Advice for working with people who have blood clots?
Do you have any experience and/or what advice do you have for working with people who have blood clots? I have a student who was just diagnosed with a blood clot in her calf….last month! She’s on coumadin now, but is there more I should know/watch out for/avoid?
From Justine:
First off make sure she has permission from her doctor to do Yoga (often, the doctor will tell them what to avoid…..and, sadly, often they won’t!!) If she is on Coumadin and has been for over a month, my guess is the clot is diminishing. Make sure your student is doing the follow up appointments – they should be monitoring her until there is no sign of a clot. Movements in your chair class should be fine. The main risk here is the clot dislodging and causing a problem (this is a big risk, as the problem can be life threatening). My MAIN suggestion would be NO inversions where her feet are above her heart – so, no legs up the wall, or even on the chair just to play it safe…..we don’t want gravity helping to dislodge it. IF your student starts to feel deep pain in her calf – or more importantly higher up the leg – have her stop immediately, and call her doctor. I am not trying to scare anyone here – I am doing worst case scenario because I am a safety girl (extra points if you can name the movie Safety Girl comes from!!) Truly, there shouldn’t be a problem – I just want you to know what to look out for. Hope that helps……
