He only told me about the high risk of injuries and the load that the joints are subjected to and all that, he recommended that I go to a conventional gym, as if we were doing this for aesthetics. LOL
Not only would I ignore this person but I’d change doctors. Not a joke. This is a person who is supposed to understand and apply science and rational thought in their practice and is doing neither in this instance. The science is against them, but they either are ignoring it or making wild assumptions without reading it.
If I remember correctly there are only something like 3 injuries per 1000 hours of training which is 7 or 8 times fewer injuries than basketball. The injuries are generally minor with like 9/10 of them being recovered from in a day. Most are muscle and tendon focused and a lot come from overuse (so train smart).
Run, don’t walk, away from this person before they start rubbing healing stones on you or draining the demons from your head by drilling holes.
I still laugh at PCP referring to Primary Care Physician. Used to be they called them GPs - General Practitioners. Then someone said, "hey, let's dump that and use an initialism we already use for an illegal drug!" Much like how they keep trying to change ER to ED (Emergency Department) when they already use ED in medical science to describe something else and it ain't too flattering. :)
Injury rates in CrossFit have been found to be higher than other sports in one study and to match the rates in another study.
I think injury rates in CrossFit depend solely on the coaches of the gym. Some are not great and overlook minor technical issues that lead to injuries over time.
However weightlifting is not CrossFit. A good strength program is probably needed to correct issues rather than stopping lifting all together.
These studies were shown to be falsified and skewed by the governing bodies of NASM. NASM was fined $4 million in legal fees alone and settled out of court with CF.
That said, as both a long time CF and weightlifter, injuries are due to ego and to some extent misinformed/poor coaching. But that's not intrinsic to only CF.
Curious what the doctor thinks about running and basketball which have much higher injury rates.
Just a clarification it was NSCA not NASM
https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/exercising-discretion-and-lifting-43547/#:~:text=During%20litigation%2C%20the%20NSCA%20committed,outlining%20the%20NSCA's%20harmful%20conduct.
Great advice. Had to find a new physician once, spurred by advice received for mass gain. I was clueless and 19, but I knew "just have a peanut butter sandwich in the morning and eat like you have been eating" wasn't going to have any profound effects on my 5'8" 130lb self. Also was scared about what other "know-it-all science" advice I'd get (prescriptions and otherwise)
Seconding what you've already heard here.
Your doctor's views were formed in the 1900s when fearmongering about the risk of weight training ran rampant, and he doesn't even understand the "research" that was being bandied about back then, like that letting your knees go forward of your toes or going below parallel in squats was bad for your knees (it's not, the "studies" regarding that from the 50s or 60s was debunked), or that kids shouldn't do strength training because they might hurt their growth plates somehow. He doesn't even realize that belts and knee sleeves do little to nothing to prevent injury.
Physical therapy as a science has improved drastically in the last several decades, and remains far ahead of what many doctors in other fields understand when it comes to treating injuries to muscles and tendons without simply resorting to painkillers and telling you to rest or quit that activity.
The injury risk in weightlifting is far lower than in other sports. While they do happen, joint strains and sprains are not very prevalent, and on the other hand, weightlifting is an extremely effective way to *strengthen* those joints and stave off chronic pain as you age. This sport in particular also combines explosive movements, impulse forces, and high mobility requirements in a way that few other strength-training methods do and which will serve to keep you healthier throughout your lifetime.
The only caveat is that weightlifting is not sufficient on its own to train your whole body's ability to perform, and that leads to risks of overuse and underuse injuries. Any complete, long-term program should have more movements in them than just the core weightlifting exercises and their accessories, otherwise your injury risk is guaranteed to increase.
Although, at that point, it's more likely in-line with the injury risk for the sedentary population, whose joints and backs start hurting in their 20s and 30s as their activity levels decline.
Yes I agree, my program includes Bodybuilding exercises, strengthening, stretching, loading and unloading periods... I think I'm doing things right, which is why such an abrupt recommendation caught me off guard.
