- Joined
- Sep 13, 2021
- Messages
- 343
Hi,
I've always been passionate about sports(football, swimming, ping pong, football, basket, volley) and practiced a lot of them, but one kept be very interesting and that's weightlifting. With an experience of almost 10 years, with pauses due to injuries or time, I decided to make a post about how we can keep ourselves as healthy as possible and without injuries in the weightlifting room and everything related. This if for beginners-intermediate level, since I'm not advanced nor competing. I don't use anabolics. I'll stick to routines, exercises and supplimentation. I know how it feels like to not be able to lift because of some injuries(most I've had was tendinosis at both arms, wrist, knee and an ankle sprain at the same time). Tried different devices, MRI, PRP, and always the response was physical therapy and getting stronger.
Prevention
Keep in mind that weightlifting is more like an andurance sport, and not a sprint. Working out, even if it's 2/3/4/5 times per weeks should have a goal in mind, and with a long term vision. It's easy to go and workout, but why not having a plan and working towards some goals instead of just moving weights?
1. Sleep. It's ok to work out if you slept a few hours a night before a workout, but this should be happening less than one time per 1-2 weeks. The older you are, the more taxing to your body is. Lack of sleep, beside bad recovery, increase the risk of injury, lack of concentration on exercises, prone to make mistakes, mind-muscle connection affected. Also, everybody knows that when you're tired, you can say yes easily. So is in the gym. Adding another plate on the bar may seem a good idea now.
2. Hydration. Muscle are 70% water. Dehydration is linked to decreased strength, affected elasticity of muscles and other tissues(tendons/ligaments), and also another bodyparts like the tissue between vertebrae is not at 100% potential. Bodybuilding competitors are more prone to injury in onseason(when they get under 10%, closer to a show) due to lack of water in their body. Drink enough water, keep a healthy sodium intake, consume enough carbohydrates since they are transformed in glycogen and bonds to water, then stored in muscle as "energy". Getting ripped and peeled skin have some drawbacks, dehydration.
3. Warmp-up. Before a gym session, there should be done a few minutes of cardio for getting the heart rate elevated. Depending on what bodypart you want to train, a dynamic stretching should be done(rotations, etc). Before the first exercise, at least 3-4 warming sets to get blood into the muscle. At least one set should be done with 30-40 reps, without exhausting yourself. The goal is to get used to the pattern of exercise and get the blood pumping.
4. Dynamic and static stretching. Dynamic should be done before gym session, static should be done after. Some may disagree, and to static before, but studies show that it can decrease the force generated and increase risk injury. Both are required.
5. Strength. Maybe the most important IMH to prevent injuries is to get stronger. Getting stronger muscle means stronger ligaments and tendons and higher density bones because they are adapting also. One who can deadlift 200kg cannot get injured as easy as someone who can deadlift only 50kgs.
6. Loads and deloads. I'm a firm believer in doing more work than the last time. Maybe heavier load, maybe 1-2 more working sets, 1 more exercise, always pushing the limit. But I limit this to 3-4 weeks, sometimes 2, and then do 1 week or cycle of training with the same, maybe 20%-50% smaller weights, this being the deload, to not go into overtraining. Also, after the deload week, you can push even more after.
7. Reps. The muscle can grow if you do reps up to 30. Use that. Don't limit yourself just to 10-12. Think your workout as working sets per body part. For chest I'll do 6-8 working sets(usually I keep them between 6-12 reps with heavy load). Depending on frequency, recovery and genetic, you can find a sweet spot of number of working sets per week. That is personal and you must find out. Going under 6 can be beneficial, but with a spotter when required.
8. Age. The things I did when I were 17, I wouldn't do them at 26 because back then I was more elastic. Older means more awareness and adaptation to what you can do what you can't do.
9. Exercises. Here, I'll share my personal opinion, based on experience.
-Flat bench press should be done with a narrower stance, your arms should form an arrow with your body, elbows a little bit in. Nowadays, I use more dumbbells and incline bench since the elbow go inward naturally. Also, this exercise can be eliminated completely. Push exercises shouldn't be done with arms flared out.
-Deadlift. It's a great exercise for overall bodystrength, but don't try to set records. The risk/rewards ration is just not worth it if you're not competing. Also Dorian deadlifts(going with the bar just under the knees) may seem a better choice for those with low back problems.
