Yoga guide
Wrestling asks for strong hips and legs, a strong grip, back and neck, and repeated hard efforts from a low stance, and the knee, shoulder and head take most of the injuries. Yoga can add range you control in the hips, upper back and shoulders, back endurance, balance and a calm way to wind down. It isn't a way to make weight: three college wrestlers died in 1997 while trying to lose weight fast in hot conditions, and a hot yoga room is a hot room.
Only one small, weak trial has tested yoga in wrestlers, and none has counted injuries, so this guide says plainly what yoga can and can't do. It covers where wrestlers get hurt, the neck and why yoga keeps weight off the head, hips and the lower back, why more flexibility isn't the goal, recovery between bouts, skin on shared mats, making weight and hot rooms under the rules, and a free 25-minute room-temperature class with a 3D demo of every move. It's general information, not a diagnosis, and it doesn't replace coaching, strength and conditioning, the sport's medical rules or rehabilitation.
In one small trial outside PubMed, 24 wrestlers who added 8 weeks of yoga reported less mood disturbance than those who only wrestled, but serotonin, the paper's main measure, rose more in the group that didn't do yoga, and the paper doesn't say how the groups were randomised. No study has counted injuries after yoga or stretching in wrestlers.
US college men had 8.82 injuries per 1,000 athlete-exposures (one athlete in one practice or match), and 4.11 times as many in matches as in practice. The knee (21.4%), shoulder (13.4%) and head and face (13.3%) led. Takedowns caused 42.3% of injuries in an earlier 16-year series, and the shoulder and elbow together are about a fifth of injuries.
Stingers, a burning, dead arm after a stretch or pinch of the nerves in the neck or shoulder, were the commonest spine injury in college wrestlers, and 74% of catastrophic injuries happened to the defending wrestler during a takedown. So the yoga here adds nothing that loads the head or neck: no headstands, shoulder stands or plough, and gentle neck range only.
Elite and amateur wrestlers didn't differ in hamstring flexibility, a review found flexibility isn't one of the key fitness factors for success in wrestling, and stretching programmes don't prevent sports injuries. Yoga for wrestlers is range you control in the hips, upper back and shoulders, not the splits.
Three college wrestlers died in 1997 while trying to lose weight fast in sweat suits in hot conditions. US college rules ban hot rooms "for any purpose", saunas in season and sweat suits. One 90-minute hot yoga class caused about 1.5 litres of sweat loss, with only a quarter replaced.
United World Wrestling (UWW), the sport's world governing body, says skin infections cost wrestlers more training and competition time than any other medical problem, and calls showering straight after training the single most important way to prevent them. Use your own clean mat, don't practise with a spot or rash, and never cover one to train: the rules don't allow it.
Freestyle and Greco-Roman are the Olympic styles, women wrestle freestyle, and US schools and colleges wrestle folkstyle; our wrestling page has the rules. Bouts are short and very hard, from a low, bent stance, with shots, lifts, sprawls and work on the mat. In 92 male wrestlers, elite wrestlers were 8% to 25% stronger than amateurs, but no more flexible in the hamstrings. This guide is about amateur wrestling, not professional show wrestling or arm wrestling.
Range you control in the hips, upper back and shoulders; back and side-trunk endurance; one-leg balance; slow breathing to settle after training; and a calm, room-temperature session on a rest day. Yoga doesn't replace the wrestling warm-up, strength and conditioning (including neck work in the strength workout), coaching, the weight and skin rules, or rehabilitation. Our wrestling page has the training, rules and warm-up, and our yoga for martial arts guide covers judo, jiu-jitsu and the striking arts.
In US college men from 2014 to 2019, there were 8.82 injuries per 1,000 athlete-exposures, with matches 4.11 times practice. The knee took 21.4% of injuries, the shoulder 13.4%, the head and face 13.3%, the trunk 8.0%, the neck 3.1% and the hip and groin 1.9%, and concussion was the most reported single injury. From 2004 to 2014, college injury rates were about four times high school rates (9.28 against 2.38 per 1,000 athlete-exposures).
