Performing workouts is not always a walk in the park as most people might think. Sometimes sprains and tears come in between and can cause pain and deliberation. That can be a potential setback to your fitness goals and you need to understand how to deal with them so that you can be at par with your workout needs. One important thing to note is that workout injuries can happen to you regardless of your experience of fitness level.
You might have taken lots of multivitamin for bodybuilding or might be on a vegetarian bodybuilding diet but that does not make you immune to exercise injuries. So you need to at least have an idea on how to reduce the risk of injuries or deal with the problem when it comes up.
Understanding the Importance of Dealing with Workout Injuries:
Doing workouts and exercises on a gym comes with massive health benefits. And as much as most of us have ascribed to the saying no pain no gain, injuries can turn your otherwise great experience into a terrible one. Tearing a muscle, dislocating a joint or dropping a 20 plus dumbbell on your foot can only make you trip or leave your gym routine workouts for some time. With a proper understanding of the potential injuries you’re bound to face in your workout, you can:
- Know the steps to take to reverse the problem
- Figure out ways of preventing the injuries
- Seamlessly continue with your workout program without panicking
Major Workout Injuries That Need Your Attention:
Strained Back
Lumbar or lower back strain is one of the commonest injuries most people experience at the gym. If you’re used to prolonged sitting, either at work or home, then you are likely to have weak back muscles. And when you visit the gym and begin working out too hard, then you’ll likely experience a strained back. Also, the problem can result from your inability to pay attention to warm-ups and stretching.
How to Prevent It
- Always begin with low intensity workouts so as to strengthen your back
- Perform stretching before any exercise
- pay attention to the core strength and proper technique
Labral Tear
Labral or shoulder injuries usually result from overuse of the muscles, poor posture or poor workout technique. Sometimes you can experience a clicking or catching sound deep on your shoulder in the process of performing a chest press or military press. That’s a clear sign that the shoulder’s joints are straining or about to dislocate, something that can be detrimental to your workouts.
How to Prevent It
- Reduce your range of motion during workouts
- strengthen your shoulder though push-ups and shoulder presses
- Take multivitamin for bodybuilding to improve the strength of your muscles
- Undertake elastic tube resistance training
Chest Pain
Bench press doesn’t require people who’re weak and clumsy because the bar might come crushing down onto the chest. If you are unable to lift the bar to its safety point, then the bone in the middle of your chest will definitely be injured. And for unsupervised workouts, the injury might be even worse because the bar might drop and roll up on your trachea.
How to Prevent It
- Only use weight that matches your strength and level of workout
- Ask your trainer to help you with proper power stance and/or hand position
- Determine the number of reps you can manage before you begin the workout
Joint Dislocations
This form of injury is mostly caused by loading a bar with too much weight or ignoring your form. The result is a dislocated shoulder, hand, knee or elbow. Ideally, the excess pressure exerted on the ligaments will force the bones out of the normal positions, something that can create a disaster for your workout.
How to Prevent It
- Try performing multiple exercises i.e. adding incline, chest presses or flies.
- Always keep the weight low enough to ensure proper form and technique
Knee Ligament Injuries: ACL or PCL
These injuries are mostly experienced by experienced and amateur athletes. They can be caused by the tearing of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) or the Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL. The injuries can be painful, deliberating and can take several months to correct. Some of the major causes of ACL injuries include:
- Getting hit on your knee by a heavy object
- Extending the knee too far
- Twisting the knee with your foot planted
- Making a sudden stop while running
If frequently perform recumbent bike exercises, the chances of experiencing mild knee ligament injuries are very low. The good news is that there are plenty of other ways through which you can avoid this disastrous form of injury.
How to Treat or Prevent It
- Avoid jumping and landing on flexed knees
- Consult a doctor for surgery when the pain gets worse
Torn Hamstring
Hamstring injuries are mainly caused by poor stretching, inadequate warming up, muscle imbalance and sometimes poor footwear. Experiencing a torn or pulled hamstring can be a major setback to your workout program and you need to reverse the condition as soon as possible.
How to Prevent the Injury
- Ensured all leg muscles are equally worked out
- Strengthen the muscles by performing exercises using a recumbent bike
Hernia
Sometimes you can find it easier to hold your breath while you squat and lift weight. However, you need to know that such can cause increased pressure on your internal organs. That might result in the internal body organs being displaced from their encasings, something that can cause pain. Hernia can also lead to a medical emergency to correct the condition and that can greatly affect your routine workouts.
How to Prevent It
- Perform long term and core-stability exercises on your abdominal workouts
- Only lift weight bars that you can handle
- Always ensure your breathing is steady before you can attempt to lift a weight bar
Bicep Tendon Rupture
Curling a much heavier weight can sometimes cause the tendons attaching the bicep muscles and forearm muscles to tear. The condition can also be attributed to dropping a dumbbell or barbell suddenly. That can result in pain on your arm and can disrupt your workout if not take care of as soon as possible.
How to Prevent It:
- Only work with the weight you can handle
- Always engage an experienced spotter when lifting weight
Conclusion
Workout injury possibilities largely depend on the type of workout or exercise you choose to undertake. And while sometimes these injuries are inevitable, there are more problematic areas of the body that you can guard. The back, shoulder, chest, arm and hamstring are some of the areas you need to be keen on when working out. And when these injuries show up, there is much you can do to help prevent the problem form getting worse.
Most important things to remember before any workout are to perform warm-ups, stretching, lifting an ideal weight and being careful while at the gym. And always remember it’s always best to engage a trainer during workouts so as to be at par with what’s required and find a remedy to an injury whenever it arises
Author Bio:
Gregory is chief editor at ConstructMuscles.com. He spend half of my time in his blog while the other half on being physical fitness trainer. Believing in the great benefits of bodybuilding and fitness to the body, he has been motivated to become a fitness enthusiast. Stay Connected to him on Twitter.