-Squat. Always, your knee should follow your toes path. You can go over toes without problem(not going is just a myth), unless you have a problem with your knees. Analyze your stance. and find one comfortable for you. Feet doesn't need to be parallel. Few people can squat with parallel stance. Wider and narrower is depending on preferences and genetic.
squat university is everything you need regarding this exercise. Back squat isn't preferred for all people. I don't do it. But that isn't an excuse. Front squats and zercher squats sometimes can be a better choice, mine being the zerchers.
-Triceps pushdown variation. Don't lockout arms. Keep the tension on muscle.
-Bicep curls. Don't go 100% stretched with heavier weight. Keep your fist and forearm in straight line!
-Abs. Keep training abs. Legs raises and planks should do the work. Firstly train them for core strength. Obliques can be neglected because it will get your waist bigger, and aesthetically you want a smaller waist.
-Shoulders exercises. Do military press with free weights. It will do so much good for your upper body strength and and posture. Keep training anterior AND posterior delts. Too many imbalances and shoulder problems appear because of this.
10. Joints. Being hydrated, warming up and getting stronger on exercises but not to not frequently heavy weights should do the job. Also train antagonists muscles. If you're doing heavy squats, train hard the the femurals as well. If your chest is doing good, make sure the back is trained heavy as well. Muscle imbalances can pull ligaments and tendons more than the antagonist muscle and this can lead to pain, often not related with the joint itself.
11. Pain. Keep the pain related to muscle to that burning sensation. Anything than that can imply contractures, inflammation, stretched segments and training heavy with pain can just aggravate the situation. Long term, it's not fuckin worth it. Better miss 1-2 weeks of training than 1-2 months after.
12. Form. Form is crucial. Do perfect form with easy-medium loads(12+ reps) and limit the slippery when going heavy. You can't always have perfect path of dumbbells/barbells with 1-6 reps. The best option is to keep perfect form even with heavy loads, and when it starts to broke, just let it. Not worth it. Partial reps can still have good form.
13. Range of motion. Keep full rom with easy-medium exercises and limit it on heavy loads. For example, doing bicep curls, you can go until your triceps is contracted when doing 20 reps, but keep 1-2 cm before stretched at the bottom position when doing like 8 reps. Don't do half-ass reps at the start, just because you want a heavy weight. That can lead to contractures, muscle still being full contracted and worse. Keep them when you can't do full rep.
14. Warm water. After a workout, you should be doing a warm shower/bath to relax the muscles. You want them to be relaxed, so they don't pull on any joint like crazy.
15. Stress. Stress increases cortisol/decreases testosterone after a level and can affect so many processes in your body that it's often underrated. If it's a relationship/job/sleep/social circle/unwanted event, keep in mind that you're not to your full potential in the gym. Own it, find solutions and reduce stress.
16. Supps. I recommend for overall health vit D, vit C, ZMA, collagen, Omega3, Se, not only weightlifting related. Other things I would include also creatine, combination of citruline/arginine for pump(if you know what I mean), ashwagandha/gaba/cbd oil for stress.
17. Eat clean. Limit junk food, sugar intake just after the workout, carbo at 2-3 meals per day, protein at every meal, healthy fats. A starting macros ratio should be 1.6-2g prot/kg, 1g fat/kg, 1-5g carb/kg. I have 81kg, so roughly 80g fats per day. Protein depending on what you're trying to achieve(when dieting, more protein is desired, when bulking/lean bulking, you can go with 1.6g/kg, sometimes even a bit less). Carbs is your choice, depending if it's rest/training day or type of training. With legs, you can go up to 4-5g/kg sometimes, while if you only do arms, 2-3g carbs/kg can be enough. Of course, this is a very personal choice, because there are so many variables, but everyone should try and see how body reacts. Analyze recovery, the productivity of workouts, overall energy, sleep, motivation, libido. A good diet can make the difference between a happy and a sad life.
18. Food. Stick to eggs, lean meat(chicken/turkey/beef) and different types of fish. Variety is your friend. Simple carbs just after workout, complex carbs through the day, ideally prepared at home. Document about types of fats and the ratio between them. There is so many things to say about fats, it require a different post. A good intake of fats means a good endocrine system, and good testosterone levels. Junk food contains a lot of trans fats, which somehow is poison.
