Common Weight-Training Injuries

Accidents happen, even to careful weightlifters. So, here’s an introductory guide to weight training injuries in case you hit one. When you strain or stretch a muscle, you are actually stretching or rupturing the tendon, the tough rope-like tissue at the end of the muscle where the muscle contracts and attaches to the bone.
Straining can occur when you push the bar up too hard while bench press or standing up too quickly outside of a squat. Strains are often accompanied by sharp, sudden pain and then a constant soreness.
Twisting is an entirely different thing. This injury does not occur to a muscle but to a joint, such as the ankle or wrist. When you sprain a joint, you have torn or stretched a ligament, the connective tissue that connects one bone to another.
You may feel aching and throbbing and notice some swelling and bruising. You can twist almost any joint in your body; The ankles and wrists seem to take the biggest hit in the weightlifting process.
Depending on the severity of the injury, the healing process can take anywhere from two days to two months. If your injury does not seem to heal, see your doctor. Some common injuries caused by weightlifting include:
>>>>> Torn Rotator Cuff: The rotator cuff muscles are often injured during bench presses and shoulder presses. You might have torn your rotator cuff then
> You feel a constant pain or a sharp pain deep in your shoulder at a certain point during the exercise.
> You cannot raise your arm in front of you and above your head.
If you hit the rotator cuff
> Stop doing any exercises that cause you pain or tenderness in that area.
> Skip all overhead pressing movements as long as your healthcare provider recommends rest. You should not exercise while you are in any pain.
> Lighten the load on the bench press until you reach a weight where you feel no pain.
> Define the distance the tape has moved.

Or skip the exercise altogether.

Review your form: Make sure you’re not lifting weights up and down or working past your active, natural range of motion that you can control.
Rotator cuff exercises can help prevent injuries to these muscles. These exercises are essential if you lift heavy weights, if you lift regularly two to three times a week, or if you participate in a sport that uses the upper body, such as tennis, rock climbing, or swimming.
>>>>> Sore knees: Pinpointing the source of the problem can be difficult with knee injuries because the injury can come in many types and have many different causes. Often the injury is caused by something you did outside the weight room. However, some weight training errors are likely to be the culprits. Runners, pedestrians, and cyclists can avoid many common knee injuries by performing quadriceps exercises.
If any leg exercise causes you pain, skip it or modify it by following our instructions. Some people try to protect their knees from injury by wrapping them in yards of bandages. A rolled knee may be masking a problem that needs immediate attention.
To help protect your knees, be sure to strengthen your front and back thigh muscles — the muscles that support your knee joints. Stretching is also helpful in keeping all the muscles that surround the knee loose and in shape.

>>>>Sore wrists: Some people injure their wrist muscles by bending their wrists too much when they lift weights.

Tip
Lower back pain: If you have a history of back problems, you can just as easily throw out your back reaching for an apple in the fridge as you can pumping iron. But because the weight room constantly challenges your ability to stabilize your spine and maintain good form, it increases the risk of triggering an old injury — or developing a new one.
Always take precautions for your lower back when you lift weights. One key preventive measure is to pull in your abdominals. By tightening your abs, you create a natural girdle to support and protect your lower back.