Yoga foot drop

Vajrasana

Yoga foot drop is a kind of drop foot, a gait abnormality. It is caused by a prolonged sitting on heels, a common yoga position of vajrasana. The name was suggested by Joseph Chusid, MD, in 1971, who reported a case of foot drop in a student who complained about increasing difficulty to walk, run, or climb stairs. The cause was thought to be injury to the common peroneal nerve, which is compressed and thereby deprived of blood flow while kneeling.[1][2]

Yoga foot drop is one of a number of adverse effects of yoga, commonly neglected to be mentioned by yoga teachers and books.[3][4]

References

  1. ↑ Joseph Chusid (August 9, 1971). "Yoga Foot Drop". JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association 271 (6): 827–828. doi:10.1001/jama.1971.03190060065025. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Medicine: The Yoga Ailment". Time Magazine. August 23, 1971. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
  3. ↑ William J. Broad (January 5, 2012). "How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body". The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
  4. ↑ Joanne Latimer (March 6, 2012). "REVIEW: The Science of Yoga: The Risks and the Rewards: Book by William J. Broad" (Book review). Maclean's. Retrieved November 19, 2012.