Recovery
Depending on injury, bodypart, it will require different approaches. Physical therapy and getting blood into areas is your mainly friend. Forget about ultrasounds, infrared, and other devices. Your body is smart enough to recover, but it needs some guidance.
1. Contractures. They often appear when a weak muscle is under too much pressure and it contracts so hard it can't relax after. Blood is trapped, it will pull the ligament from the bone and can also stretch it.
A few months ago I had a contracture on my lateral head at my left arm, on triceps rope pushdown. Left arm is weaker, so it had to contract so hard to keep up with the right arm, until it didn't fully relaxed. They feel like a point of pain in the muscle and it hurts when you apply pressure, even with just a finger. Best approach is to find an exercise or a movement which target directly these muscle fibers contract and to that movement with light weight, 30-40 reps max, FULL ROM. After that, stretch the shit out of it. For my example, I did unilateral rope pushdown, absolutely full rom, and after that, stretching for 30 seconds. Did that 2-3 times.
If it feels better. Also apply pressure with 1/2 fingers or whole hand on the pain area and do the movement without any weight, just mimic the movement and push your finger into that pain for 30 seconds. Do it 2-3 times. You can go to heavier weights, depending on body feedback. If doesn't go after one session of doing the above, then do it 3-4 times per week until it goes away. You don't want to train through contractures because it can pull the tendon from the bone and that takes more time to heal since it's doesn't have so many blood vessels.
2. Stretches. These require more time to heal. Let at least 1-2 weeks to heal. You can try to do some light workout, 30-40 reps, to get blood into the area. 3-4 times per week, 1-2 series per day. For stretched bicep, stick to bicep curls, maybe 3-4kg dumbbell, 30 reps, slowly, 3-4 second positive, 3-4 seconds negative, feel the burn. Any additional workout can aggravate the situation.
3. Tendons. Here, two problems can appear. Tendinitis which is an inflammation of the tendon due to overuse mostly. You probably heard of tennis elbow or golfer elbow. That because there are some repetitive movements which overuse the muscle and the tendon. Often, there is an area of pain where the tendon and the muscle connect, and the muscle hurts. There may be a contracture there. The approach is like 1). If it's caught early, recovery time can be few days to few weeks. If left untreated, it can lead to tendinosis which is actually degeneration of matrix collagen. Some calcifications may appear on tendon, because collagen breaks will heal unproperly.
Now, if after 1-2 weeks, it doesn't recover, don't go into anti inflammatory meds, DO NOT DO CORTISOL INJECTIONS, because it just take away the pain, the problem remains, do not ice it(this is a myth). Inflammation is good, it's the body's response for pain. Blood will bring nutrients to heal the injury. Don't try vibration/ultrasound or anything which doesn't assure your healing. What you want to do is to bring blood to that area. You can do that through exercise, light weight, slowly execution, full rom, 30-40reps, pump and burning sensation. 2-3 times per day, 3-4 times per week. If it hurts, it's ok. If the pain in the first week of light training is 4, and in the 2nd is 2, that's very good. When it's 1 you can actually increase weight and see how the body reacts. If it returns to 3-4, repeat the process.
The main point is that inflammation may appear unexpected. Through food and recovery you way keep your body inflammation reduced since it's not always necessary. If it hurts, and the pain is 1-2 from a scale 1-10, then you can try training lightly-medium weights. If it goes beyond 2, stop and clearly reduce weights. You can't damage the body through just one session, but repeated painfully session can really take you out for weeks or months.
4. Ruptures. Anything, any movement which involves a dark red color and sometimes a pop can be a rupture, full or partial. Go to doctor, do a MRI, and see if you need surgery, or just some PT along with PRP injections. With partial ruptures, PRP and acupuncture can be a good solution.
5. Broken bones. I experienced a broken collarbone, now with a titanium plate. In this case, you may want to have surgery along with titanium plate or anything it's required because without, the bone can heal unproperly, and lead to some unaesthetic deformities. Nowadays, titanium plates can remain in body forever, but there are pros and cons for that. Optimize every aspect of recovery, sleep, nutrition and stress so you can heal faster. Going in a surplus caloric is also a good choice, even if it means gaining some fat.
