Injuries: What They Are, and How We Can Prevent Them

One Week After Achilles Surgery: The Mistakes That Cost Me & How to Avoid Them

As I write this from my bed, with my leg propped up higher than my nose, the regret of this injury is worse than the pain itself. I’ve been a personal trainer for 8 years and have been working out for 15 years. Never in a million years did I think I would tear my Achilles playing co-ed indoor soccer at 29 years old. It felt like a freak accident — but the lessons from this tear are absolutely worth sharing.

Let’s fast-forward through me complaining about my Achilles and get right into it: How can we avoid these freak injuries from happening?

Injuries occur when the load (or force) placed on a body part exceeds its tissue capacity. Muscle tears and strains are far more common than connective tissue injuries (ligaments and tendons). Muscles are our body’s first line of defense — they’re elastic and heal relatively quickly. Connective tissue is the opposite. It’s tough, dense, and designed to hold us together as our last line of defense. When we tear connective tissue, it’s a much bigger problem.

After years of training, coaching clients, and now dealing with my own Achilles rupture, here are my top 4 prevention techniques:

1. Respect Your Age

Our bodies age much faster than our brains realize. We often try to move like we did at 18, even though we’re now 29, 39, or 58. The truth is, most of us have spent the last decade (or more) sitting at desks instead of running around, climbing, and playing like we did as kids. Our muscles and tendons simply aren’t what they used to be. Accepting this reality is the first step to staying injury-free.

2. Challenge Yourself with Resistance Training

If you don’t use your muscles, you lose them. Resistance training is one of the most effective ways to keep your body strong and resilient as you age. A famous meta-analysis published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine reviewed 25 studies with over 26,000 participants and found that strength training reduced overall sports injuries by 66%.

Just two 45-minute strength training sessions per week can dramatically lower your injury risk.

3. Prioritize Your Recovery

After surgery, doctors prescribe rest for a reason — the body needs time to heal. Every day, our bodies take damage from training, work, chores, and mental stress. Without proper recovery, those small damages add up.

The ultimate recovery cheat code is sleep. A well-known study in the Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics found that adolescent athletes who slept less than 8 hours per night were 1.7 times more likely to suffer an injury.

4. Listen to Your Body

That nagging shoulder pain, cranky knee, or stiff ankle? That’s your body waving a red flag. Don’t push through it. Instead, address the weakest link. Spend extra time warming it up, improving mobility, and building strength around that area. When you strengthen your weakest points, your entire body becomes more resilient.

Injuries are a part of life, but many are preventable. If we can build stronger, more resilient bodies, our future selves will thank us.

Thanks so much for reading. Let’s all commit to training smarter and creating a world with fewer injuries.

Cheers to stronger, wiser training!