Post: Weekend Warrior Injuries: 3 Most Common Sports Injuries and How to Avoid Them

The Top 3 Weekend Warrior Injuries

1. Ankle Sprains: The Most Common Culprit

Ankle sprains are among the most common sports injuries reported by weekend warriors. Picture this: you’re playing pickleball, making a quick side-to-side movement, and suddenly you feel that dreaded twist. People experience ankle sprains when they turn or roll their ankle and pull the ligament too far, causing pain, swelling, stiffness and bruising.

Why It Happens: Ankle sprains occur when a twisted ankle stretches or tears the ligaments that surround the ankle. They’re especially common in sports that involve sudden direction changes, uneven surfaces, or jumping – think basketball, tennis, hiking, and even casual weekend runs.

How to Prevent It:

• Invest in and wear good shoes with adequate support for your specific activity
• Practice balancing exercises at home to strengthen support muscles – try standing on one foot while brushing your teeth
• Be careful when walking, running, or hiking on uneven surfaces, and take care when changing directions suddenly
• Strengthen your ankles with simple exercises like calf raises and resistance band workouts

2. Shoulder Injuries: The Overhead Nemesis

Your shoulders take a beating during weekend sports, especially if you love activities with overhead movements. Sports with intense, repetitive overhead arm action like tennis, baseball and golf can cause shoulder injuries, including overuse injuries, strains, dislocations, ligament strains and rotator cuff tears.

Why It Happens: Shoulder injuries can result from sudden trauma like a fall or a blow, leaving older athletes with pain and limited range of motion. Since many weekend warriors were former athletes who no longer train daily, their shoulders aren’t conditioned for intense, repeated use.

How to Prevent It:

• Warm up and stretch well before and after the activity – spend at least 10 minutes preparing your shoulders
• Gradually strengthen the shoulders, arms and core during the week with simple exercises
• Start slowly and build intensity over several weeks rather than jumping straight into competitive play
• Listen to your body – shoulder pain is your body’s way of saying “slow down”

3. Knee Injuries: The Weight-Bearer’s Burden

Runner’s knee, meniscus tears, cartilage tears, and ACL injuries commonly affect weekend warriors. Your knees are complex joints that bear your full body weight plus the additional stress of sports movements.

Why It Happens: As you age, tendons, cartilage, and ligaments in the knee begin to break down, making inflammation and injury more likely. When runners stop too suddenly, or when athletes are struck in the knee during a contact sport, ACL tears can occur, and often require surgery.

How to Prevent It:

• Strengthen the muscles around your knees, especially your quadriceps and hamstrings.
• Treatments for knee injuries range significantly based on the injury, with common treatments including rest, icing, braces and anti-inflammatory medicines like ibuprofen for minor issues.
• Avoid sudden stops and starts – practice controlled movements
• Maintain a healthy weight to reduce stress on your knee joints.
• If there is an acute injury, like a sudden pop in your knee, it is worth being evaluated by a physician.

Your Weekend Warrior Prevention Game Plan

Based on recent research, here’s what actually works to keep you injury-free:

1. Dynamic Warm-ups Work Better Than Static Stretching The use of dynamic stretching as a replacement for static stretching in the warm-up is widespread based on reports of static stretching-induced performance impairments. Instead of holding static stretches, try leg swings, arm circles, and light jogging to prepare your body.
2. Consistency Beats Intensity If you’re doing a higher intensity workout and limiting it to just 2 days a week and you’re not doing anything else the other days, you may have some risk of setting yourself up for injury. Try to incorporate some light activity during the week – even a 15-minute walk makes a difference.
3. The RICE Method for Minor Injuries Treatment for a sprained ankle usually starts with RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation). This method works for most minor sports injuries and can prevent small problems from becoming big ones. For more on how to best approach the RICE method, check out our social post on RICE.
4. Know When to See a Doctor Other conditions that merit a visit to the physician include gradual or chronic pain, especially if the pain is persistent and has been present for more than a couple of weeks, or if the pain keeps you from doing day-to-day activities.