Men and women of all ages are weight lifting these days. Weight lifting is no longer just for people who want to get huge muscles. Studies have shown that strength weight training is the most effective way to build lean body mass and to burn fat all day long. While serious injuries are rare among weight lifters, there are a few injuries that can become serious.
Most Common Weight Lifting Injuries
Shoulder Injury
Most people have heard of rotator cuff injuries, but another part of the shoulder that commonly gets injured while weight lifting is the labrum. A SLAP tear (which stands for Superior Labrum Anterior and Posterior) can occur from both acute trauma and repetitive stress from motions like throwing or overhead lifting.
Herniated Disk
Disc herniations are often caused by poor lifting mechanics. When a patient tells us they got hurt picking something up, this is one of the first things on our diagnostic list. Possible symptoms of a disc herniation can include localized back pain as well as numbness or tingling that travels down into the legs.
Tennis Elbow
This overuse injury is often caused by over-gripping, and can tend to linger like other tendon problems. Symptoms can include an ache on the outside of your elbow, and when you straighten your arm and pull your palm towards you, you’ll feel a stretch along the outside of the forearm muscle.
Back Pain
Many weight lifting exercises require the use of your back. Sprains involve torn or stretched ligaments in the back, while strain affects torn muscles or tendons. In both cases, pain, swelling and trouble moving the back easily are common symptoms.
How Chiropractic Care Can Help With Weight Lifting Injuries
Balanced Body Acupuncture & Chiropractic in Omaha will help you align your spine and discuss proper posture with you. We will give you tips on building your core strength, and show you gentle flexing and strengthening moves you can do throughout your day. These things will help protect your spine from injury in the first place.
We help treat:
- Shoulder pain
- Shoulder, elbow, wrist and hand sprains and strains
- Hip, knee, ankle and foot sprains and strains
- Tennis and golfer’s elbow
- Headaches
- Neck, mid-back and low-back pain
- Sciatica
Chiropractic care maximizes recovery and helps keep your body healthy—which is why many collegiate and pro teams have a chiropractor on staff or on consult. A session with a chiropractor once or twice per week can make a huge difference while you are training or weight lifting. Contact us today!