Cervical Injury

[vipulbansal]

Hi all,

I met with an accident last month in which i sustained injury in spine. The cervical vertebra got dislocated. The doctor has advised surgery.

I am really new to YOGA and hardly know a thing or two about it. Please could anyone tell me could yoga help me to cure the same. How should i start with the treatment?

Regards

[Lars Rimböck]

Hello

For any Tips you need to post first which vertebra got dislocated though it seems to be difficult to treat it via a forum.
It might be better to look for a qualified Yoga Teacher in your area.

All the best
Lars

[Pandara]

Hi,

I am not a doctor, but my advice is purely from a yoga pov. Since you have never done yoga before and this injury is very new, I would recommend that you first go the medical route to correct the issue. If you don't want to do the operation, try get a second opinion from another doctor, perhaps a homeopath or a doctor who may suggest non-invasive ways to correct your injury. The cervical vertebra is so important that we cannot take risks with it.

Starting to do yoga now (as a total beginner) and without the guidance of a teacher might actually aggrevate your injury. When you seek a yoga teacher, seek somebody who is also a therapist who will understand the injury and what to do. When your injury is corrected and healed, perhps then you can consider yoga to help with the strenghtening of your muscles.

[vipulbansal]

Hi,

Thanks a lot for the precious suggestions. I got my C5 and C6 dislocated. I am consulting an orthopaedist. Presently i am wearing a collar for 6weeks and we are waiting if the vertebra comes to its place. Right now i am in the fifth week of wearing the collar. The successive Xray shows that it is settling down. But the second opinion says that i'll have to take serious precautions throughout my life. I'll not be able to play and all. Please could you suggest if i avoid surgery then can my life come to normal track through yoga under qualified yoga teacher!

[InnerAthlete]

One of the basic premises of holistic healing is patience. It can be a long road when you are looking to avoid a quick, invasive, and perhaps effective procedure. So the first thing you must ask is "am I willing to spend the time to heal" or do you simply want it "fixed"?

Second, the work in your case must be done with a highly qualified yoga therapist. Please do not walk in the local gym thinking "yoga cures" and expect any old teacher to know how to deal with you. It is just not the nature of the yoga world at this time.

In such yoga therapy you would, I hope, be asked to make changes to your diet and lifestyle in order to support your own body's healing process. Additionally, the teacher would work with you one-on-one to develop a protocol for your situation. And then you'd have to again be willing to do whatever it takes.

As for returning to your normal life, there is simply no way to make such a determination. If a normal life for you means bull riding, fire fighting, and break dancing, I would venture to say "probably not".