How Prior Injury and Individual Difference Affect Risk of Injury

By djpope

December 23, 2018

bodybuilding, Crossfit, injuries, injury, injury risk, old injury, olympic weightlifting, powerlifting, prior injury, reduction

Unfortunately as human beings we tend to “collect” injuries as we age.  Of course we can rehabilitate back to full force but often times certain injuries tend to plague us and come back if we aren’t smart about our training.  Here are a few examples from my own “injury collection”.  I’ve had a prior injury from time to time that has shown me a bit about how much volume and total stress certain areas of my body enjoy and what they don’t enjoy (i.e. what causes pain):

  • If I incorporate too high a volume of pressing (>2-3 x per week) my shoulders start getting a little cranky
  • If I incorporate too high a volume of squatting (>1-2 x per week) my left hip starts to become painful
  • If I stop training my calves 1-2 x per week my achilles starts hurting during running, jumping and hiking (and sometimes stupid activities like stairs)

So How Does Prior Injury and Individual Difference Affect Risk of Injury?

The thing is, everyone is a bit different as far as their injury history goes and what they’re able to handle from a volume and intensity standpoint.  Check out the video below to see what I’m talking about:

So now you can see that what is “optimal” for a given athlete will vary based on their prior injury and what their bodies can historically handle from a stress perspective.  Obviously over time you can improve your body’s capacity over time but again this will vary based on the individual.  If you’re constantly performing too much volume, getting hurt and then being set back again, you aren’t making optimal progress.  Learning from this vital principle will help you and your athletes continue making solid progress in the long haul.  Remember, the perfect program is the one that was designed for your own goals and your own individual differences kept in mind.

If you enjoyed this short clip then I wanted to let you know it’s part of a much longer webinar series included with subscription into my Fitness Pain Free Insiders Online Mentoring Program:

“Essential Coaches Series – What Every Coach Needs to Know About Pain and Injury”

I created this series because coaches and personal trainers everywhere are working with athletes in pain every day of the week.  This series will tell you exactly what to do (and what not to do) with these athletes so they can continue working towards their goals and prevent injuries in the long haul.

  • 7 Reasons Why Athletes Get Hurt in the Gym and What to do About It
  • Evidence Based Guide to Mobility Prescription
  • What is Pain and What You Need to Know When Dealing with Athletes in Pain
  • How to Modify Exercises for Athletes with Knee, Lower Back, Shoulder and Hip Pain
  • Plus 30+ hours of webinars about all things fitness and rehabilitation

Click HERE to Learn More About Fitness Pain Free Online Mentoring Program

I am such an individual,

Dan Pope DPT, OCS, CSCS, CF L1