yoga-related injury

enyagoboom

TL;DR: yes, I am going to a doctor but would like to hear your experiences if you've had them.

Hi all: a couple days ago i tried to do some more intermediate poses during yoga. I've been practicing basic moves for a few months and thought I could attempt a bridge and a full dancer pose, but it seems I was greatly mistaken. I didn't do either to the point of pain at that time, and moved slowly into both - I only got a little way into bridge before coming back down (again, slowly, I'm good at no sudden movements). I did not experience any pain following the movement or for the rest of the day and honestly didn't think anything of it until later. My experience was just I'm not ready or there yet for those poses and I moved on.

In the middle of the night I was woken by some terrifying pain, levels that I haven't had since I severely sprained my ankle. The pain wraps from my lumbar to just under my rib cage. Heat helps, hot baths, and some muscle relaxers. I'm going to the walk in tonight because I cannot seem to get the pain to shut off without the pill, but the reason I'm posting here is I'd like to know if any of my fellow MFPers hurt themselves like this and what I can expect to be able to do during recovery.

Not going to lie, it's kind of freaking me out how much it hurts.

spiriteagle99

I have hurt myself doing yoga, but not to the level you're experiencing. In my case it's usually the hamstrings. It should get better in a few days, but it depends on what you injured and how badly.

lorrpb

Yoga seemed to aggravate and worsen pre-existing arthritis pain, doing very basic yoga positions, nothing drastic. I was in excruciating pain, level 7-9 for at least 6 months. It gradually improved but is still with me on a daily basis 2+ years later. I'm not saying this will happen to you. It all depends on the specific injury and any underlying problems you might have.

maggibailey

Sounds very much like a he time I dislocated a rib. I seriously thought I was having a heart attack. They popped it back in and I was fine. I hope that is all it is. It doesn’t sound related to the yoga to me as there was no discomfort before or after.

enyagoboom

The doctor was quite nice last night about all of it but yeah, i did something to the muscles and they are quite unhappy with me. He gave me a script for muscle relaxers so I can sleep (which was very helpful last night) and told me to keep doing gentle yoga and not those poses. Rest, heat/ice, stretching, and more rest.

It's funny now but the other night loooooordie. thought I was dying. He said I'd have a couple weeks like this so now I'm ... kind of at a loss. I have a love hate relationship with yoga/pilates and I am pretty sure pilates is right out.

Chieflrg

How do you know yoga was the cause?

It really could be many things...

Also just like anything, diving in full into new things is a mistake. Do a variation of the bridge or dancer...
It took me 2 months to be able to do both.

Nikion901

Yes ... this has happened to me ... back in the 1970's ... after I had been a Hatha Yoga practitioner for about 10 years. I don't' know how much the over-extensions I did back then contributed to it, but I am severely limited in my movements today because of spinal stenosis and ruptured discs throughout. Still ... had I been able to continue doing the movements I would still be doing them today because I really loved doing the movements.

enyagoboom

Chieflrg wrote: »

How do you know yoga was the cause?

Process of elimination: What was new that day? The level that I tried with those two poses was new to me, otherwise my day was very routine. The pain center is located where the bends really originate. I spent a decade dancing in my younger days - conservatory level - so I'm pretty good at spotting injuries and backtracking to why and how.

julie_broadhead

Follow the doctor's recommendation and remember that it is just a couple of weeks.

canadianlbs

ribs get insanely hysterical if you even look at them sideways. glad it's not anything more serious.