Physiotherapy Can Help

Gym Injuries, Weightlifting Injuries and How Physiotherapy Can Help

Whether you’re a recreational gym-goer to pursue a more rigorous workout routine, if you workout on a regular basis, then you will suffer an injury at some point or another.

However, the first step towards preventing injuries in the future is making changes in your behaviour today. Working with a qualified physiotherapist to devise a personalised, efficient workout plan can help with this and can also have significant long term benefits to your health and wellbeing.

What Causes Gym and Weightlifting Related Injuries?

There are two primary causes for gym and weightlifting related injuries according to experts — poor posture and overtraining.

Poor posture interferes with the body’s entire musculoskeletal structure. As we pointed out in our previous post, good posture has holistic benefits which reverberate throughout the entire body. When it comes to exercising in the gym and weightlifting, it’s important to ensure that you have good posture and correct form. This will ensure that when you are performing an exercise, you are maximizing its benefits whilst also minimizing your chances of injury.

Moreover, it can be dangerous to exercise in a certain way without proper posture. It’s important to understand how to lift correctly before attempting anything too strenuous, as it’s often the case that how exercises are actually performed have a significant impact on injuries occurring in the first place.

Overtraining is common among regular gym goers and weightlifters, and is defined as trying to do too much, too fast, in both weight and reps. Overtraining doesn’t give the muscles enough time to recover, and this will cause them to become significantly weaker over time.

Aside from these two, however, there are many other factors which contribute towards gym and weightlifting related injuries, and the types of injuries you are prone to will largely depend on what your typical workout entails. For example, if weight lifting and/or power lifting is a regular part of your exercise routine, you are more likely to suffer from a herniated disc due to excessive wear and tear on the spine.

With physical injuries which happen in the gym and from lifting weights, it’s important to consult with a physiotherapist to devise a personalized plan to help you recover correctly and minimise the chances of a similar injury recurring in the future. Studies have shown that the most effective method of recovery for physical injuries is physiotherapy and there is little evidence to suggest that traditional medical treatments are effective in treating injuries such as these.

The Most Common Gym and Weightlifting Injuries

It’s often the case that you may feel sore the day after going to the gym or weightlifting, which is normal. However, there are some areas of the body which are more prone to injury than other and if you experience persistent aches and pains in these areas after going to the gym, your body is telling you that you’re doing something wrong.

Here are a roundup of the most common gym injuries, including their causes and symptoms:

Muscle Pull and Strain

This injury occurs when trying to do too much, too fast and this overexertion causes the muscle to tear. Symptoms of muscle pulling and straining can include excessive swelling or excessive, pain in the affected area even when resting, and weakness or loss of function in the area.

Shoulder Injury

The shoulder is the most unstable joint in the body, which makes it more susceptible to injury. This can come as the result of doing excessive repetitive motions and improper technique, and can potentially be chronic and debilitating problems in the future if not treated correctly.

Lower Back Pain and Strain

Bad posture, bending awkwardly or incorrect form whilst lifting heavy objects can cause lower back pain and strain. Symptoms can include dull ache, continuous throbbing pain or sharper, intense pain. The good news is that with back pain, its bark is almost always worse than its bite, and it can be treated by a qualified physiotherapist.

Knee Injury

A common injury with runners, the knee joint is vulnerable to damage because it carries the full weight of your body during physical exercise. Knee injuries can mean that you cannot put weight on the knee, it keeps giving way and it continuously hurts even when you are not putting weight on it.

Pectoral Injury

This injury is frequently the result of weightlifting, and in particular exercises such as bench presses, chest presses or pectoral flys. It is the result of trying to lift weights which are too heavy, and the muscle cannot withstand the weight. Symptoms can include significant muscle weakness, and if not treated, it can cause gradual degeneration of the muscles, weakening them and predisposing them to future injuries.

How Can These Injuries Be Prevented?

As we have mentioned, there is a clear link between exercise efficiency and injury prevention, and the key is to work smarter, not harder when it comes to maximizing the benefits and minimizing the chance of injury with exercise.

Working with a qualified physiotherapist to devise an efficient workout plan can help implement the necessary changes into your gym routine, and at Healthsure, we provide a number of services for gym and weightlifting related injuries which will get you back in the game as soon as possible.

To find out more about our services and how we can help, call us today on 0800 612 7111.

Also published on Medium.