One of my students has painful tendonitis of the elbows- he says it
originated from lifting very heavy weights- he remembers when it happen very
clearly. He is afraid of stretching too much- and he and I would like to
know if yoga can further damage his tendons.
Is it okay for him to do a regular (Vinyasa) practice? Or should I send him
to a therapist/ extra gentle yoga class.
Ashtanga practice is contraindicated for tendonitis as it commonly
aggravates or can even cause such problems due to likelihood of creating
repetitive motion syndrome in wrists, elbows, and/or shoulders. A gentle
practice class will be good for temporary relief but overall he needs tissue
and mind reeducation for how to use the arm efficiently. I find bodywork
best to heal such injuries as the tissue around elbow is too delicate for
fine tuning needed. Asana is in general too gross a therapy for that area.
In general we can only give contraindicated practices like how to avoid
elbow alignment and where to give weight bearing in those practices. I find
Ashtanga is usually given too fast for the therapeutic details to be
retained and thus protect from further injury. He can see me or Leslie
Kaminoff at the Breathe Center in NYC for assistance, both of us can do Yoga
Therapy with therapeutic bodywork.