Yoga guide
Badminton is lunges, quick first steps and jumping smashes, and most of its injuries are in the legs: ankle sprains, calf tears, sore knees and, in recreational players in their mid-30s, Achilles ruptures, mostly in the middle or at the end of a game. Yoga can add what those numbers point to: calf strength built into the class, standing lunge strength, one-leg balance for footwork, care for the hitting shoulder, and a calm end to a session. No good trial has tested yoga in badminton players, so it sits beside the PreventiBad warm-up and the strength and footwork workout, never in place of them.
This guide covers where players get hurt, the Achilles and why calf strength (not calf stretching) is the sensible focus, lunges and the knees, the hitting shoulder, balance and footwork, the back, older and returning players, and eyes after a shuttle injury.
It ends with a free 25-minute class with a 3D demo of every move, and the warning signs, from a snap at the back of the heel to an eye hit by a shuttle. It's general information, not a diagnosis, and it doesn't replace coaching, medical care or rehabilitation for an injury.
We found no yoga trial in badminton players in MEDLINE, the main medical database. Two small badminton yoga studies outside it are in weak journals and we could read only their abstracts; the nearest trial in MEDLINE is in 40 junior tennis players. Treat yoga as calf, lunge, balance and shoulder work beside play.
Across 19 studies, players had 1 to 4 injuries per 1,000 hours of play, 41% to 92% of them in the lower body. In one hospital series, outer ankle sprains led the leg injuries (43.4%), then Achilles ruptures (13.9%) and calf tears (8.5%).
In 31 players with a ruptured Achilles (average age 36), 97% were recreational players or beginners, and 94% ruptured it in the middle or at the end of a game. Danish players ruptured it despite limbering up. Calf strength, a warm-up and a gradual build-up after breaks are the sensible focus; no stretch has been shown to prevent a rupture.
In 273 young players, the PreventiBad warm-up of strength, balance and jumps went with 1.23 injuries per 1,000 hours against 4.07 without it, in one small trial. Stretching programmes haven't prevented sports injuries. Use the warm-up before training, and yoga after play or on other days.
In 20 boys, balance training sped up footwork push-off by 19% to 36%. About half of world-class and of recreational players have had pain in the hitting shoulder: shoulder-blade work on both sides suits everyone.
Heavy exertion triggers heart attacks most in people who rarely exercise hard, so fill in the PAR-Q+ (Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire for Everyone) first. Shuttle injuries to the eye can raise eye pressure afterwards, and then long head-down poses wait for the eye team's say-so.
In 12 international singles players, rallies averaged 5.5 seconds with 11.4 seconds of rest, and heart rate averaged 89% of peak; a review puts typical rallies at about 7 seconds. The Compendium of Physical Activities rates competitive badminton at 7.0 to 9.0 METs (metabolic equivalents, multiples of your resting energy use) and social singles and doubles at 5.5. Our badminton guide covers the game, the footwork and the training.
After play or on a day off, yoga can add what the injury figures point to:
The PreventiBad warm-up before training (or the racket sport warm-up before social play), our badminton strength and footwork workout, sports eyewear, and a gradual build-up of court time after a break. Yoga sits beside all of these.
Our yoga for tennis players guide is built for tennis's one-sided serve, tennis elbow and the hitting shoulder, and our yoga for pickleball players guide for older players at a counter. This guide uses badminton's own data: Achilles ruptures in recreational players, ankle sprains, the lunge and the knee, the hitting shoulder and eye injuries in doubles.
Each study counted injuries its own way (per hour of play, per hospital visit or per player), so figures in different notes aren't comparable.
Across 19 mostly retrospective studies, there were 1 to 4 injuries per 1,000 hours, the lower body took 41% to 92%, and risk rose with the level of play and a previous injury. At a Swedish emergency department, 90.7% of injured players were recreational players or beginners, and Achilles ruptures (34.6%) and ankle sprains and fractures (29.5%) were the commonest acute injuries. In 140 hospital patients aged 10 to 66, outer ankle sprains were 43.4% of leg injuries, Achilles ruptures 13.9% and calf tears (tennis leg) 8.5%.
