The Injury Problem: Preventing Injury

One of the main reasons people seek out a personal trainer is to prevent injuries. This is valid, and one of the main reasons I love helping people workout. Having someone plan workouts with your particular history of injuries, bodily proportions, and comfort in mind should be more accessible, and then having someone watch while you perform those workouts to keep an eye on how your body is moving, and whether certain movements are going to increase your risk for injuring a joint or your spine, this can be priceless.

However, not everyone is comfortable working with a trainer, either because they can't afford it, or feel uncomfortable with the idea of someone watching them workout. Both are understandable!

If you are learning more about fitness and trying to workout more consistently, though, an injury can be a major setback. Not only will it physically stop you from working out, sometimes for months or even years, but it can damage your confidence in your body and what you are capable of.

Injuries happen. My own track record as a trainer is strong, but my personal history? Riddled with injuries, large and small. Herniated discs, pulled muscles, sore joints. Do as I say, not as I do! But throughout these injuries, and while working with people who have come to me injured, or come to sessions after slipping on ice or twisting an ankle, I have learned a thing or two about what to do to prevent them, and how to handle them when they do happen. And these injuries and flare ups of old injuries happen less and less these days, which I take as a good sign as I get older and wiser.

Best Ways to Prevent Injuries

1. Regular exercise. The irony of injuries is that they happen less when you are strong, mobile, and physically used to movement. I would say people who do some sort of movement every day, especially early in the day, are safest. This does not have to be a big workout. It could be a few minutes of stretches and some simple core exercises like planks or birddogs. Keeping your “problem areas” moving, making sure blood is circulating through your body, and having a strong core make for your best injury prevention.

2. Careful progression. Another major cause for injury, especially among those who jump into fitness eagerly, ready to see big change, is rushing their progression. It is one of my biggest jobs as a trainer to rein in my eager clients, sometimes physically removing a weight from their hands to give them a more appropriate movement or weight. But you can replicate this at home with a little radical honesty. When a new movement feels unsafe, step it back and find a safer one. If you feel wobbly and weak in a movement, you probably are! You need to build up to it, break it down to smaller pieces, figure out where that wobble is coming from and make it stronger. And don’t rush to increase weights. Beginners will increase their strength quickly when compared to more experienced exercisers, but for the longevity of your workout habit, please, keep the increases in weight small, no more than 10 pounds in a week for larger lifts (your staples like deadlifts, squats, bench, and row) and 5 pounds in a week for smaller lifts (isolations, upper body, one sided movements like lunges or step ups).

3. Risk aversion. There is no way to prevent all risk, but there are activities which increase your risk of injury significantly. Only you can assess the level of risk. We all survived some activity in our teens or twenties which would leave us laid up for weeks after 35. There are risks inherent in any exercise, and risk is not unavoidable. However, sometimes we get to choose, and if your priority is long-term health, there are some times when you can choose the less risky option. You cannot choose to avoid rushing over to catch your child before they fall, but you can choose not to ride the mechanical bull at your friends’ bachelor party. Running has risks of injury, yes, but they are smaller than downhill skiing, or axe throwing. However, if you grew up axe throwing your whole life, it might actually be safer for you than running! Risk is highly individualized. I can’t tell you what makes sense for you, especially not without a long conversation about your goals, priorities, and experience. But I can tell you that it is something you should think about if your long-term health is a high priority for you.

So there are some tips for preventing injury! Next week, I'll try to put up some things to do if you already have an injury that can help you come back stronger.

If you have questions, don't hesitate to schedule a free consultation! I am happy to help you figure out a way to exercise safely, and help you learn how to use your body with more strength, less injury. While I cannot guarantee you will never be injured again, I can help you build that regular exercise habit which will make you more injury-proof for the future.