Prevention And Relief Of

Repetitive Stress Injuries With Yoga

One of the most common forms of work place injuries in today's world is repetitive stress injury. You see, it seems that our bodies weren't made to stand on an assembly line for long periods or to sit at a desk all day. Not only that, they weren't designed to be hunched over a keyboard, typing all day with our fingers and wrists in unnatural positions. What were our bodies designed for, you ask? They were made to move fluidly with a huge range of motion. Do you sit in a small confined cubicle or are you forced to stand on your feet all day? If so, you are abusing your body and when we do that our body starts sending us warning signals.

First Warning

One of the first warnings our body will give us is stiffness of the stressed joints. When the joints begin to burn, swell or even go numb, your body is sending out these signals in order that you will stop whatever activity is causing the body to be in pain. You may cause permanent harm or even lose mobility of that portion of your body if you continue with that activity. Because it helps us to focus and listen to our body, Yoga will help with repetitive motion injuries.

Getting In Touch

Once you are able to truly get in touch with your body, you will become more conscious of what feels uncomfortable and demanding you to get rid of the uncomfortable feeling. When you learn a form of Yoga called Asanas, you will quickly notice when your weight is not distributed evenly through your body when you're standing or if you are allowing your body to slouch in your chair. Yoga teaches you to keep your body in correct form and after awhile your body will automatically keep itself in the correct form. It's important to remember always that putting your body in bad form causes repetitive stress injuries. Good posture is important and increases your chances of breathing correctly.

Take A Break

It's absolutely essential, whether you already have repetitive motion injury or are trying to avoid one, to take frequent breaks from whatever your repetitive activity is at that time. If you already have an injury, you don't want to aggravate it. Yoga is a great strength builder. Start slowly, practice the poses, and know enough to stop doing them before you are in pain. Your Yoga instructor will be happy to show you some poses that will specifically help the part of your body that is injured. Your body will let you know when it needs a rest so be sure to listen to what it is trying to tell you.