The knee was the commonest leg site (22.4%) in 150 players at a European senior championship, and among the commonest places for a significant injury in 164 world elite juniors. In 52 players, a maximal lunge loaded the front leg at about 2 to 3 times body weight.
52% of 188 world-class players and 52% of 99 recreational players had had pain in the hitting shoulder. In 45 players under 17, inward rotation of 55 degrees or less predicted shoulder pain a year later. In 611 children aged 7 to 12, training more than 2.5 hours a day went with 2.64 times the odds of shoulder pain.
In 44 Hong Kong elite players, the back was the commonest site of new injuries. In 20 elite French players, 9 had had hip pain, 6 of them with cam-type hip impingement (an extra bump of bone where the thigh bone meets the hip). Both are small studies.
Across 19 studies, the shuttle caused 85% of badminton eye injuries, and doubles play and no eye protection were linked to them. In a series of 85 cases, 73 happened in doubles, 52 were caused by a partner, and 36 led to raised eye pressure (secondary glaucoma). In Australia, one player still needed treatment 26 years later, and in Melbourne a shuttle shattered one player's glasses and cut into his eye.
Across US racket and paddle sport emergency visits from 2000 to 2023, a medical event was the cause in 25.5% of people over 64; badminton made up 5.4% of all visits. In 43 older adults, 8 weeks of structured badminton improved upper-body strength, aerobic fitness and confidence to exercise (not a randomised trial).
We found no yoga trial in badminton players in MEDLINE (searches on 1 November 2026); the two studies outside it are weak, so most of this rests on badminton injury and training research.
PubMed, Europe PMC and ClinicalTrials.gov searches found no yoga trial in badminton players in MEDLINE.
Source 1
In youth club players in Thailand (the abstract doesn't say how many), 8 weeks of Iyengar yoga raised confidence but not anxiety scores. In 40 club players in India, light resistance training with yoga improved shoulder range against no training. Both are in weak journals, we could read only their abstracts, and neither counted injuries or measured play.
In 40 junior tennis players, 8 weeks of yoga by video link improved core strength and fitness tests, but the comparison group also improved on several, and the abstract gives no result between the groups.
Source 4
Across 25 trials of sports injury prevention, stretching programmes made no difference, while strength training cut injuries to under a third and balance training to about half. In badminton, the one tested warm-up (PreventiBad) is strength, balance and jumps, in one small trial of 273 young players with 20 injuries in all.
In 20 boys, 30 minutes of balance training twice a week for 8 weeks sped up footwork push-off by 19% to 36%, with no change in the comparison group. In 48 young male players, balance plus jump training beat jump training alone on two of three change-of-direction tests. Across 11 trials, jump training improved power, agility, speed and balance (low or very low certainty), and across 18 racket-sport studies, core training improved balance and agility.
Across 94 randomised trials, yoga was about as safe as usual care and exercise. In a survey of 1,702 German practitioners, hand, shoulder and head stands caused the most short-term harms, and practising alone without guidance raised the risk.
In 31 players with a rupture, 97% were recreational players or beginners, 94% ruptured it in the middle or at the end of a game, and 5 (16%) had noticed symptoms in the tendon first; their average age was 36. In Denmark, the typical player ruptured it at the back of the court in a sudden forward movement, despite limbering up. Badminton was the commonest sport behind Achilles ruptures in Stockholm (23%).
In 302 ruptures operated on in Shanghai, badminton caused 27% of the sports-related ones, and ruptures in the first 10 minutes of sport were commoner in people who hadn't warmed up (22.4% against 5.5%). That's an association in one hospital series, and other differences between the groups may explain it.
Source 39
In a laboratory study of 10 recreational and 10 elite players, recreational players who landed a forehand jump with the landing foot turned out, as elite players do, could cut the load on the Achilles by about 25%. It measured load, not injuries; a coach can help with technique.
