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Weightlifting injuries: common gym injuries by body area and lift

Most weightlifting injuries land in the lower back, the shoulder or the knee, which are the sites reviews of competitive weightlifters and powerlifters report most often. Common gym injuries are mainly strains and overload problems that build when the weight, the sets or the training days go up faster than the body can adapt, while emergency departments see a lot of accidents, such as a weight dropped on a hand or foot. Per hour of training, injury rates in the lifting sports are relatively low next to common team sports. Most of these problems settle with a change of load rather than weeks away from the gym, and this page sorts them by body area and by lift, then points you to the page for each. A few signs need help straight away or the same day, including chest pain under the bar, numbness around the genitals or bottom, and a sudden pop with bruising in the chest or arm.

Warning signs, and when to get help

What are the most common weightlifting injuries?

Three areas come up again and again. A 2017 systematic review of competitive weightlifters and powerlifters found that the spine, the shoulder and the knee were the commonest injury sites in both sports (Aasa and colleagues, 2017). Most of what lifters describe is strain and overload rather than a dramatic tear. A tendon or joint gets sore because the work went up faster than it could adapt.

Emergency department figures look a little different, because they catch the accidents. In United States emergency departments between 1990 and 2007, the trunk was the part of the body hurt most often and sprains and strains were the commonest diagnosis. Most of those injuries involved free weights, and a weight falling on the person was the most frequent way they happened (Kerr and colleagues, 2010). A finger crushed under a dumbbell never appears in a powerlifting survey, but it does turn up at the hospital.

Keep the risk in proportion, though. The 2017 review put injury rates at about 2.4 to 3.3 per 1,000 hours of training in weightlifting and 1.0 to 4.4 in powerlifting (Aasa and colleagues, 2017). A second review found injury rates across the weight-training sports were relatively low next to common team sports, while pointing out that most of the studies asked lifters to recall their injuries after the fact, which makes the exact numbers soft (Keogh and Winwood, 2017).

Why do common gym injuries happen?

Muscle, tendon and bone all adapt to the work you give them, but they need time to do it, and pain tends to show up when the weekly work outruns that process. In a gym that usually looks like a change. A new program, a jump from 60 kg (132 lb) to 70 kg (154 lb) on the squat inside a week, extra sets before a meet, or the first session after a holiday done at the old numbers are the stories physios hear most.

Fatigue is the other half of it. The grinding last rep of the last set, when form slips and the bar drifts away from you, is when many lifters say the back or shoulder went. Treat all of this as practice experience. Few studies have followed recreational lifters forward in time to test which of these causes matter most.

Weightlifting injuries by body area and lift

Use this as a map, not a diagnosis. Find the area that hurts, read the line or two, then follow the link to the page that explains it properly.

Lower back: deadlifts, squats and bent-over rows

A narrative review of powerlifting found low back injuries were linked with deadlift training, though much of the evidence came from small studies and case reports (Bengtsson and colleagues, 2018). For a back that tightened or tweaked under the bar, start with lower back pain after deadlifts. Back pain that keeps coming back has its own low back pain program. Pain that travels below the knee belongs with sciatica or a lumbar disc herniation.

Shoulder: bench press, dips and overhead press

The same review linked shoulder injuries with bench press training, and many of them build slowly over years of pressing rather than in one set (Bengtsson and colleagues, 2018). The page on shoulder pain on bench press sorts bench pain by where you feel it. An ache at the front or side of the shoulder with overhead work often fits rotator cuff tendinopathy or shoulder impingement, and pain right on top of the shoulder at the bony bump points to the AC joint. If raising the arm hurts in daily life too, read shoulder pain when lifting your arm.

Chest and armpit: bench press

A torn chest muscle (pectoralis major) is rare, but the powerlifting review found it was the specific bench press injury reported most often (Bengtsson and colleagues, 2018). It matters because timing changes the result: a meta-analysis of published cases found that repair within the first 8 weeks did better than a late repair or no operation (Bak and colleagues, 2000). A pop in the chest or armpit on a heavy press, with bruising afterward, needs an urgent care center or emergency department the same day. The warning list below gives the full set of signs.