In college wrestling from 1988 to 2004, direct contact during a takedown caused 42.3% of injuries, and injuries were about twice as common in preseason, which the authors suggest may reflect rushed attempts to lose weight before the season.
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Shoulder and elbow injuries together were 21.2% of wrestling injuries in a systematic review: mostly strains and sprains, rotator cuff injuries, injuries of the joint at the top of the shoulder, shoulders that slip, and elbow ligament injuries.
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Wrestling had 4.8 injuries per 1,000 minutes of competition, fewer than judo, boxing or taekwondo, but 39.6% kept wrestlers out for more than a week.
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In 35 catastrophic injuries in US wrestlers from 1981 to 1999, 74% happened to the defending wrestler during a takedown. Among school and college sports other than American football, wrestling had the third-highest rate of catastrophic head and neck injuries, after gymnastics and ice hockey. Good coaching of takedowns, not yoga, is what protects the neck here (our reading).
Strength and power training, the weight and skin rules, and good coaching of takedowns carry the evidence in wrestling. Only one weak trial has tested yoga in wrestlers.
In 24 trained wrestlers, 12 added yoga three times a week for 8 weeks, 60 to 75 minutes a session, alongside wrestling. Self-rated mood disturbance fell from 16.3 to 11.4 with yoga and rose from 17.6 to 24.7 without it. But serotonin, the paper's main measure, rose more in the group that didn't do yoga (147 to 227 against 153 to 194 ng/ml), though the paper credits yoga. It says the wrestlers were divided randomly but not how, blinding wasn't described, it is a 4-page report in a journal outside PubMed, and it counted no injuries. That's why we grade it mixed.
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In 30 male wrestlers, an 8-week mindfulness course of 16 sessions, with breathing, body scans, relaxation and some yoga, lowered stress, depression, the stress hormone cortisol and a muscle damage marker more than an active comparison. It was one small trial at one centre, blinding wasn't described and some baseline figures look implausibly uniform, and yoga was only one part of the course.
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PubMed found 3 records for yoga with wrestling and 8 with judo, jiu-jitsu or grappling, none a relevant trial, and ClinicalTrials.gov had none. Across sport, 25 trials with 26,610 people found that stretching programmes didn't prevent injuries, while strength and balance training did better.
Wrestling+, a strength, balance and control warm-up, was tested in 80 young freestyle wrestlers, but the paper has confidence intervals that don't contain their own estimates and a headline figure that doesn't match its own rates, so treat it as a first result. It isn't yoga.
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In 24 college wrestlers, 4 weeks of daily dynamic warm-ups before practice improved strength, power and endurance tests, while static warm-ups didn't and some measures fell. In athletes who need range, wrestlers among them, static holds of over 60 seconds before effort caused small performance drops. Long holds belong after training.
A critical appraisal found poor evidence for a link between neck strength and neck injury risk in wrestling. UWW recommends neck strengthening anyway, and it belongs in your strength training, not in yoga.
No study has tested this in wrestlers. In one crossover trial of 20 male athletes, 15 minutes of yoga after interval training settled breathing and heart rate variability faster than stretching, for 10 to 15 minutes; no trial has measured next-day recovery after yoga. Slow breathing raises heart rate variability while you do it, but 4 weeks of it after sprint training added nothing in 34 people.
In US college wrestlers, spine injuries ran at 0.71 per 1,000 athlete-exposures. Stingers were the commonest (0.14), then muscle strains in the lower back (0.11) and disc injuries in the neck (0.10); these national estimates were built from 57 injuries.
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A review notes that wrestlers often support a lot of weight on their heads or are forced into extreme ranges of motion. In yoga, hand, shoulder and head stands caused the most acute harms in a survey of 1,702 practitioners. Yoga doesn't need to add more load to the head and neck (our reading).