Source 40
No trial has tested any way to prevent Achilles ruptures in badminton, and players ruptured it despite limbering up. Our reading: warm up every time, build up court time after a break, strengthen your calves on other days, and get Achilles pain checked rather than playing through it. The class's calf block, starting point:
A maximal lunge loads the front leg at about 2 to 3 times body weight, and the knee is a common injury site. No study links yoga or stretching to badminton knee injuries. Standing lunge holds train the lunge shape at low load; the badminton strength and footwork workout's lunges and split squats do the heavy work. Our editorial starting point:
Keep lunges and chair pose shallow, pad any kneeling, and skip child's pose and deep squats while it's sore. Our yoga for knee pain guide has more, and if your knees hurt after a class, our knee pain after yoga guide covers what to change.
About half of players have had pain in the hitting shoulder, often like impingement in recreational players. Our editorial starting point, on both sides: Y-T-W raises, 5 of each shape, and scapular push-ups, 2 sets of 10, on a wall if the shoulder or wrist is sore (both our yoga for tennis players class); thoracic rotation, the same amount each way.
In 45 young players, inward rotation of 55 degrees or less predicted shoulder pain a year later. Only if your hitting arm turns inwards clearly less than the other, add a cross-body stretch on that side, as our yoga for tennis players class describes. Skip it if the shoulder feels loose or has dislocated, and leave out the sleeper stretch, which is easy to overdo.
Source 23
Balance training improved footwork in two small trials in young players, at 2 to 3 sessions a week for 8 weeks. Yoga's one-leg poses are a gentle version of that work. Our editorial starting point:
Outer ankle sprains are the commonest acute leg injury, and a previous injury raises the risk of another. Our ankle sprain guide's balance programme comes first; keep a hand near a wall in the one-leg poses, and step, never jump, between poses (our suggestion).
The back was the commonest site of new injuries in one small group of elite players, and hip pain was common in another. Side plank and bird dog for back endurance, the 90/90 switch and a reclined figure four for the hips, are reasonable, untested additions.
In 1,228 people who'd had a heart attack, the risk in the hour after heavy exertion was about 6 times higher than without it, and far higher in people who rarely exercised hard than in those who did so 5 or more times a week. If you're returning to play, fill in the PAR-Q+ first, and start with social doubles (our suggestion).
The NHS advises older adults to do activities that build strength, balance and flexibility on at least 2 days a week. A yoga class at home is a gentle way to build balance and leg and calf strength before returning to harder play: stand near a wall for the balance work and keep lunges shallow. Structured badminton itself improved older adults' strength and fitness in one small study.
Shuttle injuries can bleed inside the eye and raise eye pressure, sometimes years later. With raised eye pressure or glaucoma, our advice is to skip long head-down holds and inversions until your eye team says so, as the yoga lines below set out.
Static holds of 60 seconds or more per muscle just before activity cut performance by about 4.6%. Use the PreventiBad warm-up before training, or the racket sport warm-up before social play, and save holds for afterwards.
Our editorial starting point:
Source 44
Slow breathing, 2 minutes, in for about 4 and out for about 6, with no holds (our yoga for tennis players class; adapted from the move page's dose). Cat-cow: "8 waves, slower than feels natural" (the move page's dose), on fists if your wrist or elbow complains.
Ankle circles: "5 slow circles each way with each ankle" (the move page's dose). Calf raise hold and slow calf raises: doses in the Achilles section above, on the flat, never off a step.
Doses in the knees section above. Step back into lunges rather than jumping, and shorten the stance if a knee complains.
Doses in the balance section above; weaker leg first, small reaches before big ones.
Thoracic rotation: "6 rotations per side, moving with the breath" (the move page's dose), the same both ways. Y-T-W raises, 5 of each shape, and scapular push-ups, 2 sets of 10 (both our yoga for tennis players class). Wall angel, 8 slow slides (our yoga for weightlifters class). The cross-body stretch only for a hitting arm that has clearly lost inward rotation.
Side plank, 2 holds of 20 seconds each side, on your forearm, knees down to start (our yoga for tennis players class). Bird dog, 2 sets of 6 each side (our yoga for gymnasts class). 90/90 switch: "10 slow switches, pause at the ends" (the move page's dose). Reclined figure four, 45 seconds each side (our yoga for tennis players class).
