Common Yoga Injuries: Wrist, Knee, Hamstring, Lower Back and Neck

Most yoga injuries are sprains and strains.[1] Where they happen depends on the study and on how the injury was counted. This page goes area by area and says plainly where the research is thin. It does not teach poses; for what particular poses ask of the body, see Yoga Poses to Avoid or Modify. For overall rates, see Yoga Injuries: What Studies Found.

A quick map

Wrist

Proper evidence not found for how often wrist injuries happen in ordinary yoga classes. We searched PubMed and Europe PMC for yoga wrist pain and injury. The closest study is an online survey of 321 adults who practiced handstands at least weekly; 27.4% named yoga as their discipline, alongside capoeira and other movement training. Chronic wrist pain was reported by 56.7%, was more common in younger people, and was not linked to weekly training hours, warm-ups or wrist braces.[2] That tells us little about gentle classes. For the load that weight-bearing poses place on wrists, see Downward-Facing Dog, Plank and Chaturanga.

Knee

NCCIH names the knee or lower leg as the most commonly injured area.[1] In a review of observational studies, yoga practitioners had higher odds of meniscus (knee cartilage) injury than non-practitioners (odds ratio 1.72).[3] A 2025 analysis from China of 89 practitioners reported that higher body mass index, frequent forward-bending postures and limited sports-medicine knowledge among instructors were independent risk factors for knee injury.[4] It is a single small study, so treat it as a lead, not a rule.

Hamstring

A literature review lists the hamstrings among the areas where yoga injuries occur, along with the neck, shoulders, lumbar spine and knees.[5] In the German survey, chronic complaints included tendon shortening and sciatica, grouped with osteoarthritis and chronic back, neck or shoulder pain.[6] Proper evidence not found for hamstring-specific injury rates or tested prevention methods in yoga; we searched PubMed and Europe PMC and the abstracts we read did not break these out. See Seated Yoga Poses and Forward Folds and Over-Stretching and Movement Safety.

Lower back and spine

A Cochrane review found low-certainty evidence that yoga increased adverse events, mainly more back pain, compared with no exercise, and possibly the same risk as other exercise.[7] A Mayo Clinic case series describes three healthy people with low bone mass (osteopenia) who developed new pain or spinal fractures after yoga flexion exercises.[8] A systematic review found two case series linking vertebral fractures to yoga, possibly from excessive spinal flexion, and judged the overall evidence very low certainty.[9] See Yoga and Osteoporosis.

Neck

Neck injuries are named in reviews, but we found no yoga-specific rate. One case report describes a 63-year-old man with existing neck spine wear (cervical spondylosis) who developed spinal cord compression and tears in neck arteries after a yoga session.[10] The authors called this a rare cause. Headstand and shoulder stand carry their own cautions; see Inversion Safety.

What prevention advice sources actually give

• Practice under a qualified instructor; learning alone has been linked to more risk.[1]
• If you are new, avoid extreme practices such as headstands, shoulder stands, the lotus position and forceful breathing.[1]
• Talk with your provider and instructor about pre-existing injuries, such as knee or hip injuries and lumbar spine disease.[1]
• Do not take part in poses that feel beyond your physical limits.[11]
• Do not treat practice as a competition or push yourself to your limits.[12]

We did not find trials showing that any one of these cuts injury rates. The NHS lists not warming up, tired muscles and sport among common causes of sprains and strains.[13] The evidence on stretching itself is covered in Claim Check: Stretching Prevents Injury.