Keeping fit is pretty important for a healthy life. Most of us partake in some form of recreation and training. Be it running or CrossFit, the elliptical or deadlift, you must always make sure that you choose the intensity of the exercises to match your current physical state.

Otherwise, you risk some serious injuries which can take a lot of time and money to heal. Experts at Fix Body Chiropractor Group of San Diego explain what consequences even a seemingly minor injury can have on your life in this article http://www.fixbodygroup.com/a-sprained-ankle-may-have-lifelong-consequences/.

So, what injuries should you be concerned about, how they occur and what can you do to prevent them? Read on to learn more.

Neck

As one of the most sensitive and vital parts of your body, you should take extra care when exercising to avoid neck injuries. The primary motivator for neck injuries is bad posture. Sadly, more and more people have improper posture and the science has proven it is killing us.

The majority of neck injuries while exercising come from the misalignment of the key points of the body. Typically, they occurred on the bench press, so you must make sure that your lower back and neck have firm support before you start lifting.

Shoulders

The major issue which can affect your shoulders is a sprained tendon, which comes as a result of the overly strained rotator cuff. We use our shoulders for the majority of exercises, so it’s no wonder they get injured.

You can easily prevent these injuries by just doing enough prep before serious exercises. Rowing and cable machines work well for this. Make sure you rotate your arms in all directions to fully activate your shoulders.

Lower Back

Probably the first thing that comes to mind when someone mentions gym injury are back pains, most notably, lower back pains. These injuries come as a result of improper posture while doing exercises. Whether it is the result of your regularly poor posture, or from doing exercises which you don’t have the strength to do, the pressure is transferred to your lower back. And your lower back can only take so much before you injure yourself.

As a prevention, make sure you stretch and prepare well before you start. Oh, and make sure you can handle the weight you are lifting.

Knees

The knee is to your legs what your lower back is to the body, the middle point which gets all the stress of improper exercise. Whatever the type of exercise, if you’re not ready for it, your ankle is too weak to bear the pressure, and your hip is too immobile to do the same. This leaves only the knee. The biggest issue with knee injuries is that they never fully heal, so prevention is far better than trying to heal.

Prevention largely consists of warm up exercises which engage your whole legs, like lunges. The hip, knee, and ankle are all activated, preparing you for exercise.

Ankle

Improper posture offsets your centre of gravity and puts additional stress on the front of your foot. Furthermore, improper footwear during exercise is all it takes to seriously injure your ankle or the foot.

Find a proper shoe for exercising. If you are running, buy running shoes, they are named that for a reason. They are particularly good at distributing your weight properly, making sure you don’t put unnecessary weight on a single part of your foot.