Gentle range only: chin tucks, upper-back turns and thread the needle with the side of your head on a folded towel. Nothing that loads or tips the head: no headstand, shoulder stand, plough or fish pose, and no wheel or camel with the head dropped back. After a stinger, a neck injury or a concussion, leave out the chin tucks, thread the needle and side plank until you're cleared, and stop for any tingling or weakness in an arm, as our rugby class says. A stinger that keeps coming back, or tingling that hasn't fully gone, needs checking before wrestling or yoga; our stingers guide has the checks.
Under UWW's policy, a wrestler with a suspected concussion must be removed at once, there is no return the same day under any circumstance, and the minimum rest is 21 days for under-15s and under-17s, 14 days for under-20s and 7 to 10 days for seniors and veterans, which UWW calls minimums, not targets. British Wrestling's grassroots guidance gives at least 12 days for adults and 23 for under-19s before a return to play. For club wrestlers, the UK guidelines' rule of no competition before day 21 applies, as our wrestling page says. Yoga waits too (our suggestion, from these documents).
Hours in a low, bent stance can leave the front of the hips feeling tight. The hip and groin took only 1.9% of college injuries, so hip work here is for comfort and control: the low lunge or a kneeling hip flexor stretch for the front of the hip, 90/90 moves for turning the hip in and out under your own control, and a shallow goddess pose held for strength.
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Muscle strains in the lower back were the second commonest spine injury in college wrestlers, and the trunk took 8.0% of injuries.
Bird dog, side plank, locust and glute bridges build back and side-trunk endurance at low load. No trial has tested them for wrestlers' backs, but across sport, strength and balance training, not stretching, has the injury prevention evidence. Leave locust out if arching pinches your back, and see the back warning signs below.
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The knee is the commonest injury site in college wrestling (21.4%). With a sore knee, keep the goddess pose shallow, swap pigeon for reclined figure four, and leave out anything that twists the knee (our suggestion, from the moves' cautions). Our MCL sprain and meniscus tear guides have the plans.
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In 92 male wrestlers, elite and amateur wrestlers didn't differ in height, body fat, hamstring flexibility or running speed, while the elite wrestlers were 8% to 25% stronger. A review concluded that flexibility doesn't seem to be one of the key fitness factors for reaching a high level in wrestling.
Hypermobile athletes had about three times the odds of a shoulder injury, on low-quality evidence. In wrestling, an opponent can lever a joint past the range you control, so control matters more than extra range (our reading).
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.
Range you can hold with your own muscles in the hips, upper back and shoulders, built after training or on a rest day. Before training, the wrestling warm-up, moving rather than holding. No forced splits or wide-legged groin stretching: groin strains happen when people force the legs wider than they are ready for.
In 12 elite Greco-Roman wrestlers in a simulated one-day tournament, performance fell steadily, especially in the last two matches, and the upper body most. Across 13 studies of repeated matches in combat sports, freestyle wrestlers and jiu-jitsu athletes tired earlier in the arms and legs; none of the studies was a randomised controlled trial.
In 16 national-level wrestlers, six static stretches held twice for 30 seconds, or foam rolling, after a match did no better than sitting still over 10 minutes, and neither restored jump performance better than rest. Across 27 studies in combat sports, few recovery methods beat passive rest at 24 hours.
In 21 jiu-jitsu athletes, nine 30-second wrist stretches between fights lowered grip strength, while cold water brought it back. Save long forearm holds for after the tournament.
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Easy movement, fluids and staying warm rather than long holds. In judo, 15 minutes of easy running or sitting was long enough to recover test performance between matches. Save the yoga class for a rest day after the tournament, at room temperature.
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This section is about safety and the rules. It gives no weight-cutting methods: our wrestling page covers weight classes and certification.
