Injuries can happen to anyone, and the most common exercise injuries occur due to two reasons. One is poor posture, and the other is too much too soon. During the day we do not take care of our position which weakens the back muscles, and we hurt our back during workout sessions. The other reason is that we try to do too much too soon. We need to understand that we cannot get rid of all the fat in one day. By doing too much in one day, you not only injure our self, but this also sets you back weeks and months from your workout goals. The key is to use the right technique and pacing yourself so that you do not hurt yourself. Although injuries depend on the type of exercise, you have chosen some areas are commonly affected.
Strained back.
This is the most common injury that many people face. This happens because most of the people have weak back muscles due to longer periods of sitting at home or work and when they start exercising they try to go very fast. The best way is to use your leg muscles to lift and not to use your back.
Strained shoulder.
Overuse of shoulder joints or poor posture during exercise can lead to dislocation of your shoulder or damage to the rotator cuff. You should let your shoulder rest during exercises and strengthen it by doing shoulder presses, wall push-ups, and resistance training.
PCL/ACL injuries
Although this injury is most common in athletes, anyone who plays a sport which requires jumping or changing direction suddenly can experience a tear in Posterior Cruciate Ligament or the Anterior Cruciate ligament.
Runner’s knee
Pain under the kneecap can disrupt your running workout even on a treadmill. It can make even walking painful. You can do muscle strengthening exercises to built strength in your glute, quads, and hip muscles.
Pulled or torn hamstring
Hamstring injury happens due to weak imbalanced, or overly tight leg muscles. Strengthening the hamstring muscles with the help of exercise can take care of this problem.
Achilles tendinitis
When you start exercising your tendons can become tight and get irritated if you keep a fast pace. It is better to avoid extensive training and gradually build strength in the calve muscles.
There are a few steps that you can take to reduce the risk of injury but first, if you are a woman over 55 or a man over 45 years of age make sure it is safe by consulting your doctor.
- Make sure to warm-up before exercise to get your body ready for exercise and to cool down after the workout to bring your heart rate down.
- Stretch is important to increase flexibility. Stretch after warm-up and cool-down to prevent cramps.
- Whenever you start a workout program go slow in the beginning and gradually increase the intensity, frequency, and duration.
- Don’t hurt yourself by pushing too hard but challenge yourself as your fitness abilities increase.
- Change your workout every day so that you do not overuse a single set of muscles because this can result in injury.
- It is vital to keep yourself dehydrated. Drink plenty of water before and after a workout but only take small sips during the workout.
- Eat a healthy protein snack after the workout to keep up your energy.
- Consult a fitness trainer to help you chose a safe exercise program.
- Exercise four or five times a week. Take some days off in the week to give your muscles a chance to rest.