6. Joint paint. Sometimes, you can have some joint pain, without doing something wrong in gym. Maybe you fall, a bad move, some knee problems. The approach should be: 1-2 week without training, then, do 1-2 sessions in gym, see how it feels. If it gets better, good, if not or even get worse, stick to classic 2-3 sets of 30-40 reps, light weight, 3-4 weeks and analyze the pain. It should get better through time.
7. Sciatica/low back paint. This is tricky because, inflammation along with contracted muscle may be the problem. First thing, doctor + MRI, for diagnostic. Low back problems means just you need to train it until the end of lifetime because the muscles need to be always strong. If just your lower back hurts, there may be just some inflammation. Let 1-2 weeks to heal and start training lightly. If there are sciatica symptoms, firstly search for piriform syndrom. There's a muscle under glutes, named piriform which can pinch the sciatica nerve resulting in numbness, without actually having a real problem. Address it as a contracture. If it's a disk problem, try surgery just if it's really needed. If not, let 2-3 weeks to reduce inflammation, here you can try some meds. The second step is to choose a routine for lower back(youtube is full of them). Do them slowly and focus on contraction. Sometimes, the pain will not go right away. After the pain is reduced to maybe 1-2, lower back muscles are the priority. That means side leg raises when lying down and deadlifts(sounds crazy, right?). When someone is having low back the, the need the most to train those muscles, and deadlift is a good choice. But lightly, focus on form and contraction, and don't let the pain go beyond. If one week you're doing dl with 30kg and 2 pain, and then next week you're doing 40kg dl with 2 pain, that's an improvement. Keep doing. It will go away.
8. PRP shots. Here, a doctor is taking some blood samples, put it into a centrifuge, separate the plasma from it and inject after that in the needed area. Useful for faster recovery, meniscus problems and other injuries where the tissue doesn't have many blood vessels.
9. Acupuncture. Very useful for inflammation and contractures. It draws blood into needed areas, speeding recovery. It's also very painful sometimes. Did it once and I remember that pain more clear than the one when I broke my collarbone.
From my experience: if forearm, or biceps hurts, go with hammer curls. If triceps hurts, go with rope pushdowns and push ups. If shoulders hurt, go with barbell military press. If knees hurt, knee extensions along with lying knee flexions. Those are the most proned to inflammation. Main objective is to get blood into painful area, even if it hurts. 1-2 pain from a scale 1-10 it's ok.
I've always been passionate about sports(football, swimming, ping pong, football, basket, volley) and practiced a lot of them, but one kept be very interesting and that's weightlifting. With an experience of almost 10 years, with pauses due to injuries or time, I decided to make a post about how we can keep ourselves as healthy as possible and without injuries in the weightlifting room and everything related. This if for beginners-intermediate level, since I'm not advanced nor competing. I don't use anabolics. I'll stick to routines, exercises and supplimentation. I know how it feels like to not be able to lift because of some injuries(most I've had was tendinosis at both arms, wrist, knee and an ankle sprain at the same time). Tried different devices, MRI, PRP, and always the response was physical therapy and getting stronger.
Prevention
Keep in mind that weightlifting is more like an andurance sport, and not a sprint. Working out, even if it's 2/3/4/5 times per weeks should have a goal in mind, and with a long term vision. It's easy to go and workout, but why not having a plan and working towards some goals instead of just moving weights?
1. Sleep. It's ok to work out if you slept a few hours a night before a workout, but this should be happening less than one time per 1-2 weeks. The older you are, the more taxing to your body is. Lack of sleep, beside bad recovery, increase the risk of injury, lack of concentration on exercises, prone to make mistakes, mind-muscle connection affected. Also, everybody knows that when you're tired, you can say yes easily. So is in the gym. Adding another plate on the bar may seem a good idea now.
2. Hydration. Muscle are 70% water. Dehydration is linked to decreased strength, affected elasticity of muscles and other tissues(tendons/ligaments), and also another bodyparts like the tissue between vertebrae is not at 100% potential. Bodybuilding competitors are more prone to injury in onseason(when they get under 10%, closer to a show) due to lack of water in their body. Drink enough water, keep a healthy sodium intake, consume enough carbohydrates since they are transformed in glycogen and bonds to water, then stored in muscle as "energy". Getting ripped and peeled skin have some drawbacks, dehydration.
