Unfortunately, weightlifting injuries are common. However, most of them can be easily treated and prevented. As weightlifting competitions make their way to Colorado this year, spine doctors in Denver are urging competitors to take into account their spinal health and practice good form when lifting. If you plan to do weightlifting long-term, make sure you know the most common injuries that can happen and how to treat them.
If you experience an injury, make sure to let the coach or athletic trainer know as soon as possible so you can get treatment. If you are at the gym alone, let someone at the gym know, and then go to the nearest clinic or hospital.
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Common Weightlifting Injuries
Most injuries caused by weightlifting are because there is too much strain on the muscles. Injuries are most common in the knees, the shoulders, and the back. Most of these are minor issues that can be solved with some treatment and visits to the doctor.
However, serious injuries can also occur with weightlifting so you need to make sure you have all injuries checked as soon as they happen.
The most common weightlifting injuries include:
- Biceps strain
- Back strain
- Rotator cuff strain
- Patellar tendonitis
- Disc herniation
- IT band syndrome
- Tennis elbow
- Hamstring tears
Serious injuries include patellar tendon tears, Achilles tendon ruptures, and meniscus tears. More serious injuries can take even months and years to heal which can cause you to have to take a step back when it comes to weightlifting.
Most of the injuries that happen during weightlifting are because of one of the following reasons:
- Weightlifting too much which is considered an overuse injury
- Doing too much lifting at one time which causes an acute injury
- Using a bad form while you are lifting which can cause acute and overuse injuries
Injuries and Prevention
Here are the most common injuries and simple ways you can prevent them.
Hamstring Tears
This injury is common and you will know you have it when you experience a shooting pain in the back of the thigh. You might experience it when you are weight lifting and jumping at the same time.
Prevention
Stretching is key. Deadlifting can also strengthen the hamstring muscles which make them less prone to injuries.
Patellar Tendonitis
This is pain experienced in the kneecap. It happens when there is inflammation or when you put too much stress on the muscle because of improper form.
Prevention
During all exercises with the legs, make sure the middle of the knee is inline with your 2nd toe. If you see your knees coming out of alignment, make sure to adjust them right away. You also need to make sure you work on stretching and flexibility.
Tennis Elbow
This is inflammation caused by over gripping and doing too many exercises involving the elbow and wrists. It can be made worse if you try to push through the pain.
Prevention
Make sure you warm up with doing heavy gripping. You also need to make sure your wrists remain flexible by doing exercises like pushups and crawling.
Disc Herniation
This are most often caused by improper form when someone is lifting. They can also be made worse if you have poor posture. If your spine has too much wear and tear, you can experience a disc herniation.
Prevention
Make sure you keep a neutral spine when you are weightlifting and doing strengthening exercises. Make sure not to do too many weight lifting exercises when you are twisting as this puts you at higher risk of injuring your spine. When discs herniate, it can often put pressure on your spinal cord, often creating instances of nerve damage. While supplements like Nerve Control 911 might help, majority of the prevention for herniated discs begins with good form and proper training.
Below there are some tips and techniques you can try to prevent all weightlifting injuries.
Make Sure Your Form is Good
Before you begin weightlifting, you need to ensure your form is good. Form can help to prevent almost all common weightlifting injuries. However, not everyone knows what forms looks like or feels like.
This is where hiring a personal trainer or asking an experienced friend for help is important. Ask them to show you the proper form and then practice it in front of a mirror. Doing it in front of a mirror helps you to see how the form looks. You also want to pay attention to how the proper form feels so it becomes muscle memory.
Increase Your Load Slowly
Even if you have the perfect form, you can still get injured if you are doing too much weightlifting at one time. This happens when people do not take recovery and rest periods. Without letting your body and muscles rest, you are putting yourself at a high risk of injuries.
One of the best things you can do for your body is to increase your weight load slowly. You should only increase your load if you feel like you can do more repetitions without compromising your farm.
Most weightlifters keep track of their loads on their phone so they can see the best time to increase.
Variety is Key
Even with the right form and right load, you can still get a lot of injuries from weightlifting if you are doing the same activities every day rather than mixing it up, you can get injuries to the body parts that you are overworking.
Keep in mind that not all your exercises should be weightlifting. For example, to keep your form good while lifting weights, you need a strong core. Some of your weekly exercises need to focus on the core. You also need to do some cardio to ensure your endurance and body are strong.
Some people also find that taking a rest day is good. If the idea of a rest day is not appealing to you, you can consider doing some relaxing activities instead like yoga or stretching.
The Bottom Line
Since weightlifting can easily cause injuries, it’s recommended you work with a personal trainer and take health supplements to keep your muscles and body strong.
By knowing the common injuries that come with weight lifting and the easiest ways to prevent them, you can have a more enjoyable time with weight lifting and not have to worry about ending up at the clinic or hospital.