Three US college wrestlers died within weeks of each other while trying to lose weight fast before competition. The investigation found they had restricted food and fluid and tried to sweat off weight in sweat suits while exercising hard in hot conditions, and concluded that under such conditions, particularly with dehydration, there are no established limits for safe weight loss.
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US college rules say hot rooms, hot boxes and steam rooms are "prohibited for any purpose", saunas are banned at any time during the season, and sweat suits used for weight loss are banned whatever the purpose. The practice room must be no warmer than 80°F (about 27°C) at the start of practice, weight can come down by no more than 1.5% of body weight a week, and wrestlers' hydration is tested before their minimum weight is set.
In 5 women, a 90-minute hot yoga class caused about 1.5 litres of sweat loss, with only a quarter replaced, and just over half of 157 hot yoga users had had a problem, most often dizziness or light-headedness. Our reading of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rule: a heated yoga room used to sweat off weight is a banned hot room. For any wrestler, at any level, it is the same kind of heat exposure the 1997 deaths involved.
British Wrestling says under-15s have no fixed body weight classes to cut for, no performance advantage in cutting weight and therefore no need to cut weight, lists sweat suits during hard exercise and saunas among harmful methods, and treats restricting a child's food or fluid as neglect.
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An American College of Sports Medicine consensus links deaths during weight cuts to heat stroke from severe fluid restriction, passive heat or hard exercise to sweat, and supports banning plastic suits and saunas. A 2025 sports nutrition position stand for mixed martial arts takes a looser view. Wrestling's governing bodies ban heat for making weight, and this guide follows them.
At a World Championship, 69% of wrestlers had lost weight to compete, and training in a heated room and the sauna were among the commonest methods. Rapid weight loss raised markers of kidney strain in 12 wrestlers and, across combat sports, muscle damage, fatigue and injury rates. UWW's hydration guidance links dehydration with poor performance, heat stroke, cramps and even acute kidney injury.
Our editorial advice: don't use hot yoga, saunas or sweat suits to make weight. In any hot class, drink before and during, and stop at the first sign of dizziness, a headache or feeling sick; our hot yoga guide gives the NHS signs of heat exhaustion and heatstroke.
Never use yoga, a hot room or breathing exercises to make weight, and keep any yoga in the days before a weigh-in gentle and at room temperature (our suggestion). If making weight is taking over your eating, our eating disorders guides can help.
Wrestling accounted for 73.6% of skin infections in US high school athletes. In college men there were 14.23 skin infections per 10,000 athlete-exposures, and 65.2% came from just 5 team-seasons, which shows how they spread through a squad.
UWW calls cleansing straight after training the single most important preventive measure, asks for mats to be cleaned after every training session, and extends routine cleaning to resistance bands and strength equipment. Don't share towels.
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US school rules say covering a contagious skin condition is not acceptable and does not make a wrestler eligible, and US college rules say active herpes infections must not be covered to take part. British Wrestling's advice is: "Do not go to the club. Do not try to cover it with tape and carry on. You risk infecting your whole team."
Shower after training before you do yoga, use your own clean mat and towel, and skip the class with any spot, rash or sore that could be contagious until it's treated and no longer catching.
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In 537 college wrestlers, 26% of those who wore headgear had had an ear haematoma (blood collecting in the ear), against 52% of those who didn't. Of 1,338 former wrestlers, 69% had cauliflower ear, and of those, 59% had had pain and 30% sleep problems. Side-lying and some twisting poses press on an ear: use a folded towel, keep the sore ear facing up, or skip the move (our suggestion).
Slow breathing, 2 minutes, in for about 4 and out for about 6, with no holds (our yoga for hockey players class; adapted from the move page's dose), to settle after training, never as a way to make weight. Cat-cow: "8 waves, slower than feels natural" (the move page's dose), on fists if a finger or wrist is sore.