3. Warmp-up. Before a gym session, there should be done a few minutes of cardio for getting the heart rate elevated. Depending on what bodypart you want to train, a dynamic stretching should be done(rotations, etc). Before the first exercise, at least 3-4 warming sets to get blood into the muscle. At least one set should be done with 30-40 reps, without exhausting yourself. The goal is to get used to the pattern of exercise and get the blood pumping.
4. Dynamic and static stretching. Dynamic should be done before gym session, static should be done after. Some may disagree, and to static before, but studies show that it can decrease the force generated and increase risk injury. Both are required.
5. Strength. Maybe the most important IMH to prevent injuries is to get stronger. Getting stronger muscle means stronger ligaments and tendons and higher density bones because they are adapting also. One who can deadlift 200kg cannot get injured as easy as someone who can deadlift only 50kgs.
6. Loads and deloads. I'm a firm believer in doing more work than the last time. Maybe heavier load, maybe 1-2 more working sets, 1 more exercise, always pushing the limit. But I limit this to 3-4 weeks, sometimes 2, and then do 1 week or cycle of training with the same, maybe 20%-50% smaller weights, this being the deload, to not go into overtraining. Also, after the deload week, you can push even more after.
7. Reps. The muscle can grow if you do reps up to 30. Use that. Don't limit yourself just to 10-12. Think your workout as working sets per body part. For chest I'll do 6-8 working sets(usually I keep them between 6-12 reps with heavy load). Depending on frequency, recovery and genetic, you can find a sweet spot of number of working sets per week. That is personal and you must find out. Going under 6 can be beneficial, but with a spotter when required.
8. Age. The things I did when I were 17, I wouldn't do them at 26 because back then I was more elastic. Older means more awareness and adaptation to what you can do what you can't do.
9. Exercises. Here, I'll share my personal opinion, based on experience.
-Flat bench press should be done with a narrower stance, your arms should form an arrow with your body, elbows a little bit in. Nowadays, I use more dumbbells and incline bench since the elbow go inward naturally. Also, this exercise can be eliminated completely. Push exercises shouldn't be done with arms flared out.
-Deadlift. It's a great exercise for overall bodystrength, but don't try to set records. The risk/rewards ration is just not worth it if you're not competing. Also Dorian deadlifts(going with the bar just under the knees) may seem a better choice for those with low back problems.
-Squat. Always, your knee should follow your toes path. You can go over toes without problem(not going is just a myth), unless you have a problem with your knees. Analyze your stance. and find one comfortable for you. Feet doesn't need to be parallel. Few people can squat with parallel stance. Wider and narrower is depending on preferences and genetic.
-Triceps pushdown variation. Don't lockout arms. Keep the tension on muscle.
-Bicep curls. Don't go 100% stretched with heavier weight. Keep your fist and forearm in straight line!
-Abs. Keep training abs. Legs raises and planks should do the work. Firstly train them for core strength. Obliques can be neglected because it will get your waist bigger, and aesthetically you want a smaller waist.
-Shoulders exercises. Do military press with free weights. It will do so much good for your upper body strength and and posture. Keep training anterior AND posterior delts. Too many imbalances and shoulder problems appear because of this.
10. Joints. Being hydrated, warming up and getting stronger on exercises but not to not frequently heavy weights should do the job. Also train antagonists muscles. If you're doing heavy squats, train hard the the femurals as well. If your chest is doing good, make sure the back is trained heavy as well. Muscle imbalances can pull ligaments and tendons more than the antagonist muscle and this can lead to pain, often not related with the joint itself.
11. Pain. Keep the pain related to muscle to that burning sensation. Anything than that can imply contractures, inflammation, stretched segments and training heavy with pain can just aggravate the situation. Long term, it's not fuckin worth it. Better miss 1-2 weeks of training than 1-2 months after.
12. Form. Form is crucial. Do perfect form with easy-medium loads(12+ reps) and limit the slippery when going heavy. You can't always have perfect path of dumbbells/barbells with 1-6 reps. The best option is to keep perfect form even with heavy loads, and when it starts to broke, just let it. Not worth it. Partial reps can still have good form.
13. Range of motion. Keep full rom with easy-medium exercises and limit it on heavy loads. For example, doing bicep curls, you can go until your triceps is contracted when doing 20 reps, but keep 1-2 cm before stretched at the bottom position when doing like 8 reps. Don't do half-ass reps at the start, just because you want a heavy weight. That can lead to contractures, muscle still being full contracted and worse. Keep them when you can't do full rep.
