6 Tips For Avoiding Injury, From An Orthopedic Surgeon

If you’ve ever worried about injuries keeping you from your favorite activities, you’re not alone. Whether you’re hitting the gym, training for a race, or jumping on the pickleball bandwagon (careful with those knees!)—injury prevention is the key to keeping you moving. 

On the mindbodygreen podcast, I talked with orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine expert Miho Tanaka, M.D., Ph.D., about her top tips on training and recovery strategies designed to help you build a body that’s resilient, balanced, and injury-free.

Injury prevention basics

The best way to prevent injuries is to prioritize muscle balance, strength, and a well-rounded approach to training. It’s all about setting your body up for success with stability, symmetry, and a gradual increase in intensity.

1. Warm-up like a pro

As we age, the body undergoes changes that make warm-ups and mobility exercises increasingly essential for avoiding injury. Tendons, which connect muscles to bones, naturally begin to lose their elasticity and become more rigid over time. This rigidity can make movements less fluid and increase the likelihood of strains or tears, especially during explosive or high-impact activities. In addition, collagen production—vital for maintaining tendon flexibility and strength—decreases with age, making tendons more prone to stiffness and brittleness.

Stretching and mobility exercises are your secret weapon as you age. A solid warm-up wakes up your muscles and joints, saying, "Let’s do this!" For older adults, it’s a crucial step to steer clear of overuse injuries like tendinitis and muscle strains, keeping you active and doing what you love.

2. Avoid muscle imbalances

Muscle symmetry is key to preventing injury. Many women tend to have asymmetrical strength or flexibility, which leads to overuse in specific areas. Tanaka emphasizes focusing on equal strength and flexibility on both sides of the body to ensure even distribution and avoid stress on weaker areas.

To build balance, try having a coach or trainer observe your movement patterns. Sometimes it takes a second set of eyes to spot those small asymmetries in how you move.

3. Increase load gradually

When it comes to increasing weight or intensity, think increments, not leaps. Tanaka suggests no more than a 20% increase in load, intensity, or volume per week. “Our muscles can only accommodate so much,” she says. Exceeding that limit—especially quickly—shifts pressure onto tendons and joints, which can lead to injuries over time.

4. Careful of repetitive and explosive movements

It’s not just about the range of motion but the repetitiveness of a movement that can lead to injury. For instance, high-frequency activities that demand constant, forceful movements (think jumping or sprinting) can be particularly risky. The same goes for explosive moves, where your muscle is elongating while contracting, generating a ton of force—and increasing injury risk. So, mix it up! 

Tanaka recommends diversifying your workout routine to prevent overuse injuries. If you play multiple sports, you’re already one step ahead in avoiding those repetitive stress injuries that can come from focusing on a single activity.

5. Understanding ACL risks in women

For women, ACL injuries are up to four times more common than in men. Tanaka explains that part of this is due to structural differences, but movement patterns are another crucial factor. For instance, women often have weaker core and hamstring strength, which can cause the knee to be at risk during dynamic movements. However, strengthening the core and muscles around the knee can lower this risk by up to 75%. 

Tanaka highlights how hormones, especially in women, play a huge role in injury susceptibility. Relaxin—a hormone associated with pregnancy—affects the structure and flexibility of your ligaments, potentially increasing injury risk1. Interestingly, research has found that oral contraceptives with higher progesterone could help strengthen the ACL, suggesting that progesterone might protect against ligament injuries. While more research is needed on this, it points to a fascinating link between hormones, tendon strength, and even movement patterns.

6. The power of comprehensive care for women

Tanaka’s approach to injury prevention goes beyond muscle and ligament care; she advocates for a holistic, multidisciplinary approach. For women, injury prevention is most effective when you consider all aspects of wellness—from hormonal health to movement patterns to nutrition.

Today’s healthcare system often looks at these elements in isolation, but Tanaka believes the future of sports medicine is a comprehensive approach, where orthopedic specialists, nutritionists, endocrinologists, and physical therapists work together to build a cohesive plan for each athlete. Not only can this prevent injuries, but it also helps women achieve peak performance in a healthier, safer way. It’s a vision for sports medicine that Tanaka believes could redefine care for female athletes.

The takeaway

If Tanaka had to give one piece of advice, it’s this: we have more control over injury risk than we think. Here’s her best advice for staying safe, healthy, and active: