Reducing low back injuries in the weight room

Low back injuries are the leading condition when it comes to chiropractic care throughout the world. It is estimated that approximately 70-90% of the population will experience low back pain at some point in their lives. Injuries to the low back can be sustained by a number of mechanisms including:

a) Trauma
b) Sudden twisting motions
c) Heavy lifting
d) Overstraining muscles
e) Incorrect form at the gym

Incorrect form at the gym is one of the leading causes of low back pain, as the muscles, joints and ligaments are under a high level of stress. The stress the body has to endure when lifting heavy objects is far more than the body is used to and when you change the dynamics of the routine, it often results in an injury to the body, most commonly the low back. Understanding the proper form either by a PT or a trained chiropractor can hold you in good stead for performing a routine without pain.

Chiropractors study rehabilitation units throughout their degree at university to ensure they’re able to appropriately teach patients the correct mechanics of a squat, deadlift and chest press to prevent injuries from being sustained.

Here are some Do’s and Don’ts when you are going through weight training:

Do’s

1. Use correct form – put in the effort to learn the exercise correctly in order to prevent avoidable injury as well as getting the best result possible from the exercise. If you find it hard to maintain a good form, try reducing the weight or number of repetitions until you finally master the form.
2. Balance – make sure you work on all your major muscles such as abdomen, chest, back, hip, legs, shoulders and arms in a balanced way instead of focusing only on a certain muscle groups as it may cause muscle imbalance in the body and causes pain.
3. Warm up – Having some quick 5-minute warm up such as jogging or jumping jacks can increase blood flow to your muscles to prep them for a good workout. Not warming up the muscles will cause them more likely to be injured during the workout.
4. Rest – Try to avoid training the same muscles two days in a row, as this can give your muscles time to recover and minimise risk of overloading. You can try working on all your major muscle groups in a single session for 2-3 times a week or having certain days for certain specific muscle groups such as upper body on Monday and lower body on Tuesday, and so on.

Don’ts

1. Using the wrong footwear – it is important to use adequate footwear that is suitable for the weight room. A good shoe can protect your feet and prevent slipping during workout, thus minimise the risk of falling or injuring your feet.
2. Overworked yourself – It is good to train till fatigue, in fact, your muscles have to hit fatigue during a workout session to achieve any progress. Fatigue can be defined as unable to perform another complete repetition, accompanied with slow, jerky or uncontrollable shaking during the repetition. However, if more reps is added after a person has hit the point of fatigue, they can quickly overload themselves and cause injury to the muscles, which is something we want to avoid.
3. Rushing the workout – When you rush a workout by trying to complete the reps and sets as fast as possible, you are not training the specific muscle you want to efficiently. When rushing a workout, you will tend to rely on the momentum to lift the weight. Perform a workout in a controlled, slow pace can help you focus and isolate the muscle you want to work on, as well as reducing the chance of hurting yourself by spraining your muscle.
4. Ignore pain during workout – A workout should never be painful when you are performing it. If you experience pain during workout, please stop and have a break and try again in a few days or try lifting lesser weight. However, pain after workout it perfectly normal, it is called a Delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and it is a normal response after a new workout or change in workout routine.

Still not sure how and want to prevent or minimise chance of injury during workout? Lakeside Chiropractic may be able to advise!

At Lakeside Chiropractic, our well-trained chiropractors can provide you with guidance on how to perform workout such as dead lift, squat or chest press correctly and reduce the risk of injuring yourself. If you did injure yourself during workout, we can provide soft tissue therapy, massage, adjustments and cold laser therapy that may help to relief some of the deeper muscles and get you back to your exercise routine as soon as possible. Lakeside chiropractic is located in Joondalup in Perth’s north and has visitors from many different suburbs including, Padbury, Kinross, Mindarie, Sorrento, Iluka, Carramar, Currambine, Tapping, Pearsall, Hocking and Woodvale. HICAPS Facilities available on site for major private health insurers (NIB, HCF, HBF, AHM, HCI and HIF) and also a part of the Medibank preferred practitioner and BUPA Members first network. If you would like to discuss any concerns, have any enquires or wish to book an appointment; feel free to contact one of our friendly staff on 9300 0095 or visit our website at www.lakesidechiro.com.au.