Those who regularly visit the gym or do workouts on a regular basis have a lot of fitness goals that they want to achieve. One thing that they should also add to their list of fitness goals: avoiding or preventing exercise-related injuries.
Exercise-related injuries should be prevented or avoided because they can really derail your exercise plans. Additionally, these injuries tend to be painful and can cost a lot of money to treat.
Why do exercise-related injuries happen?
Exercise-related injuries occur mainly because of two things: poor form or posture when exercising, and pushing one’s body too fast, too soon.
Avoiding injuries caused by exercise is important, but it’s also important to know what injuries are commonly sustained by people when they work out. That way you avoid these injuries yourself when you exercise.
Below are some of the common injuries that happen while working out.
ACL/PCL Tear
While tears to ligaments like the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) or the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) may be more common among professional athletes, the average exercise buff may also find themselves injuring their ligaments especially if they incorporate a lot of movements in their routines that involve sudden changes in direction or jumping. Having an ACL or PCL tear can decommission you for an extended period of time.
Since most ACL or PCL injuries may involve surgery, this could also set you back financially. For seniors over 65, this can be a very complicated injury. While Medicare might be able to cover your base expenses, some fees may have to be shelled out of pocket. This is why for those who exercise a lot, getting supplemental insurance like Mutual of Omaha Medicare Supplement might be a good idea.
Preventing ligament tears often involves exercises to strengthen your knee, as well as your foot and hip muscles. Forward, backward, and side lunges are a great conditioning exercise to prevent ACL or PCL injuries.
Strained Back
This is a very common injury that many people who exercise sustain. While this can be brought about by incorrect posture when exercising, one of the main reasons why back injuries are common exercise injuries is because the back muscles become weak due to extended periods of standing or sitting.
In order to prevent any injuries to your back while working out, make sure to observe proper form. This is especially true when doing lifting exercises. Make sure to lift with your legs instead of letting your back do the work. Additionally, strengthen your back muscles by doing some low intensity exercises like yoga.
Strained Shoulders
Because of how much motion your shoulders are able to do, there’s also a high possibility of straining them when working out. Accompanied by poor posture and improper workout technique, the likelihood of dislocating your shoulders or damaging your rotator cuff increases.
Avoiding exercise-related injuries to your shoulders can be done with proper preparation. In order to make them more resistant to injury, try exercises like wall push-ups and shoulder presses. If you do a home workout such as yoga, poses like the bridge and plank pose can help strengthen your shoulders. If you do notice any pain or strain in your shoulders while working out, pause your workout and let your shoulder rest before continuing.
Runner’s Knee
If you incorporate the treadmill during your workouts or are a regular fixture in many fun runs or marathons, you may be familiar with runner’s knee. Runner’s knee is a dull pain that occurs in the front of the knee, but it is also characterized by a strange rubbing, clicking or grinding sound that your kneecaps may emit when you move your knee around.
This type of injury is often caused by poor form when walking or running, as well as not stretching or overexerting your legs. Additionally, wearing the wrong footwear can cause runner’s knee.
Runner’s knee can be prevented by observing proper preparation before any rigorous exercises are to be done. Stretching before running and wearing the right running shoes for your feet are essential to preventing runner’s knee. And when running, practice gradually increasing your speed, stride, and distance so as to prevent injury to your knees.
Exercise is an important part of staying healthy, but if you don’t do it properly you can end up doing more harm than good. That’s why knowing the common exercise-related injuries and the ways to prevent them will ensure that when you are chasing your fitness goals, you don’t end up stumbling on a few hurdles along the way.
Image source: Pixabay