23: Yoga & Injury, Part 1

Injuries are, to some extent, inevitable in life. So when injuries do occur, when should we rest and when is the right time to reintroduce challenge? Today we explore this important question in the first of two episodes on the topic of yoga and injury.

In today’s episode, Tiffany and Rachel provide context for the conversation by offering some interesting statistics on yoga and injury, then unpack the three phases of connective tissue healing as well as what to bear in mind at each stage of the process.

Listen in as we discuss the importance of appropriate load to encourage injured tissues to heal fully, common mistakes made during the healing process, and the role that therapeutic yoga can play in support of other treatments.

“For injury prevention we probably really need to be looking at the fascia.” – Tiffany Cruikshank

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“Yoga uncovers things.” – Tiffany Cruikshank

Show Notes:

• Context on the conversation around yoga and injury [1:39]
• Interesting statistics on yoga and injuries [4:33]
• Inflammation, circulation, and the healing process as it relates to fascia [10:31]
• Three phases of healing: Inflammation, Proliferation and Remodeling [13:22]
• The importance of appropriately loading an area to facilitate full healing [16:47]
• A fine line between insufficient load (and incomplete healing) and overload [19:26]
• How important is rest after an injury? [20:46]
• The timeframe of healing [24:59]
• Common mistakes during the healing process [26:02]
• The roles of physical therapy and therapeutic yoga in healing [34:43]
• Instilling accountability in yoga students [41:44]

Links Mentioned:

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Common Yoga Injuries & Prevention Online Course
• Yoga-Related Injuries in the United States from 2001 to 2014
• Is It All About the Fascia? A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of the Prevalence of Extra-muscular Connective Tissue Lesions in Muscle Strain Injury
• Find a Yoga Medicine Teacher page

“There is this critic that comes out when we’re really burnt out and everything is too much, it’s overwhelming, it’s negative.” – Tiffany Cruikshank