Corpse pose, 3 minutes, knees bent if your back aches (our yoga for tennis players class; adapted from the move page's dose).
No long holds just before you play. With a painful Achilles, no heel drops off a step or deep calf stretches: keep calf work on the flat and to our Achilles tendinopathy guide's pain rule, and step rather than jump into lunges. After an eye injury or with raised eye pressure, keep downward dog and legs up the wall brief or skip them, and leave out headstands and shoulder stands until your eye team says so. Skip the sleeper stretch and end-range shoulder binds with a painful or loose shoulder. With a sore knee, pad kneeling and skip child's pose and deep squats.
3D demoSingle-leg calf raise from a stepIntermediate · A step + A wall
3D demoDownward-facing dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoLegs up the wall (Viparita Karani)Beginner · A wall
3D demoSupported headstand (Salamba Sirsasana)Expert · A wall
3D demoSupported shoulderstand (Salamba Sarvangasana)Advanced · No equipment
3D demoSleeper stretchIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoChild's Pose (Balasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoDeep squat holdIntermediate · No equipmentAfter play or on a day off, our 25-minute class: our own selection, untested in a trial. Before training, the PreventiBad warm-up; before social play, the racket sport warm-up; on other days, the badminton strength and footwork workout. With a sore Achilles, the Achilles tendinopathy class comes first.
A 25-minute yoga class for badminton players: calves and the Achilles, standing lunges, one-leg balance for footwork, the hitting shoulder and the back.
25 minBeginner18 movesWallA 20-minute badminton warm-up built on PreventiBad: runs and partner footwork, planks, Nordics, band shoulder work, balance, squats, jumps and court moves.
20 minBeginner14 movesCardio machine, wallA 45-minute badminton session: side bounds, split jumps and hop-and-stick, squats, lunges, side lunges, hinges and Nordics, calf raises and shoulder work.
45 minIntermediate17 movesDumbbell, anchor pointA 12-minute warm-up for tennis, padel, squash or badminton: skipping, leg swings, trunk turns, band shoulder work, forearm circles, shuttles and landings.
12 minBeginner10 movesWall, bandTwenty-five minutes of yoga for tennis and padel players: rotation both ways, shoulder blades, hips, one-leg balance and forearms, for non-match days.
25 minBeginner19 movesWallA 25-minute standing yoga class for pickleball players at a counter: calves, one-leg balance and stepping, leg strength, and the shoulder and forearm on both arms.
25 minBeginner19 movesWall, bench or boxA 25-minute yoga class for Achilles tendinopathy: calf holds and slow raises built in, short standing poses, calf stretches only if stiff, and no jumping.
25 minBeginner15 movesWall, bench or boxA 25-minute yoga class after an ankle sprain: ankle range, calf and ankle strength, short standing poses and a one-leg balance progression, with no jumping.
25 minBeginner16 movesBench or box, wallThirty minutes of standing yoga for balance: strong standing poses, one-leg poses at the wall, and side steps, backward steps, reaches and sit-to-stands.
30 minBeginner16 movesWall, bench or boxA 25-minute knee-friendly yoga practice with no kneeling and no deep bends: shallow standing poses, hip and thigh strength on the floor, and supported stretches.
25 minBeginner15 movesFirm cushionA 6-minute breathing routine: slow breathing, crocodile breathing, alternate nostril breathing, box breathing and 4-7-8 breathing.
6 minBeginner5 movesNo equipmentThese are the warning signs from our badminton, ankle and yoga guides, word for word. This is general information, not a diagnosis. A&E means accident and emergency; in the US, call 911 for 999.
Same day: a sudden snap or pop at the back of the heel or calf, or a feeling of being kicked there, then walking flat-footed and being unable to push off, stand on tiptoe or climb stairs. It could be an Achilles tendon rupture or a broken heel bone. Go to A&E or a minor injuries unit, or contact NHS 111.