Chin tucks, 5 holds of 5 seconds, sliding the chin straight back (our yoga for neck pain class); leave them out after a stinger or neck injury until you're cleared. Thoracic rotation: "6 rotations per side, moving with the breath" (the move page's dose). Thread the needle, 30 seconds each side, the side of your head on a folded towel (our yoga for rugby players class; adapted from the move page's dose); ease off with a sore shoulder or ear. Open book: "8 to 10 slow openings each side, pausing 2 seconds at the end" (the move page's dose), a cushion under your head and a sore ear facing up.
Y-T-W raises, 5 of each shape, forehead on a folded towel; scapular push-ups, 2 sets of 10, on a wall if a shoulder or wrist is sore (both our yoga for tennis players class). Wall angels, 8 slow slides (our yoga for weightlifters class).
Low lunge, 45 seconds each side, back knee padded (our yoga for rugby players class), or the kneeling hip flexor stretch, 2 holds of 30 seconds each side, mild (our yoga for a hip labral tear class). 90/90 switch: "10 slow switches, pause at the ends" (the move page's dose). 90/90 hip lift-off, 3 holds of 5 seconds each way, each side, backing off for sharp groin pain (our yoga for rugby players class; adapted from the move page's dose). Goddess pose, 3 holds of 3 breaths, shallow (our yoga for rugby players class).
Bird dog, 2 sets of 6 each side, on fists or forearms if a wrist or finger is sore (our yoga for a hip labral tear class). Glute bridge, 2 sets of 10, and locust, 2 holds of 5 breaths, lowering your chest if your low back pinches (both our yoga for hockey players class). Side plank, 2 holds of 20 to 30 seconds each side, on your forearm with the lower knee down to start, skipped with an unstable shoulder (our yoga for rugby players class).
Single-leg stand, 2 holds of 30 seconds each leg, hip, knee and foot in line; warrior III, 3 breaths each side, twice, hands on a chair at hip height (both our yoga for rugby players class).
Hamstring stretch with a strap, 45 seconds each side, a mild pull, about 3 out of 10; reclined figure four, 45 seconds each side; corpse pose, 2 minutes (all our yoga for rugby players class, corpse pose adapted from the move page's dose).
Nothing that loads or tips the head and neck: no headstand, shoulder stand or plough, and no fish pose, which its page says to skip with a neck injury or cervical spondylosis; leave out wheel and camel with the head dropped back. Neck strengthening belongs in the wrestling strength workout. No forced splits or wide-legged groin stretching. With a sore knee, swap pigeon for reclined figure four. No long wrist and forearm holds between bouts, no hot yoga, sauna or sweat suit to make weight, and no forceful breathing or breath holds before contact or around a weigh-in. Don't lie on a sore or swollen ear, and don't share an uncleaned mat or towel (our suggestion).
3D demoSupported headstand (Salamba Sirsasana)Expert · A wall
3D demoSupported shoulderstand (Salamba Sarvangasana)Advanced · No equipment
3D demoPlow pose (Halasana)Advanced · No equipment
3D demoFish pose (Matsyasana)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoWheel pose (Urdhva Dhanurasana)Advanced · No equipment
3D demoCamel pose (Ustrasana)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoWide-angle seated forward fold (Upavistha Konasana)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoPigeon preparation (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana prep)Intermediate · No equipmentAfter training or on a rest day, in a room at normal temperature, our 25-minute class for wrestlers: our own selection, untested in a trial. Strength, neck work and conditioning are in the wrestling workouts; the rugby class is a close fit, and the martial arts class covers grapplers and strikers. After a concussion, only the stage you're cleared for; after rhabdomyolysis, only with a doctor's clearance.
A 25-minute room-temperature yoga class for wrestlers: upper back and shoulders, hips out of the stance, back endurance and slow breathing, nothing on the head.
25 minBeginner18 movesWallA 55-minute strength and power session for wrestlers: jump squats, medicine-ball throws, trap bar deadlifts, split squats, pull-ups, carries and neck holds.