14. Warm water. After a workout, you should be doing a warm shower/bath to relax the muscles. You want them to be relaxed, so they don't pull on any joint like crazy.
15. Stress. Stress increases cortisol/decreases testosterone after a level and can affect so many processes in your body that it's often underrated. If it's a relationship/job/sleep/social circle/unwanted event, keep in mind that you're not to your full potential in the gym. Own it, find solutions and reduce stress.
16. Supps. I recommend for overall health vit D, vit C, ZMA, collagen, Omega3, Se, not only weightlifting related. Other things I would include also creatine, combination of citruline/arginine for pump(if you know what I mean), ashwagandha/gaba/cbd oil for stress.
17. Eat clean. Limit junk food, sugar intake just after the workout, carbo at 2-3 meals per day, protein at every meal, healthy fats. A starting macros ratio should be 1.6-2g prot/kg, 1g fat/kg, 1-5g carb/kg. I have 81kg, so roughly 80g fats per day. Protein depending on what you're trying to achieve(when dieting, more protein is desired, when bulking/lean bulking, you can go with 1.6g/kg, sometimes even a bit less). Carbs is your choice, depending if it's rest/training day or type of training. With legs, you can go up to 4-5g/kg sometimes, while if you only do arms, 2-3g carbs/kg can be enough. Of course, this is a very personal choice, because there are so many variables, but everyone should try and see how body reacts. Analyze recovery, the productivity of workouts, overall energy, sleep, motivation, libido. A good diet can make the difference between a happy and a sad life.
18. Food. Stick to eggs, lean meat(chicken/turkey/beef) and different types of fish. Variety is your friend. Simple carbs just after workout, complex carbs through the day, ideally prepared at home. Document about types of fats and the ratio between them. There is so many things to say about fats, it require a different post. A good intake of fats means a good endocrine system, and good testosterone levels. Junk food contains a lot of trans fats, which somehow is poison.
Recovery
Depending on injury, bodypart, it will require different approaches. Physical therapy and getting blood into areas is your mainly friend. Forget about ultrasounds, infrared, and other devices. Your body is smart enough to recover, but it needs some guidance.
1. Contractures. They often appear when a weak muscle is under too much pressure and it contracts so hard it can't relax after. Blood is trapped, it will pull the ligament from the bone and can also stretch it.
A few months ago I had a contracture on my lateral head at my left arm, on triceps rope pushdown. Left arm is weaker, so it had to contract so hard to keep up with the right arm, until it didn't fully relaxed. They feel like a point of pain in the muscle and it hurts when you apply pressure, even with just a finger. Best approach is to find an exercise or a movement which target directly these muscle fibers contract and to that movement with light weight, 30-40 reps max, FULL ROM. After that, stretch the shit out of it. For my example, I did unilateral rope pushdown, absolutely full rom, and after that, stretching for 30 seconds. Did that 2-3 times.
If it feels better. Also apply pressure with 1/2 fingers or whole hand on the pain area and do the movement without any weight, just mimic the movement and push your finger into that pain for 30 seconds. Do it 2-3 times. You can go to heavier weights, depending on body feedback. If doesn't go after one session of doing the above, then do it 3-4 times per week until it goes away. You don't want to train through contractures because it can pull the tendon from the bone and that takes more time to heal since it's doesn't have so many blood vessels.
2. Stretches. These require more time to heal. Let at least 1-2 weeks to heal. You can try to do some light workout, 30-40 reps, to get blood into the area. 3-4 times per week, 1-2 series per day. For stretched bicep, stick to bicep curls, maybe 3-4kg dumbbell, 30 reps, slowly, 3-4 second positive, 3-4 seconds negative, feel the burn. Any additional workout can aggravate the situation.
3. Tendons. Here, two problems can appear. Tendinitis which is an inflammation of the tendon due to overuse mostly. You probably heard of tennis elbow or golfer elbow. That because there are some repetitive movements which overuse the muscle and the tendon. Often, there is an area of pain where the tendon and the muscle connect, and the muscle hurts. There may be a contracture there. The approach is like 1). If it's caught early, recovery time can be few days to few weeks. If left untreated, it can lead to tendinosis which is actually degeneration of matrix collagen. Some calcifications may appear on tendon, because collagen breaks will heal unproperly.
