Yoga-Related Injuries: Are Injuries Resulting in Discontinued Practice Common?

Yoga-related injuries are of increasing concern as the use of yoga continues to rise. This investigation examined whether a national sample of yoga practitioners would report discontinued use of yoga due to injury resulting from the practice.  Moreover, we assessed what injuries resulted in discontinued use, what types of injuries were most common, and whether these injuries required medical attention.  In this cross-sectional study, 23,393 randomly selected adult household residents completed a survey on complementary and alternative medicine as part of the United States National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) conducted in 2007.  Descriptive statistics were used to determine the frequency of yoga practitioners who reported (a) discontinued use of yoga in the last 12 months due to side effects, (b) the nature of the reported side effects, and (c) if the side effects required medical attention.  Less than 1% (n=13) of individuals who had ever practiced yoga in their lifetime (n = 2230) reported experiencing a side effect from their practice that led to discontinued use of yoga.  Of those reporting side effects, less than one-third (31%; n=4) reported seeking medical attention as a result of the side effect.  Of the side effects reported, the most common was back pain.  Approximately half of those reporting back pain sought medical attention.  These findings suggest that injury due to use of yoga is an infrequent barrier to continued yoga practice and severe injury due to the use of yoga is rare.  Implications for research and practice are discussed.