55 minIntermediate16 movesWall, bandA 40-minute preseason session: a warm-up, 6 maximal 35 m sprints with 10 seconds' recovery, then 3 rounds of sprawls, shuttles, crawls and climbers.
40 minIntermediate12 movesCardio machineTwenty-five minutes of recovery-day yoga for rugby: gentle neck and upper-back moves, hip and groin range, hamstring holds, one-leg balance, then slow breathing.
25 minBeginner16 movesWallTwenty-five minutes of yoga for martial artists: slow breathing, hip range you control, the kicking leg and one-leg balance, wrists and upper back, then rest.
25 minBeginner17 movesWallA 15-minute martial arts warm-up: easy running, forward rolls and breakfall practice, leg swings, balance and hops, crawls, squats, side planks and bridges.
15 minBeginner17 movesCardio machine, wallDeep neck holds and shoulder-blade strength in under 20 minutes: one of the best-supported kinds of exercise for a stiff, sore neck.
18 minBeginner11 movesBand, anchor pointA 6-minute breathing routine: slow breathing, crocodile breathing, alternate nostril breathing, box breathing and 4-7-8 breathing.
6 minBeginner5 movesNo equipmentA 20-minute light session after a concussion: a symptom check, 10 to 15 minutes of easy cycling or walking, gentle bodyweight moves and a cool-down.
20 minBeginner8 movesCardio machine, bench or boxA 30-minute light session for the first weeks back after rhabdomyolysis: easy cycling or walking, Pilates-style moves and light strength, never to failure.
30 minBeginner15 movesCardio machine, bench or boxThese are the warning signs from our wrestling, martial arts yoga, neck, back, shoulder, knee, hot yoga 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.
Off the mat: if in doubt, sit them out. No return that day, and an assessment within 24 hours by a healthcare professional or NHS 111. Get help from NHS 111 straight away if they're being sick, feel dizzy, take medicine that thins the blood, or had been drinking alcohol.
Call 999 if someone has hit their head and has been knocked out and hasn't woken up, can't stay awake or keep their eyes open, has a fit, has fallen from a height of more than 1 metre or 5 stairs, has problems with their vision or hearing, has clear fluid coming from their ears or nose, has new numbness or weakness, has problems with walking, balance, understanding, speaking or writing, hit their head at high speed, or their behaviour has changed. Get help from NHS 111 if they're being sick, feel dizzy or take medicine that thins the blood. If you're told to go to A&E (accident and emergency), don't drive yourself there if you have hit your head.
With a suspected concussion, if in doubt, sit them out. The UK's grassroots guidelines say no sport for at least 24 hours, get checked by a healthcare professional or NHS 111 within 24 hours, follow a staged return, and no competition before day 21; if symptoms last beyond 28 days, stay out of sport and see a doctor. Yoga waits too: gentle breathing fits the early, light-activity stages, and no head-down poses or inversions until you're cleared (our reading). Our concussion guide has the stages.
After a fall onto the head, with neck pain, or weakness, tingling or burning in the arms or legs: don't move them, as the UK guidelines say only trained healthcare professionals should, and call 999 (our suggestion).
Call 999 or go to A&E after a neck injury if the person is unresponsive, has severe neck pain or cannot move their head, has fallen from a height such as 5 or more stairs, or is drunk or has taken recreational drugs. Do not drive yourself. Being 65 or over, a dangerous fall or crash (from more than 1 metre or 5 stairs, diving, a high-speed or rollover crash, being thrown from a vehicle, a bicycle collision or an accident on a motorised recreational vehicle), or tingling in the arms or legs after an injury puts you at high risk of a broken neck: get checked.
After a throw, a takedown or a neck crank:
Numbness, tingling, burning or weakness in both arms, in more than one limb, or in the legs: keep the player still and call 999. It can be an injury to the spinal cord, even if it passes in minutes.