Knee: squats, lunges and leg press

The knee entry for this hub is knee pain when squatting, which covers depth, knee position and load in detail. An ache around or behind the kneecap that builds as you sink down usually fits patellofemoral pain. A sore spot at the bottom tip of the kneecap that gets worse with heavier or deeper squats points more to patellar tendinopathy.

Elbow and forearm: curls, rows, pull-ups and heavy grip

Heavy gripping loads the tendons at the elbow even when the work feels like it is in your hand. Elbow pain when lifting sorts it by side: the outside usually means tennis elbow, the inside golfer's elbow, and the front crease the biceps tendon. A sudden pop at the front of the elbow on a heavy curl or row is not a rehab problem: go to an urgent care center or emergency department the same day, even if you can still bend the elbow. The warning list below has the other signs of a torn biceps tendon.

Hands, feet and groin

Dropped plates and trapped fingers are accidents, and a painful, swollen finger or toe after one needs checking like any other knock. A lump in the groin that appears or grows when you strain under a heavy lift can be a hernia. If it becomes painful or tender, get medical help straight away, the same day. The warning list below gives the signs that make it an emergency.

Is it soreness or an injury?

Soreness after a hard or unfamiliar session is normal, and it fades in a few days. An injury behaves differently: it usually starts at a moment you can name, sits in one spot and hurts when you tighten that muscle. The page on muscle soreness or injury walks through the differences, including the rare signs of serious muscle damage after a very hard session.

Can you keep lifting with an injury?

Usually yes, in a modified form. Keep the lifts that do not hurt, lighten or shorten the ones that do, and swap a barbell for a dumbbell or a machine for a few weeks if that is kinder. The next-morning check is the most useful rule: mild, familiar discomfort that has settled by then usually means the load was about right. Our pain monitoring model guide explains how physios set that limit, and how thin the evidence behind the exact number is.

When you are ready to build back toward your old numbers, returning to the gym after injury sets out the starting weights, the order the lifts come back in and how fast to add load. After surgery or a broken bone, your surgical or fracture team's plan comes before anything on this site.

When to see a physio (physical therapist)

Book an appointment if the same pain has lasted two to three weeks despite lighter training, if it comes back every time you add weight, or if you have started to change how you lift to get round it. Go sooner if a lift has turned weak rather than sore, or if numbness or tingling has joined the pain.

Expect questions about your program more than about the pain itself: what weight, how many sessions, and what changed lately. Then a physio will watch the lift that hurts, test each side, and adjust the program so you can keep training while it settles. Anything on the warning list below overrides this and gets help at the speed that line gives.

In this topic

Related exercise programs

Warning signs

Get emergency help now

  • Emergency: if chest pain, pressure or tightness does not ease quickly when you rest, spreads to your arm, neck, jaw, stomach or back, or comes with sweating, feeling sick, feeling light-headed or being short of breath, call emergency services straight away, as this can be a heart attack. If it eases quickly and none of these happen, get medical advice the same day, and do not exercise again until you have been checked.
  • Emergency: if you faint while exercising, call emergency services, even if you feel fine again quickly.
  • Emergency: any sign of a stroke, even if it goes away. That means a face that droops on one side, an arm you cannot lift or keep up, slurred or muddled speech, weakness or numbness on one side of your body or face, sudden blurred vision, double vision or loss of sight, trouble swallowing, sudden dizziness with unsteadiness or falling over, a sudden severe headache, or a sudden fall where your legs give way but you do not black out (a drop attack). Call emergency services straight away.
  • Emergency: pain, tingling, numbness or weakness in both legs, numbness or altered feeling around your genitals or bottom, or new trouble peeing or controlling your bladder or bowels. The same applies if you lose feeling in one leg. Call emergency services or go to an emergency department straight away. These can be signs of pressure on the nerves at the base of the spine (cauda equina syndrome).
  • Emergency: you have had cancer, now or in the past, and your back or neck pain feels like a tight band around your body, or comes with pain spreading down an arm or leg, weakness, numbness or pins and needles in your arms or legs, trouble walking, or trouble controlling your bladder or bowels. Call your cancer team's emergency number straight away, or go to an emergency department if you do not have one or cannot get through. This can be cancer pressing on the spinal cord (metastatic spinal cord compression), which needs treatment straight away.
  • Emergency: dark pee (brown, red or tea-colored) after exercise, or muscles that become badly swollen, extremely painful or too weak to use, are not normal soreness. Go to an emergency department straight away, as these can be signs of serious muscle damage (rhabdomyolysis).
  • Emergency: you felt a sudden pop or tearing feeling just above or below your kneecap, you can see or feel a dip there, the kneecap seems to have moved up toward the thigh or to sag lower than usual, or you suddenly cannot straighten your knee or lift your leg out straight. Stop exercising and go to an emergency department straight away, even if you can still walk, as this can be a torn tendon at the front of the knee, either below the kneecap (patellar tendon) or above it (quadriceps tendon). Do not drive yourself. A repair usually does better if it is done soon after the injury.
  • Emergency: the knee became very swollen very quickly, within a few hours of a twist, fall or blow, or you felt a pop or snap. Go to an emergency department straight away. Do not drive yourself: ask someone to drive you or call an ambulance. A knee that fills up that fast has usually bled inside the joint, which can come from a torn ligament, a kneecap that slipped out or a break, so it needs checking before you train again.
  • Emergency: the shoulder feels as if it has slipped out of place, looks a different shape or suddenly locks so you cannot move the arm, or the pain is severe after a fall or an injury. Go to an emergency department straight away, without driving yourself, and do not try to put the shoulder back in yourself.
  • Emergency: your arm, hand or fingers turn cold, pale, blue or gray compared with the other side. Call emergency services or go to an emergency department straight away, and do not drive yourself. The blood supply to the arm may be blocked.

