Yoga is considered a mind-body exercise that can calm your mind and strengthen your body. Though it is not a cure for any disease, yoga has benefits for your bones and joints. Yoga's effects on muscle strength and flexibility and joint fluid circulation can positively impact your bones and joints. As a low-impact sport, it is gentle enough for almost any person to try. Talk to your doctor about yoga before heading to your first class.
Bone Mass and Yoga
During a yoga class, you perform asanas against the resistance of gravity and your body weight. Plank, warrior and chair postures, for instance, require specific muscle groups to hold your body up against gravity's force. Resistance exercise causes muscle to pull on bone, a process that signals bones to form new bone cells. New bone deposits increase bone strength and density. Bone density is important, particularly as you age. Osteoporosis is a disease that occurs due to low bone density. Your bones become brittle, causing them to fracture or break easily. Engaging in regular yoga practice or other resistance exercise may help decrease your osteoporosis risk.
Muscle and Joint Interaction
Depending on the posture, yoga can gently or intensely stretch muscles and tendons. Additionally, flowing through or holding asanas creates muscular strength and endurance. Muscles directly impact joint range of motion. Both muscle strength and flexibility are necessary for optimal joint movement. Muscles attach to bones via fibrous tissues called tendons. These tendons pull on bones to create body movement, as well as to oppose movement in the opposing direction. The stronger and more flexible a muscle, the greater its ability to move or stabilize bones in a joint. Strong and flexible muscles also allow for greater impact absorption, distributing your weight more efficiently and reducing injury risk.
Synovial Fluid
Synovial joints are found all over your body and include joints such as your knee, ankle, fingers and toes. These joints are filled with lubricating fluid, called synovial fluid, which delivers nutrients to the cartilage that encases the ends of the bones in the joint. Circulation of this fluid is important because cartilage doesn't have its own blood supply. Yoga helps move this joint fluid, potentially promoting greater nutrient absorption.
Supporting Research
Practicing yoga has many benefits, some of which are shown in scientific literature. A study published in "Rheumatic Diseases Clinics in North America" in February 2011 reviewed clinical trials from 1980 to 2010 that studied yoga's effects on arthritis. The 2011 review study found yoga is effective in reducing and managing joint pain, swelling and stiffness. It is also gentle on the joints. Yoga's asanas subject your joints to submaximal loads, according to the April 2011 issue of "Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies." Researchers found that yoga's sun salutation series, which is a flowing pose sequence used in many yoga styles, maintains a balance between muscle flexion and extension. They also concluded that yoga asanas move your joints gently, without pushing them to the point of damage.
References
- MayoClinic.com: Tap Into the Benefits of Yoga
- University of New Mexico; Resistance Training and Bone Mass; H.M. Weingart, M.A., et al.
- University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics; Muscle Strength and Balance Are Important for Healthy Joints; N. Amendola, M.D.
- "Yoga Journal"; Synovial Fluid and Inflamed Joints; J. Gudmestad
- "Rheumatic Diseases Clinics in North America"; Yoga For Arthritis; S. Haas, et al.; February 2011
- "Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies"; A Mathematical Model of Effects on Specific Joints; S.M. Omkar, et al.; April 2011
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