How strength training can help prevent injury
Learn how building strength can help reduce the risk of injury and support active ageing
Injuries often happen when the demands placed on our body exceed what it’s currently prepared to tolerate. So one way to help reduce the risk of injury is to increase your body’s capacity to tolerate those demands. And strength training provides a gradual, controlled way that can help you do exactly that. Becoming stronger can help you create a bigger buffer between what life asks of you and what your body can handle.
Research suggests strength training can help reduce the risk of both acute and overuse injuries, with one meta-analysis of six randomised controlled trials reporting around a two-thirds reduction in injury risk. This likely reflects a range of adaptations strength training can deliver, including:
- improved coordination and movement control
- stronger muscles that can better absorb and produce force
- stronger tissues that are better prepared to tolerate repeated loading.
Strength training doesn’t make you injury-proof, but it can help make your body more resilient and better prepared for the activities that make life more meaningful - whether that’s running a marathon, walking a trail, playing sport, carrying luggage, or lifting your grandchildren. It’s important to recognise injuries are complex, and factors such as training load, recovery, previous injury, age, and the demands of the activity all play a role. But improving your physical capacity is one of the most modifiable factors within your control. And strength training is one of the most effective ways to do exactly that.
References:
Lauersen JB, Andersen TE, Andersen LB. Strength training as superior, dose-dependent and safe prevention of acute and overuse sports injuries: a systematic review, qualitative analysis and meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2018;52(24):1557–1563.
