A lot of people suffer from shoulder pain. While working on travel therapy jobs, you may want to use the soothing practice of yoga to help patients gain back their strength following a surgery or injury. Those who are recovering from shoulder issues may benefit from the chaturanga (meaning four limb) posture specifically. However, if you are working with a patient who has rotator cuff pain, you may want to take some precautions before getting started.
Chaturanga pose
Yoga Outlet explains that the chaturanga pose is part of power yoga, as it aids in strengthening the wrists, abdominal muscles, lower back and arms – including the shoulders. When first instructing a patient to complete the posture, you'll want to use modified variations. However, let's first go over the basics of the final goal of chaturanga:
- Start from the downward dog position, in which the patient makes a "V" with the body, placing both his or her hands and feet on the ground.
- From there, the patient will move into the plank pose, with arms fully extended, making a right angle with the floor. The wrists should be directly below the shoulders in this pose.
- While exhaling, he or she can begin to lower the torso and legs to the floor while bending at the elbows until the body is parallel to the floor.
- Once lowered, his or her elbows should be pulled in toward the torso.
- This position is not meant to be held for long, so you will then instruct the patient to move into upward-facing dog.
While working up to this advanced power yoga pose, you can use a modified version with patients on travel PT jobs. In order to put less strain on the shoulders, have the patient start out doing the pose standing against the wall. This will allow him or her to get accustomed to the movements, without causing pain. Once this method is mastered, you can move to a table top or the seat of a chair to conduct the motions. Work with your patients slowly, improving their strength until they are ready to hit the floor. From there, you can instruct them to rest their knees on the floor, if their core is not strong enough to hold the body up.
Although chaturanga is similar to a push up, the two differ greatly – as chaturanga requires both inner and muscular strength, being part of the practice of yoga. While using this on travel PT assignments, make sure that you guide the patient through the entire posture. When not performed correctly, the pose can lead to pain and even injury. This is why it's best to keep an open dialog with those you are treating regarding any discomfort they experience. So, if shoulder fatigue becomes an issue, you can instruct the patient to rest his or her knees on the ground. Additionally, if someone is struggling to keep his or her elbows drawn in toward the body, using an exercise band or strap may help.