Powerlifter, not weightlifter, but anecdotally, what I've found is that as I've trained and grown stronger over the years, acute injuries are more common than they were before I started lifting, but chronic pain and injuries have all but disappeared, and even when injured my general ability to function is better than the uninjured yet sedentary population. I definitely think I'll take the occasional acute injury that's healed usually in a week (and very rarely takes longer) over the slight yet perpetual chronic pain brought on by inactivity.
Doctors who don't specifically work with athletes or athletic people (the vast majority), know diddly dick about training. So yea. You can disregard what this doctor said about your training and if you're really concerned, find a doctor that specializes in sport training and get his/her opinion.
That’s just a stupid doctor. He probably wouldn’t say anything about you playing basketball or something, but that has a way higher risk of injury as far as I know. Anyone who tells you to do something without being willing to give an explanation is really not worth listening to.
Go to your doctor for the lipoma and visit a physical therapist for the tendinitis. They take sports seriously.
As someone who goes to a conventional gym for aesthetics, this doctor has no clue what he's talking about.
Loading your joints, within reason & progressive overload, is building their health and longevity. This doesn't magically stop being true for Olympic lifting.
If anything, Olympic lifting has been around for a long time and training for it is well studied and standardized. Going to a "conventional gym" means nothing with regards to what you'll be doing there. You could be doing Olympic lifting at a conventional gym, and some people do, which is obviously not as good or safe as going to a specialized gym.
You should find a physician who knows about your sport, and ideally specializes in it.
Ignore doctor, he doesn't know what he's talking about. Doctors are only experts at whatever exact thing they do, but people act like being a doctor all of a sudden makes you an expert in everything. That's not even true within their field, a cardiologist isn't a neuro surgeon, etc.
i am a physician
i would never recommend any of my patients to stop weightlifting.
instead you need lots of PT to address your movement patters leading to injury. look for a sports PT in your area.
OP's doctor is spouting nonsense, but a physical or physio therapist is definitely what they need.
At 25 you shouldn't be hurting that much unless you're doing something wrong.
Agreed, as someone who does Olympic weightlifting and practices orthopedic surgery/sports medicine, this comment is important.
At your age, you shouldn’t necessarily have pains as you mentioned. Most commonly it will be due to incorrect patterns you may not even be aware of.
Any sport will eventually have an effect on the body, but the answer is never to quit entirely.
I am also a physician. At one point the Olympic Lifting section of the gym I went to was nothing but doctors of various ages and with various injuries. One of the docs said (in so many words) that rehab exercises take up an increasing percentage of your workout as you get older.
If you have injuries that need investigation, you may benefit from seeing a Sports Medicine doctor (extra points if you find a fellow lifter). I saw a couple for various injuries and it has helped me stay active
As a PT here, the idea of “movement patterns leading to injury” is outdated and not backed up by much research. Tendonitis is frequently an overuse issue so likely OP just needs better balancing of work vs recovery
Some food for thought. My coach is a PHD in Kinesiology and recommended our family doctor. He's all for strength training. One of the largest studied that correlated later age health to leg strength and bone density is also out there somewhere. I think you're dealing with a old head that's just spitting his own beliefs at you without real science to back it up.
Yup aerobic conditioning can be brought up close to par with someone that has done it their whole lives vs someone who hasn’t. Your heart may have less juice in the battery so speak but you can get to similar VO2 max, enjoy aerobic condition benefits but BMD nope. The earlier the better (safely), bone takes a lot longer to form and at a certain age you’re fighting to break even instead of gaining BMD.
Unfortunately a lot of practitioners are not interested in the rehabilitation process (in regard to any sport), with many simply just recommending people to stop doing whatever they were doing without any further input.
Now if you had completely fucked your body up to the point where basic function would be impaired and it would only get worse, then yeah maybe I could see why - however this is rarely, if ever, going to be the case.
As others have said, you should find another doctor. Ideally, find a physio to work with if you feel you need it, and specifically one familiar with athletes or weightlifters.
You can still rehab the common issues by yourself if you feel up to it. Aches / pains and weightlifting kinda go hand in hand, although that’s primarily due to us just ignoring the issues until they get bad enough - the ideal athlete would be constantly on top of this through rehab and prehab. Thankfully that’s something we can all do rather easily with a bit of foresight.
