5 Exercises That Could Lead to Injury

Of course, we all know daily exercise or at least 3 times per week can benefit our overall health. New studies come out each day proving this fact. But did you know some exercises physical therapists warn against because they may lead to injury? 

1. The Overhead Squat

Lifting anything overhead can be dangerous and also can be a challenge to your body, mostly to the nervous system. It's a full body exercise and people with little mobility in their hips, knees and ankles will struggle getting into a deep squat. The overhead move can strain the shoulder, cervical, thoracic and lumbar regions.

2. Seated Leg Extension

The machine you see above is not really all that good to have in your exercise regimen. Using this leg extension machine isn't all that useful and could be doing more harm than good. There's no natural movement in life where you sit and straighten your knee with a 60-pound load against it. 

Isolating any muscle and putting an intense amount of pressure on can increased the risk of creating a muscle imbalance. Many people flex their toes when performing this exercise which can tighten muscles. It also puts unnecessary stress on your knee joints. Try squats instead. 

3. The Pull Up

The lats is one of the most underused muscles in the human body, especially among women. This exercise targets that region and to get the benefits of this exercise, the lats must be activated. The problem is most people cannot do them right because their lats aren't working or just simply not strong enough. From here, the body will attempt to compensate by using the upper body muscles which can lead to shoulder issues. 

4. Bent Over Rows

These exercises can strengthen the upper body, specifically the shoulders and back, but most people perform them bent over at the waist. Being in this position may hit a nerve, especially for a long period of time. If you're going to perform them, try going it laying down flat on a bench. 

5. Biceps Curl

Most people that sit at a desk all day have shoulders that are rounded forward. If you do curls, you're reinforcing bad posture leading to looking slouched or hunched over. Most people who perform curls let their shoulders hunch and roll forward instead of setting their shoulders back. Instead try performed a single-arm dumbbell curls with the opposite leg elevated on a step or bench. This creates a balance challenge and sets the shoulder back so the curl is performed in a good position.