Workout Injuries – Prevention And Treatment Advice From A Physio

More than half of Brits made a New Year’s resolution for 2023, with 92% of these being health and fitness related. That’s according to our recent research.

However, Google searches for “gym pain” also spike by an average of 187% in January, suggesting that despite good intentions, many of us are hampered by muscle strains and workout injuries caused by poor form or simply going too hard, too quickly.

With that in mind, we spoke to Dave Williams, Senior Physiotherapist at Harris and Ross, to share six top tips on how to identify, prevent and treat workout injuries at this time of year.

Dave Williams said: “We certainly see an increase in patients at this time of year. January is a reset point for many of us in our health, and a lot of that involves exercising more. Of course, this is a good thing for so many reasons, but the rapid change in volume or intensity creates greater risk of injury.

Contents

1. Ensure you’re properly fuelled

A lot of people are cutting down on calorie intake at this time of year. Consuming the right balance of nutrients both before and after your workout is paramount when it comes to both workout performance and muscle recovery – so it’s important not to neglect this.

2. Obsess over your form and technique

Take the time to understand what exercises you should be doing and how to do them properly – the slightest error in form can lead to a serious workout injury. Most gyms have introduction programmes where PTs can advise you on exercises and technique. YouTube is also a great resource for this.

3. Get enough sleep

Sleeping well is an often-underrated part of a successful, long-term exercise routine. But we do all our muscle recovery while sleeping – so it’s vital to get enough quality rest. The best part? It costs nothing!

4. Go gradually

The vast majority of workout injuries we see have developed because of a rapid increase in volume and/or load. Putting too much load through our body, too quickly, it is a sure-fire way to increase your risk of developing an injury. Remember your body needs time to adapt to become more tolerant to your new habits. Build up slowly and ensure you incorporate adequate time for a warm-up and cool-down/stretch into each workout.

5. Never ignore a sharp pain

Muscular soreness is fine – if you’ve done a workout and something aches, generally you’ll be fine to push through. However, any sharp muscular pain should never be ignored. For example, if you’ve done a sprint and suddenly felt sharp pain, you should stop and seek advice. Likewise, if a joint swells – always take this seriously.

6. Take rest days

Many people go full throttle in January and aim to work out every single day. Aside from this being unrealistic to maintain in the long term, it may well increase your risk of workout injuries and result in you being unable to sustain your fitness journey. If you’ve overdone it a little and are aching, have a rest day or at least lighten your day’s activities. Try using a foam roller or massage gun, stretch, do a yoga class, and then continue in your steady exercise journey.