Injuring yourself at the gym is a terrible position to be in, both because you’re hurt and you have to stop working out whilst you heal up. So, what should you do if you’re in this position?

Knowing what to do when you’re injured at the gym isn’t always clear. So, it’s good to have some steps to take if you find yourself there. These steps range from staying calm and calling an ambulance, to filing a claim with personal injury solicitors.

In this post, I’m going to tell you which steps you should take if you ever find yourself injured at the gym. So, you’re in the middle of exercising, and something has gone horribly wrong? You need to think about what to do next…

Step 1: Make sure you’re safe

The top priority when you’re injured is to stop whatever you’re doing to make sure that you’re not aggravating your injury. The one exception would be if you’re on a broken machine that is unsafe, in which case you should move away from it as quickly as possible.

Whatever you do, do not continue to work out. Whatever you were doing before is the act that caused the injury in the first place, and you don’t want to exacerbate it further.

Step 2: Contact emergency services

Depending on the severity of your gym injury, you might need to contact emergency services. If you feel strong pain, can’t move easily, or aren’t sure what happened, you should call the emergency services just to be safe.

Alternatively, you could ask if there are medical professionals in the gym who wouldn’t mind taking a look at your injury to see whether it’s worth going to the hospital.

Step 3: Get a proper diagnosis

If you didn’t go to the hospital with your gym injury, or you left without a proper diagnosis, you should do your best to get one so you know how to look after yourself.

It could be that you need to stay off your feet and avoid exercise altogether, or you might benefit from light exercise or physical therapy. It’s also important to have a diagnosis in case you want to claim compensation for the injury in the future.

Step 4: Record the incident

The next thing you need to do is go back to the gym and document the incident with the staff. The gym needs to know that the incident occurred so they can avoid it happening again in the future.

You’ll likely have to fill out an incident report and answer some questions, but you can ask them if it was faulty equipment that caused your injury. It’s also good to have it in writing in case you want to file a personal injury claim later down the line, if the accident was the fault of the gym.

If there are people at the gym who were there at the time of the incident, ask them what they remember too. You never know what information will be useful if you take it to court.

Step 5: File a personal injury claim

This step is obviously optional, depending on whether the injury was your fault or the fault of the gym. Typically, you can file a personal injury claim if you’re hurt as a result of:

• Faulty equipment
• Instructors providing poor advice on how to exercise or use the equipment
• Hazards not being cleared away (e.g. water spills, free weights, other objects)

Even if you like your gym and you don’t want to cause any hassle, it’s important you make an injury claim if you’re seriously injured, and it could affect your day to day life, such as your ability to work.

Step 6: Recover

With all the logistical stuff out of the way, it’s time to focus on your recovery. No matter the seriousness of the gym injury, it’s probably a good idea to take at least a few weeks from exercise.

When in doubt, speak to your doctor and ask for a recovery regimen so you know what you are and aren’t able to do with your particular injury.

Step 7: Learn from it

If the gym injury was out of your hands, then there isn’t much to learn other than watch where you step, check the gym equipment before you use it, and don’t take your instructor’s advice verbatim if it sounds risky.

However, if the injury was because you didn’t warm up or stretch before you worked out, didn’t keep an eye on the people around you, or performed an exercise intensely with little practice prior to the workout, then you have something to learn for next time. The best way to avoid an injury at the gym is:

• Have a routine physical examination so you know what your body’s capable of
• Hire a personal trainer to talk you through the exercise
• Start slowly, and gradually increase the intensity of the workout
• Warm up before you exercise
• Don’t work out on an empty stomach
• Keep water on you at all times
• Dress for the exercise you’re performing
• Listen to what your body’s telling you

Are These the Best Steps to Take if You’re Injured at the Gym?

In this post, I’ve shared seven important steps you should take when you suffer an injury at the gym.

As long as you make sure to seek medical attention, keep a record of what happened and a diagnosis of your injury, file a personal injury claim if you need one, and recover properly, you should be back to exercising in no time.

Please be advised that this article is for general informational purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for advice from a trained medical professional. Be sure to consult a medical professional or healthcare provider if you’re seeking medical advice, diagnoses, or treatment. I’m are not liable for risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.