Working makes you stronger, healthier, and more energized. But, it can also lead to injury when pushing too hard or using improper form.
Workout injuries can really impede progress and they make exercise difficult if not impossible. Knowing how to prevent them and how to recover when they do occur will help keep you on top of your game.
5 Workout Injuries You Can Avoid
When working out, use your brain to protect your body! Keep reading to learn about 5 common workout injuries and recovery tips for when they get the best of you.
1. Low Back Strain/Sprain
A back strain occurs when the muscles tear or overstretch, while a sprain refers to a tear in the ligaments of the back. Both of these common workout injuries can occur from any wrong movement, but especially during heavy lifting.
While a minor strain may heal in a few days, a serious sprain might take 4-6 weeks to heal. Speed up your recovery time by resting, eating a balanced diet, and increasing your fluid intake.
Ice your injury for the first 2-3 days to bring down the swelling. Then, you can apply heat for pain as needed.
2. Knee Pain
Your knees aid in mobility and absorb the shock of landing to protect your bones. So, they take on a ton of stress.
Connecting the top portion of your leg to the bottom, the knees consist of cartilage, bone, and many ligaments. Any of these parts can sustain an injury during running, lifting, and squatting especially.
More commonly, people will experience pain in the kneecap when the bone does not move correctly through the groove. A simple RICE method will often eliminate the pain in a day or two but avoid squatting and running for 5-7 days.
When the ligaments of the knee stretch, tear, or snap, you may face a much longer recovery time. This might require surgery in severe cases.
3. Tennis Elbow
When you overwhelm the tendons in your elbow, it causes inflammation and pain. Repetitive motions of the wrist and arm often cause tennis elbow. It can take 6-12 months of resting, icing, and bracing to heal this injury.
4. Pulled Hamstring
A pulled hammy will seriously hurt. This injury typically occurs when people forget to stretch at the gym.
A minor pull will heal in a few days, while a more major hamstring injury can put you down for months. Immediate RICE method and avoiding exercise will significantly impact how long to heal from this.
Try a sports massage as well. This will lose the muscle and increase blood flow to help the injury heal.
5. Shin Splints
Runners can create micro-tears in the tissues involving the shin bone. This leads to swelling and pain on the inner side of the shin bone. Rest and ice will typically heal this injury in a day or two.
Avoiding Workout Injuries
Many people ask, “When can I exercise after an injury?” But they should be more concerned about how to avoid it all together after they heal.
Stretching, using proper lifting techniques, and not overdoing it with weight or reps will help. Also, stay hydrated, sleep 7-9 hours each night, and eat a balanced diet to keep yourself in adequate shape.
Visit Urgent Care
Sometimes, despite all efforts, workout injuries happen. Do not ignore them.
We want to help you heal as quickly as possible. See which of our locations work best for you!