August 07, 2009
Yoga; Misleading News Article
By Dr. David Cosman
Dear Yoga Enthusiast,
A news posting appeared on the internet recently, concerning yoga injuries mentioning my name as a supposed expert to strengthen their story. I read their story and I disagree with the theme, content and impression that the article conveys. I disagree how they quoted me.
I highly commend yoga for its health benefits regarding physical fitness, mental/emotional relaxation, and it’s spiritual aspect. As a doctor, I encourage patients to rehab and maintain themselves with exercises that stabilize the spine, and yoga offers exercises that cover the common exercise prescription of strength, flexibility, and balance. Balancing exercises strengthen muscles that are required to stabilize spinal bones, helping to keep them aligned, especially with low back pain.
If a yoga patient is injured, my goal is to treat the problem and get them back into yoga as safely and quickly as possible.
Injuries and pain can occur, even under the watch of the best coaches and best instructors in any sport or exercise program. Aches and pains do not mean that the instructor was bad. Every yoga instructor who I have encountered in my life is passionate about their training. Yoga facilities (that I am familiar with) make it mandatory for their instructors to be continually educated, and facilities in Hong Kong are known to bring experts in from overseas to build reputations of providing the best instructors. This would give a yoga studio the competitive edge not to mention pride in being able to offer beginner, intermediate and advanced classes.
The “news article” in question was posted on internet on Thursday July 30, 2009. It was very negative toward the yoga industry in Hong Kong, with ugly information (the site is listed below). They lambasted the industry, blaming it for hiring unqualified instructors who are to blame for injuries. I disagree with this article, and I disagree with the implications attached to my name. The author apologized to me (see below), blaming the editors.
My interview with the journalist was through written questions and answers by email (see below). The article ignored what I wrote. It seems that their hypothesis and their conclusion were identical without paying attention to the evidence. Perhaps the truth is boring, and their fabricated story made for a good seller.
If we did what they did in biology or chemistry labs in high school or university, we would have failed miserably. Our trust of the media should be as precious as the relationship between student/teacher, doctor/patient and lawyer/client. Their article reached millions. How many will read the truth of the matter?
Please read my correspondence (below) with the journalist, and then read the article that was sent around the world.
From: Francesca A [mailto:xxxxxxxx@gmail.com]
Sent: June-30-09 10:44 AM
To: Cosman@netvigator.com
Subject: Continued interview
Hi Dr. Cosman,
Thank you so much for agreeing to do this interview. I do apologize if it is a little time consuming; I know you’re very busy but I only have a few questions left, which I’ve listed below.
1. Please describe the worst yoga injury you’ve encountered this month, including how the client got hurt, how severe the pain was and a description of the treatment provided.
2. I’ve read some articles blaming yoga injuries on poor instruction. Do you think that there are some instructors teaching classes to keep up with a booming exercise trend and by doing so, shortcut their training? Please explain your answer.
Those are all the questions I have. Thank you again for your time. I look forward to hearing from you at your soonest convenience.
Cheers,
On 7/30/09, Dr. David Cosman wrote:
Yoga alone is quite therapeutic for physical injuries and for emotional problems too, but there can be side effects with yoga, and most can be easily cared for with other forms of therapy.
We have had yoga related injuries this month, but not severe injuries. Just mild injuries, lots of them including a case of neck pain and one of low back pain from the following:
• overexertion of muscles
o they were either not warmed up properly
o advanced postures or positions were attempted (head-stand for one) and the technique was not perfect, causing muscular stress
o the patient was apparently dehydrated to a degree that allowed the muscles to “cramp”
o there was probably some pre-existing joint misalignment and fixation with joint nerve irritation causing muscular splinting and the yoga postures put a further stress on the pre-injured areas which then “flared up”
The problems were not severe, and were warnings that something was wrong, and this is why the patients saw the chiropractor. Both neck pain and low back pain in these 2 patients remitted with 3 treatments that included muscle therapy, manipulation to the affected joints, and education on hydration that includes minerals and water consumption. In my opinion, the main brands of distilled and “mineralized” waters sold in Hong Kong are not sufficient with mineral content to hydrate muscles that would be challenged in yoga.
In Hong Kong I see yoga instructors who are passionate about their work, well trained, knowledgeable, and they attend the main seminars offered in the region.
I treat many instructors who have injuries ranging from low back pain to neck pain, and yoga is not necessarily to blame. If anything, yoga will expose reveal a deep seated or hidden injury.
Some American instructors were sent packing from Hong Kong as they preached that “their” yoga was a cure-all and that other techniques of yoga were inferior.
Yoga is like anything else; practice makes it better, and beginners should not go too hard on the physical exertion; progression comes with practice and balancing of the mind/body/spirit aspect of yoga, not physical over-exertion.
If a joint is slightly misaligned, the joint can “lock up” with the surrounding muscles reactively “cramping” to splint or protect the joint. Safe and unique manipulation techniques offered by chiropractors can realign these joints, but muscle relaxation before the manipulation seems to provide the most comfortable, efficient and longer lasting treatment.
With any pain felt in yoga, chiropractic care with combined muscle and joint therapy usually is indicated.
“Power Yoga” or other modifications of yoga might have higher incidence of injury, same as serious sprinters might have more injuries than mild joggers.
High performance athletes and yoga participants might require body maintenance other than the therapeutic benefits that yoga alone can provide.
But overall, yoga is therapeutic, and I recommend it for everybody, just understand what level you are comfortable with without overexerting unless you are sure that you know what you are doing.
David
Cosman Health Group Ltd.
DR. DAVID COSMAN
501 Winway Building
50 Wellington Street
Central, Hong Kong
tel +852 2975 4114
mob +852 9197 7372
skype daveed188
The report using my information was at various links including this one:
http://www.france24.com/en/20090730-hong-kongs-yoga-boom-sparks-injury-surge
Her response and apology to my protest of the article:
—–Original Message—–
From: Francesca A [mailto:XXXXXXXXX@gmail.com]
Sent: July-30-09 11:37 PM
To: Dr. David Cosman
Subject: Re: Continued interview
Dear Dr. Cosman,
I would like to offer you my sincerest apologies if I offended you
with what I wrote.
Please know that it was not by any means my intention to produce a
hatchet job of an article or take pot shots at the yoga industry.
The original version of my article included more quotes from you,
explaining that people who do yoga can get hurt pushing themselves too
hard or if they had a pre-existing injury. However, my editors cut
those quotes out from the final version, I am assuming because of
space constraints. Instead, they left the quotes I took down from our
initial interview, which was conducted over the phone.
Please know that it was by no means my intention to cause any harm by
writing this.
My reporting, based on several other interviews with other
chiropractors, physiotherapists, yoga centres and research on past
court cases is all reflected in the article. The thrust of the piece
took the direction it did based on this other information as well but
I assure you that it was not meant to make you look bad.
As an intern, I really had no say in the final published version of my
work. What I have learned from this experience is that the format of
newswire articles doesn’t necessarily make room for all of the in
depth information to be presented.
I have informed Mike of the situation and he asked me to express that
he feels bad about what happened.
I hope that you will accept my deepest apology. Please let me know if
you need more clarification.
Respectfully,
Francesca
