Yoga is not as safe as it's believed to be, says study

Yoga is believed to enhance one's mental, physical as well as spiritual health and even make one feel more relaxed, but a latest study states yoga is not as healthy and benefiting as it was previously claimed to be.

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The new scientific study claims yoga can worsen prevailing wounds and lead to bone and muscle pains.

People across the world believe yoga to be an alternative or complementary remedy to cure musculoskeletal disorders. 

"While yoga can be beneficial for musculoskeletal pain, like any form of exercise, it can also result in musculoskeletal pain," said Evangelos Pappas from the University of Sydney in Australia, as quoted by PTI.

"Our study found that the incidence of pain caused by yoga is more than 10 per cent per year, which is comparable to the injury rate of all sports injuries combined among the physically active population. We also found that yoga can exacerbate existing pain, with 21 per cent of existing injuries made worse by doing yoga, particularly pre-existing musculoskeletal pain in the upper limbs," Pappas said further.

"In terms of severity, more than one-third of cases of pain caused by yoga were serious enough to prevent yoga participation and lasted more than three months," Pappas said

It was found that 74 percent partakers in the study claimed yoga helped in improving the prevailing pain, which pointed towards the complex link between yoga and the musculoskeletal pain.

Performing yoga with care could help in avoiding the pain, Pappas explained.

"Yoga participants are encouraged to discuss the risks of injury and any pre-existing pain, especially in the upper limbs, with yoga teachers and physiotherapists to explore posture modifications that may results in safer practice," Pappas concluded.

The findings have been published in the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies.