Yippeeeee!
Ya must be wondering what I’m so keyed up about. And why not?
I finally found a cure for my bursitis. No not at the docs or the drugstore. It came from the yoga studio I attend. Been attending for the past 5 years but never thought to ask until a month ago. And guess what’s Yippeeeee!
You guessed right.
My symptoms of shoulder bursitis were a slow, irritating onset of pain, more so when lifting my arm away from my body or when reaching overhead. The pain started in the upper shoulder or upper third of my arm I felt worse because I’, kinda used to lying on that arm while sleeping.
The bursa, they told me at Yoga class, gets irritated or injured when the area is overused with repetitive motion or strenuous activity. It may also be caused by a bacterial infection. But I was also told that when you have acute swelling and inflammation the specific sac in the shoulder joint most often causes pain there. But you can practice Yoga, with very specific modifications because some movements could prolong recovery times, avoid taking the arms above parallel to the floor for a while.
Asanas such as Virabhadrasana II (Warrior Pose II) are probably fine, whereas you should modify Virabhadrasana I (Warrior Pose I), Utthita Parsvakonasana (Extended Side Angle Pose), or Urdhva Hastasana (Upward Salute) started help my sore ar,.
When I was ready to take my arms overhead again, one specific movement of the upper arm bone the external rotation reduced my aggravating condition. I experimented by taking my arm out to the side until it was parallel to the floor like they asked me to with my palm facing the floor, then brought the arm back to my side. I did feel a noticeable difference in the amount of pain between the first and second methods.
I kept this in mind as my condition improved and my painless range of motion decreased.
Obviously, I was told I needed to avoid poses such as Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog Pose) and all of it’s myriad variations,Adho Mukha Vrksasana (Handstand), Pincha Mayurasana (Forearm Balance), and Salamba Sirsasana (Supported Headstand) until reaching the arms overhead is no longer painful.
And even then, it was important to know that when you invert, you will likely experience more compression in the shoulder joint, and possibly some recurrence of pain, due to the weight of the body dropping toward the floor.
One of the muscles often implicated in shoulder bursitis, I learnt in class, is the supraspinatus wherever the hell it’s located so Gomukhasana (Cow Face Pose) and Garudasana (Eagle Pose) arms both seem to help lengthen this muscle. For this reason I had to add them to my Yoga tool kit.
So never underestimate the power of a good Yoga session!