Call 999 or go to A&E: new problems walking, loss of bladder or bowel control, or a sudden loss of coordination, such as difficulty doing up buttons. These can be signs of pressure on the spinal cord.
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Same day (urgent GP appointment or NHS 111): severe neck pain that starts suddenly or gets worse quickly; heaviness or weakness in the arms or legs; pins and needles in an arm along with neck or arm pain; or pain between the shoulder blades.
Same day: clumsiness in your hands, or numbness, pins and needles or weakness in one or both arms, that is getting worse; problems with balance or walking since the neck pain started; or neck pain with a severe headache.
Same day (NHS 111) after a neck injury, if any of these are new or getting much worse: severe neck pain; numbness or weakness in the arms or legs; clumsy hands (dropping things, or struggling with handwriting, buttons or zips); changes in bladder or bowel control; changed feeling around the bottom or genitals, or sexual problems such as recently being unable to have an orgasm or an erection; or feeling generally unwell. The same applies if you have a history of spinal problems, such as osteoporosis or rheumatoid arthritis.
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A cut or wound that's painful, swollen or red, feels warm or leaks pus needs an urgent GP appointment or NHS 111. Call 999 or go to A&E for spreading, hot, swollen skin with a very high temperature, a fast heartbeat, confusion or feeling faint.
Get an urgent GP appointment or call NHS 111 if you feel unusually tired, feel dizzy on standing and it doesn't go away, or have dark yellow pee or are peeing less. Call 999 or go to A&E for blue, grey, pale or blotchy skin, skin that feels cold, fast breathing, confusion or being hard to wake.
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Confusion, fainting, dark urine or passing very little urine: stop and get medical help.
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Our editorial advice: don't use hot yoga, saunas or sweat suits to make weight. In any hot class, drink before and during, and stop at the first sign of dizziness, a headache or feeling sick; our hot yoga guide gives the NHS signs of heat exhaustion and heatstroke.
These can be signs of rhabdomyolysis, which put a 16-year-old in hospital after a preseason wrestling camp. Get medical help the same day: call NHS 111, or go to A&E if you feel very unwell. Our rhabdomyolysis guide explains more.
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Get it seen the same day, before the blood hardens into cauliflower ear.
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Call 999 or go to A&E: loss of feeling or numbness around the genitals or bottom, new trouble peeing or controlling your bladder or bowels, changes in genital sensation during sex or problems with erections or orgasm, or pain, tingling, weakness or numbness in both legs. These are signs of cauda equina syndrome, which needs treating in hospital urgently. Don't drive yourself.
Same day: leg weakness that is getting worse.
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Call 999 or go to A&E: after a fall or injury, your shoulder looks out of place or has changed shape, you cannot move your arm, or your shoulder is painful, bruised or swollen. Do not drive yourself, and do not try to put it back in yourself.
Go to A&E (accident and emergency) if you've injured your knee and it has changed shape, it becomes very swollen very quickly, you felt a pop or snap, you can see bone sticking out, or it's bleeding heavily. Don't drive yourself: ask someone to take you, or call 999 if the pain means you can't move your leg to get there.
Get advice from NHS 111 now: the knee locks, gives way or clicks painfully. Painless clicking is normal.
Call 999 if:
Move to a cool place, take off unnecessary clothing, drink plenty of water or an isotonic sports drink, and cool the skin with cool water and a fan. You should start to cool down and feel better within 30 minutes. If you're struggling to treat it, or need advice, get help from NHS 111.
Leave the heat at once if you feel dizzy, get a headache or feel sick, and cool down straight away if it doesn't pass. In a survey of 157 hot yoga practitioners, just over half had had a problem, most often dizziness, light-headedness, nausea or dehydration, and case reports describe a cardiac arrest from heatstroke and a heart attack during hot classes.