Now, if after 1-2 weeks, it doesn't recover, don't go into anti inflammatory meds, DO NOT DO CORTISOL INJECTIONS, because it just take away the pain, the problem remains, do not ice it(this is a myth). Inflammation is good, it's the body's response for pain. Blood will bring nutrients to heal the injury. Don't try vibration/ultrasound or anything which doesn't assure your healing. What you want to do is to bring blood to that area. You can do that through exercise, light weight, slowly execution, full rom, 30-40reps, pump and burning sensation. 2-3 times per day, 3-4 times per week. If it hurts, it's ok. If the pain in the first week of light training is 4, and in the 2nd is 2, that's very good. When it's 1 you can actually increase weight and see how the body reacts. If it returns to 3-4, repeat the process.
The main point is that inflammation may appear unexpected. Through food and recovery you way keep your body inflammation reduced since it's not always necessary. If it hurts, and the pain is 1-2 from a scale 1-10, then you can try training lightly-medium weights. If it goes beyond 2, stop and clearly reduce weights. You can't damage the body through just one session, but repeated painfully session can really take you out for weeks or months.
4. Ruptures. Anything, any movement which involves a dark red color and sometimes a pop can be a rupture, full or partial. Go to doctor, do a MRI, and see if you need surgery, or just some PT along with PRP injections. With partial ruptures, PRP and acupuncture can be a good solution.
5. Broken bones. I experienced a broken collarbone, now with a titanium plate. In this case, you may want to have surgery along with titanium plate or anything it's required because without, the bone can heal unproperly, and lead to some unaesthetic deformities. Nowadays, titanium plates can remain in body forever, but there are pros and cons for that. Optimize every aspect of recovery, sleep, nutrition and stress so you can heal faster. Going in a surplus caloric is also a good choice, even if it means gaining some fat.
6. Joint paint. Sometimes, you can have some joint pain, without doing something wrong in gym. Maybe you fall, a bad move, some knee problems. The approach should be: 1-2 week without training, then, do 1-2 sessions in gym, see how it feels. If it gets better, good, if not or even get worse, stick to classic 2-3 sets of 30-40 reps, light weight, 3-4 weeks and analyze the pain. It should get better through time.
7. Sciatica/low back paint. This is tricky because, inflammation along with contracted muscle may be the problem. First thing, doctor + MRI, for diagnostic. Low back problems means just you need to train it until the end of lifetime because the muscles need to be always strong. If just your lower back hurts, there may be just some inflammation. Let 1-2 weeks to heal and start training lightly. If there are sciatica symptoms, firstly search for piriform syndrom. There's a muscle under glutes, named piriform which can pinch the sciatica nerve resulting in numbness, without actually having a real problem. Address it as a contracture. If it's a disk problem, try surgery just if it's really needed. If not, let 2-3 weeks to reduce inflammation, here you can try some meds. The second step is to choose a routine for lower back(youtube is full of them). Do them slowly and focus on contraction. Sometimes, the pain will not go right away. After the pain is reduced to maybe 1-2, lower back muscles are the priority. That means side leg raises when lying down and deadlifts(sounds crazy, right?). When someone is having low back the, the need the most to train those muscles, and deadlift is a good choice. But lightly, focus on form and contraction, and don't let the pain go beyond. If one week you're doing dl with 30kg and 2 pain, and then next week you're doing 40kg dl with 2 pain, that's an improvement. Keep doing. It will go away.
8. PRP shots. Here, a doctor is taking some blood samples, put it into a centrifuge, separate the plasma from it and inject after that in the needed area. Useful for faster recovery, meniscus problems and other injuries where the tissue doesn't have many blood vessels.
9. Acupuncture. Very useful for inflammation and contractures. It draws blood into needed areas, speeding recovery. It's also very painful sometimes. Did it once and I remember that pain more clear than the one when I broke my collarbone.
From my experience: if forearm, or biceps hurts, go with hammer curls. If triceps hurts, go with rope pushdowns and push ups. If shoulders hurt, go with barbell military press. If knees hurt, knee extensions along with lying knee flexions. Those are the most proned to inflammation. Main objective is to get blood into painful area, even if it hurts. 1-2 pain from a scale 1-10 it's ok.
