If you've been diagnosed with osteoporosis or if you have lost a significant amount of bone mineral density, be sure to inform your teacher about your condition before attending classes. Study with a teacher who understands osteoporosis and who can give you appropriate guidance either privately or within a class setting.
Guidelines and Cautions
1. Avoid high-impact exercise and sudden jerking, rapid movements.High-impact exercise is hard on joints and not recommended for people who already have osteoporosis; balance problems; or knee, ankle, or back problems. High-impact exercise that involves bouncing while stretching, or rapid stretching with poor body alignment, may cause crush fractures of weakened vertebrae and exacerbate existing problems due to osteoporosis and poor posture.
1. Avoid high-impact exercise and sudden jerking, rapid movements.High-impact exercise is hard on joints and not recommended for people who already have osteoporosis; balance problems; or knee, ankle, or back problems. High-impact exercise that involves bouncing while stretching, or rapid stretching with poor body alignment, may cause crush fractures of weakened vertebrae and exacerbate existing problems due to osteoporosis and poor posture.
2. Avoid activities that reinforce a rounding of the upper spine or hunched, collapsed positions that exacerbate poor posture. All activities in which the upper body is hunched can intensify the forces that result in vertebral crush fractures. This includes hunching while
attempting to touch your toes in a standing or seated forward bend. It is especially important for men and women at risk for osteoporotic fractures to practice yoga's seated poses with adequate props.
attempting to touch your toes in a standing or seated forward bend. It is especially important for men and women at risk for osteoporotic fractures to practice yoga's seated poses with adequate props.
3. Avoid hyperextension of the neck. Do not tilt your head way back. This action can potentially compress the vertebral arteries and interrupt blood flow to the brain, possibly causing fainting or even a stroke. When lying down, place adequate support under your head to keep your forehead level or slightly higher than your chin. A forward-head position and rounded upper back usually precede the vertebral wedge fractures that result in dowager's hump.
4. Avoid poses that bear weight directly on the neck. Weak, porous vertebrae are vulnerable to injury. People at high risk for osteoporosis should practice weight-bearing inverted poses such as Headstand and Shoulderstand only under the guidance of an experienced instructor. If you are new to yoga and have osteoporosis, Headstand and Shoulderstand are not recommended. However, Handstands, Right-Angle Handstands, Dog Poses, and poses that build upper-body strength without
bearing weight on the vulnerable neck vertebrae can be safely learned under the guidance of an instructor. 
Print
0 comments:
Post a Comment