Fitness health centre

Six ways to avoid workout injuries

You’ve finally made the commitment to get in shape, or maybe to take your physical fitness to the next level. Eager to start seeing results, you jump into your new routine, feet-first. And the next sound you hear is "ouch", as a workout injury derails your healthy plans. 

Why does it happen?  Experts say there are many reasons.

Sometimes it’s a matter of doing the right activity too much or too often, sometimes it’s a matter doing the right activity wrongly and sometimes it’s a matter of choosing the wrong activity for your particular body type or physical condition.

Don't get discouraged though. Experts who spoke to us shared tips on how to improve your work out and avoid some of the most common fitness injuries.

Six steps to avoiding workout injuries

1. Know your body

It seems so basic, but experts say it’s often overlooked: One of the best ways to avoid fitness injuries is to know your body’s limitations. 

"This isn’t just about avoiding certain fitness activities until you’re in better shape, though that’s part of it; but it’s also about knowing what your weak areas are and then avoiding the type of activities that are going to push hard on that weakened area", says orthopaedic surgeon Dr Kenneth Plancher.

For example, if you know you have knee problems, don’t run on a treadmill or do leg presses, both of which can aggravate an already weakened knee.

Instead, try an exercise bike or even an elliptical machine, which does not cause any pounding on the knee joints.

Likewise, he says, if you have a bad back, you should avoid doing back stretches on a stability ball. If you have weak wrists, weight lifting may not be for you, and hip problems may preclude you from joining a spinning class.

"The point is that you have to acknowledge the weakest areas of your body, and if you can’t slowly build them up, then, to avoid injury, you have to avoid the activities that stress them", says Dr Plancher.

2. It’s all about sex! 

No, not that kind; your gender. It may not be politically correct, but doctors say gender does play a role in workout injuries. 

Both men and women have specific gender-related physiologic issues that can lead to injuries when they do specific types of workouts.

While this doesn’t mean either gender should avoid certain activities, it just means taking a few precautions when you do.

"In general, men function better in activities requiring a rigid plane of motion, like weight lifting in a restricted format, press-ups and Nautilus machines", says Dr Gerald Varlotta from New York University Hospital for Joint Diseases.