Pain specialist points to benefits, risks of yoga
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Zheng Yongjun, a doctor in the pain management department of Huadong Hospital, talked to Shanghai Daily about the benefits of practicing yoga, as well as some do’s and don’ts for would-be and novice yogis.
“Some yoga postures stretch muscle groups slowly, giving them more flexibility,” Zheng said.
This may be particularly beneficial for people who sit in offices all day, where many keep their muscles in relatively fixed positions for too long.
“Some muscle groups are constantly in a shortened state, and, over time, that can cause a loss in flexibility and an increase in pressure,” Zheng said. “When a muscle group suffers from a temporary cramp, it can recover after some time, but if resistant spasms develop in a muscle group, it’s like trying to stretch wearing plates of steel armor.”
The doctor was careful to note though that yoga isn’t a panacea for everyone. People suffering from a spinal deformity known as lumbar spondylolisthesis, and those with lumbar disc hernias, unstable joints or spinal stenosis shouldn’t practice yoga.
“Stretching can cause dislocation and deformation in unstable spines,” Zheng said.
Osteoporosis patients should also be careful because overstretching can cause a lumbar compression fracture.
“Patients with partial tears or damage in muscles aren’t fit to practice yoga, especially if injuries are recent,” Zheng said. “For conditions like ‘frozen shoulder,’ forced stretching can worsen the damage.”
For people who suffer hypertension, yoga postures that lower the head too much can cause changes in blood pressure and lead to dizziness.
“Poses where the head is used as the fulcrum are not suitable,” he said. “We had one case where a yoga instructor suffered nerve damage after doing shoulder handstands.”
Before practicing yoga, a basic warm-up is necessary to limber up the muscles.
“Muscles need time to adapt,” Zheng said. “My advice is take it slow and send the right signals to muscles and nerves before doing extensive stretching.”
It’s also important to balance exercise on both sides of the body when practicing yoga.
“Balanced training is important, otherwise the muscles and bones can suffer from deformation and compression,” he said. “If that continues, it could cause tears in the intervertebral disc.”
After a practice session, relaxation and muscle massage are very helpful.
“Yoga itself is a set of slow stretch exercises, but don’t try to achieve the perfection of professionals or you may overturn your whole reason for doing yoga,” Zheng said.
He said one to two sessions of 1 hour each per week are sufficient for most people.
“Achieving flexibility and muscle tone takes more than a month,” he said.
“Hot yoga” is a form of exercise undertaken in hot, humid conditions. The doctor said practitioners of this form need to be careful that sweating doesn’t cause loss of body electrolytes.
He said doing yoga with professional instructors who have some medical knowledge is the safest way to go. If one practices yoga at home, it’s important to take it slow and easy.
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