Get help today

  • Same day: a sudden pop or snap at the front of your elbow, sudden sharp pain there, or the muscle at the front of your upper arm bunches up or changes shape. Stop and go to an urgent care center or emergency department the same day, even if you can still bend the elbow, as this can be a torn biceps tendon.
  • Same day: a sudden pop, snap or tearing feeling with sharp pain in your chest, at the front of your armpit or at the top of your arm during a press or a dip, often followed by bruising or swelling in the chest, armpit or upper arm, a fold at the front of your armpit that looks different from the other side, or weakness when you push or bring the arm across your body. Stop pressing and go to an urgent care center or emergency department the same day, even if you can still move the arm, as this can be a torn chest muscle or its tendon (pectoralis major). When a repair is needed, it usually does better if it is done early.
  • Same day: a lump or bulge in your groin or upper thigh has become painful or tender, or you have a groin lump and a bloated tummy, you feel or are being sick, you are constipated, or you have a high temperature or feel hot, cold or shivery. This can be a hernia that has become trapped. Get medical help straight away, the same day, for example at urgent care or an emergency department. If the pain is severe or came on suddenly, you cannot poo or pass wind at all, you are vomiting blood or your vomit looks like coffee grounds, or you have suddenly become confused, call emergency services or go to an emergency department straight away.
  • Same day: a leg or foot that is getting weaker, for example your foot drags, catches on the ground or slaps down when you walk (foot drop). Get medical advice the same day. If the weakness is getting worse by the hour, go to an emergency department.
  • Same day: severe pain that comes on suddenly or is getting worse quickly. Get medical advice the same day.
  • Same day: pins and needles, numbness or weakness in an arm or leg that does not go away after you stop. Get medical advice the same day. If one side of your face or body suddenly goes numb or weak, or your speech becomes slurred or muddled, call emergency services, even if it goes away.
  • Same day: pain that is worse at night, or does not ease at all when you rest. If you are being treated for cancer now, contact your cancer team the same day.
  • Same day: pain that is worse at night, or does not ease at all when you rest. If you have had cancer, now or in the past, or you have lost weight without trying, get medical advice the same day.

Book an appointment

  • Within a few days: pain that is worse at night, or does not ease at all when you rest. See your doctor within a few days.
  • Within 2 weeks: a lump in your groin or upper thigh that is not painful, especially one that gets bigger when you cough or sneeze and smaller when you lie down. This can be a hernia. Book an appointment with your doctor.

Common questions

What are the most common weightlifting injuries?