Contact NHS 111 if you heard a snap, grinding or popping noise at the time of the injury, can't walk on tiptoe or up stairs, or have swelling and bruising in your calf and ankle. Our Achilles rupture guide says to get it checked the same day, at A&E (accident and emergency) or a minor injuries unit, or through NHS 111.
Source 45
5 of 31 players who ruptured an Achilles had noticed symptoms first. Follow our Achilles tendinopathy guide's calf loading and pain rule before full play, rather than playing through it.
Ruptures cluster in recreational players in their mid-30s. Warm up every time, keep sessions shorter at first, and strengthen your calves on other days (our suggestion).
Go to A&E or call 999 if something hit your eye at high speed, your sight has changed, you have severe pain in the eye, a headache or sensitivity to light, you feel or are sick, you can't move your eye or keep it open, or blood or pus is coming from it. Ask for an urgent GP appointment or contact NHS 111 if it isn't getting better after 24 hours. Raised eye pressure can follow years later, so keep any follow-up appointments (our suggestion).
Call 999 if:
Call 999 for sudden chest pain or discomfort that doesn't go away, pain that spreads to your arms, neck, jaw, stomach or back, or chest pain with sweating, feeling sick, light-headedness or breathlessness. Call 999 if someone faints while exercising, and call 999 or go to A&E for palpitations that don't go away or come with chest pain, breathlessness or fainting.
Call 999 or go to A&E (accident and emergency) straight away for severe difficulty breathing (gasping, choking or not able to get words out), a chest that feels tight or heavy, pain that spreads to your arms, back, neck and jaw, lips or skin turning very pale, blue or grey, or sudden confusion. If you're more short of breath than usual, or your heart is racing, fluttering or skipping beats, contact NHS 111.
Source 50
Call 999 or go to A&E if you heard a crack, the joint has changed shape or is pointing at an odd angle, it's numb, tingling or has pins and needles, or the skin has changed colour or is cold. Get help from NHS 111 if it's very painful, badly swollen, or you can't put weight on it or walk more than a few steps, and for a knee that locks, gives way or painfully clicks.
Repeat sprains are common. Our ankle sprain guide: balance training 3 times a week for 8 weeks once you're back on court, and a brace for sport.
Ask for an urgent GP appointment or contact NHS 111 for sudden or very bad shoulder pain, an arm you can't move, a shoulder that has changed shape or is badly swollen, pins and needles that don't go away, or pain that started after a fall.
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Heat exhaustion should improve within 30 minutes of resting somewhere cool, cooling down and drinking. Call 999 if it doesn't, or for a very high temperature, hot skin that isn't sweating, a fast heartbeat, fast breathing, confusion, a fit or loss of consciousness.
Source 54
If you're hypermobile, don't use mobility work to push further: the NHS says "do not overextend your joints just because you can". See a GP if you think you have joint hypermobility syndrome: for example, your joints keep dislocating, or you keep getting sprains, strains, pain or stiffness.
Source 55
A joint pain that is sharp, gets worse during a session, lingers into the next day or changes how you move is a reason to use an easier version, and to see a GP or physiotherapist if it keeps happening (the rule in our plans). Muscle soreness for a day or two after something new is normal. In a hot class, stop if you feel dizzy, sick or unwell; our hot yoga guide lists the signs of heat illness.
With glaucoma, or high blood pressure that isn't under control, skip headstands, shoulder stands and long head-down holds. With osteoporosis, swap deep forward folds for a flat-back hinge from the hips, and twist smoothly. In pregnancy, our yoga in pregnancy guide covers the changes. NCCIH advises beginners to avoid headstands, shoulder stands, the lotus position and forceful breathing.
You can say no to any hands-on adjustment, and a teacher registered with Yoga Alliance must get your explicit consent each time.
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The PAR-Q+ (Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire for Everyone) asks about a heart condition or high blood pressure, chest pain, dizziness or losing consciousness, other long-term conditions and their medicines, a bone or joint problem that activity could make worse, and being told to exercise only under supervision. If you answer yes to any, check with your GP or a qualified exercise professional first. If you're over 45 and not used to hard exercise, ask a qualified exercise professional before the hardest sessions, and delay if you're ill.
