Did you start considering playing sports and following a healthy lifestyle but are afraid of injuries? The key to avoiding exercise injuries is to know the causes of injuries and try to avoid them through good planning, but do not stop exercising regularly because they are beneficial for your body and are mostly safe.

What causes exercise injuries?

Knowing the reason is always the first step to avoiding exercise injuries. The following are some of the most prevalent causes of sports-related injuries:

• Exercising before warming up
• Repeating the same movement over and over again
• Doing exercises that are not appropriate for you
• Not resting between exercises
• Not using the right equipment

Common causes of excessive exercise injuries

Exercising too much may cause some injuries as well. Common exercise injuries are tendonitis or stress fractures. An overtraining injury usually results from:

• Training errors. Exercising for an extended period, or doing too much of one type of activity can strain your muscles and lead to an overuse injury.
• Technical errors. You may overload certain muscles and cause overuse injury from doing some exercises incorrectly.

Not warming up or cooling down

Warming up before exercise gets your blood flowing, warming your muscles and avoiding injury. The easiest way to warm up is to exercise slowly for the first few minutes and then increase the speed. For example, you can walk for 5 to 10 minutes before running.

You should also cool off after exercising or stretching for 5 to 10 minutes to bring your heart rate and body temperature back to normal.

How do you avoid exercise injuries?

First, before you exercise for the first time, check with your doctor, especially if you have a chronic disease, to make sure you’re healthy enough to exercise and ask about the types of exercise that might be best for you.

If you are new to exercise, it is best to start with simple sports such as:

• Walking
• swimming
• stationary cycling
• golf

You’re less likely to get injured from previous sports than from high-intensity activities such as running or aerobics, or contact sports such as soccer or basketball.

Don’t ignore the signals your body sends

Always remember that you should never feel pain when exercising. So, if you feel pain, stop exercising immediately. Feeling tired and achy all the time could be a sign that you’re over-exercising.

Avoid increasing all three of these items at the same time:

• The number of days you do sports
• Exercise duration
• The intensity of the exercises you do

When do you consult a doctor?

You will need to consult a doctor at Health and Style Medical Center if you have muscle or joint pain that does not go away despite your care.