Please use this forum to ask any questions you may have about yoga in general or Yin Yoga in particular, or to discuss anything you have discovered that may be of general interest. Note, spam will be removed and the user deleted, and this includes putting website in your posting that are purely commercial.
Just a general question on the issue of joint popping that does or does not cause pain. Is yin yoga able to help with this issue by lengthening the tissues and tendons around joint structures? Would yang yoga be more suitable for this issue?
There are several causes of noises in the body (see this article in YinSights for an explanation), so to answer your question, we first have to know the reason for the noise. If the cause is friction, we would have to look closer to see if yoga can help. It may or may not. Can you give more details?
Hello Bernie, thanks for your reply. I know of the article you mentioned. In the article, two different causes of popping are mentioned. Besides those there is a third cause he didn't mention. Tendons can cause popping for a variety of reasons. I don't know how well I can ask this question with specifics because I have a limited understanding of my own issues but I thought it was an interesting possibility if working with tendon and muscle flexibility could relieve some of these problems. Another idea I was hoping for some light on...is yin yoga able to help with alignment at all? I was told by a physiotherapist that the grinding noise in my left knee was due to postural misalignment. specifically for popping tendons, I have a big toe that pops every time I take a step, as confirmed by a podiatrist, as well as trigger finger on both ring fingers. I also want to mention knee cap instability when caused by muscle I'm balance that makes the overpowered muscle pull the cap off center. Sorry for the long sort of convoluted post. I can try to clarify anything that isnt clear.
Thanks
Usually the noise of concern is that caused by friction: like snapping your fingers, the pressure builds up between two surfaces, then releases with a “snap, or pop or some other sound. Normally, this is not harmful, but can be annoying. If the snapping happens too often, however, it could irritate the tissues and lead to inflammation. This friction can arise for a variety of causes; loose tendons or ligaments getting caught up on other tissues, or bone growths (called osteocytes) can impede the normal movement of tendons and ligaments. There is no yogic cure for bone growths, but if the ligaments or tendons are lax, strengthening the other tissues around that area could help: i.e. - muscular development. That would imply more resistance training (yang forms of yoga) than mobility exercises (yin forms of yoga). You want to stabilize the area. I would suggest you see a yoga therapist who can work with your individual uniquenesses and prescribe some alignment and strengthening postures and exercises suited to you. I am afraid this can't be done via the internet: someone needs to work with you and your body directly.