Competitive badminton is vigorous, at 7.0 to 9.0 METs, and heavy exertion raises the short-term risk of a heart attack most in people who rarely exercise hard. Use the PAR-Q+ and see your GP if it flags anything, and start with social doubles (our suggestion). Our heart disease guide has more.
The NHS advises getting advice from a healthcare professional first if you have a health problem, an injury or symptoms, or have recently had a heart attack or an operation.
Danish players ruptured the Achilles despite limbering up, and stretching programmes didn't prevent sports injuries across 25 trials. The badminton warm-up that went with fewer injuries is strength, balance and jumps, not stretching.
No trial has tested calf stretching, or anything else, against Achilles ruptures in badminton. Ruptures cluster in recreational players in the middle or at the end of a game, some after earlier symptoms: build up after breaks, warm up, strengthen your calves and get Achilles pain checked.
The two badminton yoga studies are small, outside MEDLINE and in weak journals, we could read only their abstracts, and one found no change in anxiety. There's no MEDLINE trial.
Less inward rotation predicted shoulder pain in young players, so a cross-body stretch makes sense only for a hitting arm that has clearly lost inward rotation. The sleeper stretch is easy to overdo; shoulder-blade work suits everyone.
Source 23
International singles averaged 89% of peak heart rate, and heavy exertion triggers heart attacks most in people who rarely exercise hard. Strength, jump and footwork training have the trial evidence in badminton players.
Across 25 trials, stretching had no effect on sports injuries, and a 2025 consensus of stretching researchers doesn't recommend stretching for injury prevention in general.
It can add calf strength, standing lunge strength, one-leg balance, care for the hitting shoulder and a calm end to a session. No yoga trial in badminton players is in the main medical database, and the two small studies outside it are weak, so treat yoga as a sensible extra, not a proven edge.
Calf raises and holds, low and high lunges, warrior II and chair pose for the legs, one-leg stands and reaches for footwork balance, and Y-T-W raises and scapular push-ups for the hitting shoulder. Our 25-minute class puts them in order.
It hasn't been shown to, and nothing else has been tested either. Ruptures happen mostly to recreational players in their mid-30s, in the middle or at the end of a game; warm up, build up after breaks, strengthen your calves, and get Achilles pain checked. A sudden snap at the back of the heel needs help the same day.
Use the PreventiBad warm-up instead: the one tested badminton warm-up is strength, balance and jumps, and it went with fewer injuries in young players. Long holds just before play cost a little power, so save them for afterwards.
Shoulder-blade and upper-back work on both sides is sensible; about half of players have had pain in the hitting shoulder. Add a cross-body stretch only if your hitting arm turns inwards clearly less than the other, and get sudden or severe pain checked.
Balance training improved footwork push-off in young players, and balance plus jump training beat jumps alone for changing direction. Yoga's one-leg poses are a gentle version of that work; the badminton strength and footwork workout does the rest.
Standing lunge and chair holds train the lunge shape at low load, which may help you control it; that's our reading, not a trial result. A maximal lunge loads the front leg at 2 to 3 times body weight. A knee that locks, gives way or swells after an injury needs checking.
Often, with changes: stand near a wall for balance work, keep lunges shallow, and fill in the PAR-Q+ first, because heavy exertion triggers heart attacks most in people who rarely exercise hard. In older adults, 8 weeks of structured badminton itself improved strength and fitness.
Neither has been tested in badminton players for injuries or performance. Yoga here is calf, lunge and balance work; Pilates is more trunk control on the mat. Our Pilates for badminton players guide has a Pilates class; choose the one you'll keep doing.
Ask your eye team first: shuttle injuries can bleed inside the eye and raise eye pressure, sometimes years later. With raised pressure, our advice is to skip long head-down holds and inversions.
Once or twice a week, about 25 minutes, after play or on a day off, is our suggestion. Keep the PreventiBad warm-up before training and the strength and footwork workout alongside it.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. If you are pregnant, have a health condition such as glaucoma, high blood pressure or osteoporosis, or have had recent surgery, check with a doctor, midwife or physiotherapist before starting, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
