Hi Val
When you say you overdid it, can you tell me what you did? Were you thinking that during class or as a result of you feeling the soreness afterward?
Basically the problem is leverage. When you have the fusion the leverage forces on the spine at either end of the fusion can be a problem. As I said it depends on the location in the spine. Cervical fusions and lumbar fusions are more risky then thoracic fusions in general. Basically because the spine is free of the rib cage at these points and the leverage forces are greater. L4/L5 is the major area of movement in the lumbar spine (also including S1) so fusing here means movement should be limited. Otherwise the connection points can get damaged during wider movements.
A focus for you would be letting the neck go, and in backbends trying to push the thoracic spine into the chest (lift chest and create space there) for safety in your backbends. Forward bends are not quite as risky because of the nature of movement in this area. Flat back entry into forward bends is fine. And as far as my experience goes rounded back entry is fine too. How does that area feel in forward bends btw? In poses like Rabbit and Standing Sep Leg Head to Knee and Floor Head to Knee?
Please let me know
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Wow! You are great! I’m not sure exactly what I had, it was so long ago, in fact I have the paperwork to request my surgery history. As soon as I get the info, I will have more information for you. What happened was that my disk exploded & I believe it was lumbar but not sure. Anyway, I was in a back brace for 3 months. Like I said it was so long ago that I have totally forgotten exactly what was done to me. As far as the workout last week, it was after. No sharp or any type of pain during. The thing of it is that when I’m doing the hot yoga it feels great after I get over the initial stiffness. When I lay down my back starts to bother me. When I’m moving it doesn’t hurt that bad. But I can’t stand or walk long distances or it starts to bother me again. I’m just going to tell each instructor not to push me because of it for now until I can get more information. You really are and going to be a great asset to my yogi life. Thanks, & will let you know when I receive my paperwork. Namaste, Val
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.