If someone is still unwell after 30 minutes of resting in a cool place, being cooled and drinking fluids, or has a very high temperature, hot skin that isn't sweating, a fast heartbeat, fast breathing or shortness of breath, confusion and lack of coordination, a seizure or fit, or loses consciousness. Heatstroke is a medical emergency: while you wait, wrap them in a cool, wet sheet, or fan them or sponge them down with cold water.
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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.
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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 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.
Never. Three college wrestlers died in 1997 while trying to sweat off weight in hot conditions, US college rules ban hot rooms "for any purpose" and saunas in season, an expert consensus links weight-cut deaths to heat stroke, and one hot class caused about 1.5 litres of sweat loss.
No study has counted injuries after yoga or stretching in wrestlers, and across sport, stretching programmes didn't prevent injuries while strength and balance training did.
Elite and amateur wrestlers didn't differ in hamstring flexibility, flexibility isn't a key factor in wrestling success, and very flexible athletes had more shoulder injuries. In wrestling, an opponent can lever a joint past what you control.
No study shows that neck strength prevents neck injury in wrestling, and hand, shoulder and head stands are the yoga practices most linked with acute harm. Neck strength work belongs in the strength workout; yoga keeps weight off the head.
After a match, stretching or foam rolling did no better than sitting still, and wrist stretching between jiu-jitsu fights lowered grip strength.
The one yoga trial in wrestlers claimed it, but serotonin rose more in the group that didn't do yoga, and the trial didn't measure overtraining.
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It can add range you control in the hips, upper back and shoulders, back endurance, balance and a calm way to wind down. In the one small trial, wrestlers who added yoga reported better mood, but no study has looked at injuries or performance.
Low lunge and 90/90 moves for the hips after the stance, thread the needle and wall angels for the upper back and shoulders, bird dog, side plank and locust for back endurance, and one-leg balance. Nothing that puts weight on the head.
Before training, a moving warm-up: dynamic warm-ups beat static ones in college wrestlers. After training or on a rest day, gentle holds such as the low lunge, 90/90 switches, a hamstring stretch with a strap and reclined figure four. Flexibility isn't what separates elite wrestlers, so aim for comfortable range you control, not the splits.
It hasn't been shown to. No study has counted injuries after yoga or stretching in wrestlers, and across sport, strength and balance training, not stretching, prevented injuries.
No. Three college wrestlers died in 1997 while trying to lose weight fast in sweat suits in hot conditions, and US college rules ban hot rooms "for any purpose". Wrestle at a weight you can make with ordinary eating and training.
Gentle range, chin tucks and upper-back mobility are reasonable; headstands, shoulder stands and plough aren't, because wrestlers already take a lot of weight through the head. Neck strength work belongs in your strength training, and numbness, tingling or weakness in an arm after a neck injury needs urgent help.
Not especially: elite and amateur wrestlers didn't differ in hamstring flexibility, and flexibility isn't a key factor in success. Control of the range you have matters more than extra range.
Not clearly: after a match, stretching or foam rolling did no better than resting, and wrist stretching between jiu-jitsu fights lowered grip strength. Between bouts, keep moving gently and stay warm, and save yoga for after the tournament.
Slow breathing helps you settle, and it raises heart rate variability while you do it. Use it to calm down after training, never to make weight, and skip forceful breathing and breath holds before contact.
Shower first, use your own clean mat and towel, and skip the class with any spot or rash that could be contagious. United World Wrestling calls cleansing straight after training the single most important preventive measure, and covering a contagious lesion isn't allowed for wrestling either.
Back and side-trunk endurance (bird dog, side plank, locust) and hip mobility are reasonable, untested additions: muscle strains in the lower back were the second commonest spine injury in college wrestlers. Back pain with numbness around the genitals or bottom, bladder or bowel changes, or weakness in both legs is a 999 call.
Once or twice a week, about 25 minutes, after training or on a rest day, at room temperature (our suggestion). It sits beside wrestling, strength and conditioning, not in place of them.
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.
