Getting injured can happen to anyone, anywhere. It can happen while you’re on your daily walk around your neighborhood or while you’re at home. But the chances of sustaining injuries are higher when you’re at the gym, using heavy equipment that you’re not completely familiar with, sans the supervision of a trainer.
Sometimes, you get injured because you fail to take the proper fitness precautions or get distracted while you’re working out. On the other hand, your injuries can be caused by something totally beyond your control such as the negligence of other gym-goers or the fault or carelessness of the gym staff members themselves. If this is the case, you can reach out to a Tampa injury lawyer to help protect your interests and pursue compensation from the right parties.
Check out the most common injuries that happen in a gym and how to prevent them below:
- Shin Splints
Shin splints are usually sustained by fitness enthusiasts who use the treadmill and do a lot of jumping. This occurs when you feel pain along the inner edge of your shinbone.
Here are some tips to help prevent shin splints:
- Do warmup and cooldown stretches before every workout session.
- When you’re going for a run, it’s best that you increase your speed gradually and don’t force yourself to run fast immediately. This will give your muscles time to adjust to the speed you’re going for.
- Make sure that you’re wearing shoes that fit well and are designed precisely for the kind of workout you’re planning to do.
- Sprained Wrist
A sprained wrist usually happens when you lose your balance and use your hand to support your fall. This can also happen when you’re lifting extremely heavy barbells, getting too many heavy push-ups, or anything that’s puts excessive strain on your arms and pressure on your wrists.
To prevent this type of injury from happening, do a wrist rotation exercise to prepare your wrists to lift heavy objects. You should also start light, and try to gradually increase the weight according to your strength.
- Rotator Cuff
A rotator cuff happens when you feel pain on your shoulders as you move your arm away from your body. It’s often caused by workouts that require you to use your shoulder muscles and tendons extensively. The risk of having a rotator cuff increases over time as you age.
If you want to avoid suffering from this kind of injury, make sure to do shoulder exercises first before heading on to the heavy movement. This is especially necessary if you’re going to be using your shoulders a lot for your exercise (e.g., ball throwing, swimming). You should also do exercises that allow you to strengthen your shoulder muscles.
- Back Strain
Back strain is a common injury, even for those people who do not go to the gym regularly. For many gym-goers and athletes, back strain is the result of tiny tears in the tissue when they the lower back muscles are stretched too far. Some examples of activities that have a high possibility of causing back strain are squats and deadlifts.
Fortunately, it’s quite easy to protect yourself from the pain that this type of injury can bring. Make sure that you’re doing enough proper warmup and cool down exercises every time you work out. Also, observe proper posture when you’re lifting heavy weights.
- Sprained Ankle
When your ankle is sprained, it means that it’s been forced to move out of its position. Most gym enthusiasts suffer from a sprained ankle when they twist the area while they’re walking or running on an uneven surface, doing a single-leg exercise, or landing in the wrong position after jumping.
To prevent sprained ankles, always do warmup exercises and be extra careful when you’re walking on an uneven surface. Pace yourself while you’re running and make sure to start slow first.
Conclusion
When you’re hitting the gym, it’s always important to take precautionary measures and keep your safety in mind as much as possible. Before doing any exercise, never forget to do warmups and cooldowns. It’ll help prepare your body for the pressure and strain you’re going to put it through and reduce any injuries. Know your limits and always listen to your body as overtraining can do you more harm than good.
When a severe injury does happen, make sure to get medical assistance as soon as possible to lessen the damage and help you recover faster. Also, make sure that the gym you’re going to has a first-aid kit so you can address any injury, even the small ones, right away.
