Injuries affect everyone at some stage in their lives – even safety-conscious personal trainers! If you suffer a work-related injury which requires physiotherapy or leaves you unable to work for a while, you may need to make a claim. However, to reduce the likelihood of you getting to this point, we’ve investigated the 5 most common injury claims we’ve received from personal trainers. Hopefully, our advice gives you the best chance of staying injury-free!
Back injuries
It will come as little surprise that back injuries account for a large chunk of our injury claims.
Given that back muscles are integral to carrying out routine daily activities, you can see why this is the case!
According to our records, most personal trainers suffer back injuries in one of two ways – either when demonstrating a move to a client, or when transporting equipment to and from their sessions.
For example, one personal trainer injured their back during an aqua aerobics class, while another personal trainer sustained an injury while lifting a kettlebell into their truck. Both required physiotherapy for their injuries.
These examples reiterate the importance of conducting thorough warm-up and warm-down routines and carrying out risk assessments to assess which potential hazards (such as equipment) could cause serious injuries.
Shoulder injuries
As our claims records show, not all shoulder injuries can be healed by stretching and resting for a few days. Some shoulder injuries require urgent medical attention.
In fact, one of our recent claimants pulled their shoulder when they picked up a weight during her fitness class and had to undergo physiotherapy.
Such injuries are not only painful, they can take a while to heal and can be very disruptive to your working life.
Therefore, if you suffer a shoulder injury and need physiotherapy (and time off work), it’s essential to have both Personal Accident and Loss of Earnings cover.
At Insure4Sport, we provide optional Loss of Earnings cover when you take out a Personal Accident policy with us. This provides compensation of up to £750 per week for up to 52 weeks, meaning you’re given suitable financial support if you’re unable to work because of your injury.
Knee injuries
Knee injuries top our list of the most common injury claims made by personal trainers. This probably won’t shock you too much, as the knee is the largest hinge joint in the body. It also doesn’t handle rotation very well, which isn’t ideal when you’re twisting or squatting!
Indeed, one of our recent claims came from a personal trainer injuring their knee while performing a squat.
This shows that knee injuries can rear their ugly head at any moment, whether you’re a personal trainer or not. Often, these injuries will require physiotherapy before you’re back on your feet.
However, it’s important you take every precaution necessary to ensure that you don’t suffer a similar fate to the aforementioned claimants.
There are loads of knee stretches which you can perform before and after each class, and which you can pass on to your clients.
If you’re still unlucky enough to suffer a serious knee injury, the least you can do is protect yourself with Personal Accident cover. This way, you’re reimbursed for the potential cost of physiotherapy (which can be very expensive!).
Ankle injuries
The ankles are, unsurprisingly, among the most vulnerable parts of the body. Therefore, it will come as little surprise that a high number of our claims are related to ankle injuries.
One of our recent ankle injury claims came from somebody falling and spraining their ankle during a Zumba class, and they subsequently claimed for physiotherapy and Loss of Earnings.
If, like this claimant, you regularly hold classes which involve a range of movements, the nature of your job means there’s always a risk of you suffering ankle injuries.
However, you can minimise this risk in a number of ways – by choosing your footwear carefully, strengthening certain muscles and improving your balance.
If you’re still unlucky enough to suffer a sprain or fracture, well – you know what you need to do by now!
Fractures
Last on our list (but definitely not least) is fractures – which are among the most unpleasant type of injuries around.
All it takes is for there to be less than total contact between your foot and the ground, and you could sustain a fracture.
There are multiple types of fractures and stress fractures, in particular, are common among personal trainers. This is due to the repetitive motions they use to carry out certain exercises and the stress they place on their bones when exercising.
While it’s impossible to completely eradicate the risk of sustaining a fracture, there are some steps you can take to minimise this risk:
- Consume adequate amounts of calcium and vitamin D to reduce bone fragility
- Practise balance exercises on a regular basis
- Wear low-heeled shoes
- Make sure any surfaces you practise on are not slippery
These are just a few examples of how to prevent the falls and awkward landings which cause fractures. Check out this article for more detailed tips on how to decrease the likelihood of sustaining a fracture.
The above examples will hopefully give you some useful advice on how to avoid injuring yourself at work and needing to make a claim.
However, if you do need to make a claim, we will cover you for injuries which require physiotherapy, or more severe accidents which cause broken bones or permanent disablement.
Find out how our specialist personal trainer insurance can protect you by getting an instant online quote with us today!
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