When the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world, with closed gyms and studios, most people turned to working out from home. Home workouts offer several boons – from sparing ourselves the pain of looking out for a good gym to investing in fancy gym wear or accessories. Carving out little space for home workouts can offer extraordinary results, and it is also convenient and cost-effective. You can procure some basic gym equipment or roll out your yoga mat and hit it daily for an intensive value-added session. The bonus is that home workouts also offer you a chance to bond with your loved ones by trying out buddy workouts. However, injuries can happen anytime while you are following your high-intensity workout regime or lifting weights with improper posture. Some people indulge in aggressive workouts at home that lead to the tearing up of muscles or can aggravate any existing injuries such as knee or joint pain.

Health Shots got in touch with Dr Mickey Mehta, Global Leading Holistic Health Guru and Corporate Life Coach, to understand the cause of common injuries during home workouts.

Here’s a list of the most common injuries during a home workout

• Spasms in the back
• Pinching of the nerves
• Spondylitis
• Sciatica
• Gaps between the vertebrae L4 and L5
• Shoulder dislocation
• ACL tear
• Rotator cuff injuries
• General spasms, sprains, and inflammation

How to avoid home workout injuries?

Injuries are a result of some major or minor mistakes committed by us during a home workout. It could be a lack of proper warm-up, space, or knowledge. Let us look at the reasons why these injuries could happen during a home workout as per the expert.

1. Skipping warm-up

The expert says, “The biggest cause of injury while working out at home is undermining the significance of a very thorough warm-up. 25 to 30 per cent of your workout time should be devoted to a warm-up. If your workout time is 1 hour 15-20 minutes, very important to devote to warm-up and that systematically either from top to toe or toes to top”.

If you don’t warm-up, the chances of injuries get higher and brighter. Common injuries could be spasms and soreness.

2. Without supervision

Working out at home generally alone may have the disadvantages of workouts without supervision. Without supervision, you might get carried away doing excess extra repetitions, lifting extra weight or doing awkward movements in awkward positions that can also cause injury. Post workout not allowing yourself to cool down, recover by gentle stretching and a slow relaxed gentle cool down workout may also be the reason for many injuries.

3. Lack of health awareness

You may encounter problems if you do work out without getting a deeper insight into your pre-existing conditions such as weak joints, heart disease, high blood pressure, arthritis, kidney disease, or cancer.

Muscle strains and ligament sprains are the most frequent acute non-urgent injuries, whereas fractures, dislocations, and tendon ruptures are urgent injuries,” adds the expert.

4. Space

The expert recommends making sure you select a room with enough space and ventilation to perform your workout. Turn 360 degrees while spreading your arms out to make sure you are unharmed. Make sure the ground is not slick or moist.

Read more: Weight loss on your mind? 7 home fitness equipment for HIIT workouts

5. Choice of equipment

Using unstable or below-average quality equipment is a no-no. They can lead to serious upper or lower body injuries and even infections in some cases. Investing in quality equipment can help you save time as it increases your exercise efficiency and helps you see better results more quickly. If you plan to do any stretches or exercises that require you to be on the floor, use a yoga mat.

6. Maintain variety in your exercise regime

“With a fusion of different workouts to amp up your routine, you can keep a certain group of your muscles from getting overused. Regularly doing the same actions can result in overuse ailments like tendonitis or shin splints. With each workout, pay attention to a different area of your body,” says the expert.

7. Give your body some rest

Give your body its much-needed time to rest and recover between workouts. This will help you feel more energised.