In competitive weightlifters and powerlifters, the spine, the shoulder and the knee are the most frequent injury sites, according to a 2017 systematic review (Aasa and colleagues, 2017). The lower back usually means a strained muscle or an irritated joint or disc, the shoulder usually means an overloaded rotator cuff or a sore joint at the top of the shoulder, and the knee usually means pain around the kneecap or in the tendon just below it. In general gym users who end up in an emergency department, sprains and strains are the commonest diagnosis, and accidents with free weights are common too (Kerr and colleagues, 2010).

What causes most gym injuries?

Usually a change, not a single bad rep. A new program, a big jump in the weight, extra sets before a competition, or coming back from a break at your old numbers are the stories physios hear most often, and fatigue at the end of a long session is often part of it. That is practice experience rather than tested fact, because most research on lifting injuries asks people to remember them afterward, which makes causes hard to pin down (Keogh and Winwood, 2017). Accidents are the other big group: a dropped dumbbell, a trapped finger or a plate sliding off the end of a bar.

How do I tell if I am sore or injured after lifting?

Ordinary soreness after a new or harder session creeps in over a day or two, covers a whole muscle group, often sits on both sides, and eases as you warm up. An injury usually has a moment you can name, hurts in one spot, and hurts when you tighten or stretch that one muscle, sometimes with swelling, bruising or weakness. Soreness that has not faded within about a week, or a muscle that stays weak, is worth a physio's opinion. Dark pee (brown, red or tea-colored) after exercise, or muscles that become badly swollen, extremely painful or too weak to use, are not normal soreness. Go to an emergency department straight away, as these can be signs of serious muscle damage (rhabdomyolysis).

Can I keep going to the gym with an injury?

Most of the time, yes, with the program changed around the sore part. Keep training the lifts that do not hurt, cut the weight or the range on the ones that do, and judge the session by how the sore area feels the next morning. Mild, familiar discomfort that has settled by then is usually acceptable, while sharp pain, a joint that gives way or new swelling means stopping that lift and getting it checked. After surgery or a broken bone, your surgical or fracture team decides what you can do and when.

References

  1. Aasa U, Svartholm I, Andersson F, Berglund L. Injuries among weightlifters and powerlifters: a systematic review. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2017;51(4):211-219. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2016-096037
  2. Keogh JWL, Winwood PW. The epidemiology of injuries across the weight-training sports. Sports Medicine. 2017;47(3):479-501. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-016-0575-0
  3. Kerr ZY, Collins CL, Comstock RD. Epidemiology of weight training-related injuries presenting to United States emergency departments, 1990 to 2007. American Journal of Sports Medicine. 2010;38(4):765-771. https://doi.org/10.1177/0363546509351560
  4. Bengtsson V, Berglund L, Aasa U. Narrative review of injuries in powerlifting with special reference to their association to the squat, bench press and deadlift. BMJ Open Sport and Exercise Medicine. 2018;4(1):e000382. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjsem-2018-000382
  5. Bak K, Cameron EA, Henderson IJP. Rupture of the pectoralis major: a meta-analysis of 112 cases. Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy. 2000;8(2):113-119. https://doi.org/10.1007/s001670050197
  6. NHS. Chest pain. Page last reviewed 8 August 2023. https://www.nhs.uk/symptoms/chest-pain/
  7. NHS. Symptoms of a stroke. Page last reviewed 12 September 2024. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stroke/symptoms/
  8. NHS. Fainting. Page last reviewed 17 August 2026. https://www.nhs.uk/symptoms/fainting/
  9. NHS. Back pain. Page last reviewed 5 March 2026. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/back-pain/
  10. NHS. Shoulder pain. Page last reviewed 22 May 2023. https://www.nhs.uk/symptoms/shoulder-pain/
  11. NHS. Hernia. Page last reviewed 19 May 2026. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/hernia/
  12. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Biceps tendon tear at the elbow. OrthoInfo. https://www.orthoinfo.org/en/diseases--conditions/biceps-tendon-tear-at-the-elbow/
  13. Cleveland Clinic. Rhabdomyolysis. Last updated 24 February 2023. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21184-rhabdomyolysis
  14. Cancer Research UK. Spinal cord compression. https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/coping/physically/spinal-cord-compression
  15. NHS. Knee pain. Page last reviewed 21 December 2023. https://www.nhs.uk/symptoms/knee-pain/

Written and checked by the PocketPhysio editorial team. Last updated 2026-10-16.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. See a physiotherapist or doctor for advice about your own situation.