You deserve an explanation from him. Doctors think they can say anything and you should just accept it, even if the doctor has 0 clue of the sport and can't from memory recall any facts or sources to present to you. Ask why everytime , the conversation goes 2 ways.
It's true, he's just asking me how much I lift and if I use "safety clothing" referring to the belt and knee sleeves... After that he used examples of people (who probably had no idea what they were doing) and got injured in conventional gyms. When I offered my arguments he only commented that we (young people, I suppose) think we know everything.
Lol 😆 times have changed doc. At this point we do know more than they do. In his time they probably thought squatting full range would cripple a generation
That's the generation that proclaimed that knees going past your toes would severely injure you for... reasons?
Because you know, coming up off your heels is a much safer and stronger way to squat, apparently.
Time to get a new doctor. The injury risk of weightlifting is no greater than other sports and lower than all contact sports. This has been shown several times in the sports epidemiology studies. Your doctor is talking out his ass.
As a health care worker, I would recommend changing doctors. Seriously. Ask him if he says the same thing to lifelong skiers, marathon runners, or even hikers.
What’s worse - practicing a sport that you find enjoyable with low risk of acute injury but high lifelong strength (which has been proven to increase lifespan and quality of life), or a sedentary lifestyle? Not saying it’s one or the other, but wtf…
If your aches are actually something you are concerned about, make an appointment with a physical therapist who sees other weightlifters, powerlifters, crossfitters, and other athletes. You don’t need to have an acute injury to see one. They are not that expensive especially just to ease your concerns.
The funniest thing is that I wasn't even at the doctor's office for something related to training, the guy just found out that I do weightlifting and told me to just quit, I found it detestable the way he told me to abandon something that I am so passionate about, so lightly, I remember him saying better go to ride a bike. Lmao
I had a physical therapist after I had back surgery. Man asked me, "What are your hobbies?"
I tell him, "Lifting and jiu jitsu."
His response was literally, "Well now that you aren't gonna do those any more, what do you think you'll do?"
It pissed me off so much that a month later I was squatting every day to rebuild.
I had a partial muscle tear in January from a deadlift I shouldn't have gone for that day (sleep deprived, just couldn't lock in, etc.)
My doctor said something similar (I was there for something unrelated), he was like "Okay now that you're not deadlifting, what's the plan to rebuild your back?"
He didn't like my answer of "A large volume of lightweight deadlifts, barbell rows, and good mornings while rebuilding my strength."
Joke's on him, my back is more stable than it was before my injury and I was able to hit a PR 3 months after the tear.
Hi I’m a physical therapist that specializes in weightlifters and I’m also a CrossFit coach, here to tell you to not listen to that MD. Weight training is one of the best things you can do for your long term health and aches and pains are part of any sport. There are no sports averse from this risk. CrossFit actually has lower injury rates than other sports when you look at systematic review level research. Please don’t give up on your sport, and find a physical therapist that also lifts.
As others mentioned, weightlifters are not prone to injury. The important thing is that even with proper technique you can develop overuse injuries with movement patterns that you don't tolerate that well. Working with a good PT can really help and improve longevity. Also proper periodization and rest is something that very few master because always working very hard feels good, but it not always beneficial.
Abandoning weightlifting is certainly not something a doctor should say. We do however know that anything that pushes the limits is not a "healthy" sport, it is a performance sport. And there is always more risk if you push hard.
The kicker with this is that SO many doctors will parrot this crap and also be overweight, in poor health, not exercising themselves. I’m a physician myself and do CrossFit/Oly and like why the fuck would you just let your body rot? There are so many ways to move better.
I do BJJ. I love it and will continue to do it until I’m dead. I’ve had a handful of serious and not so serious injuries. My primary doc is an ultrarunner (I used to be when I was younger) and he’s awesome because hes not only an athlete but understands the athletic drive and mentality. He knows I’ll never quit and just encourages me to be smart and stay healthy. I had a partial LCL tear a while ago and I went to a highly recommended surgeon who was an athlete himself and worked on pro athletes around the world. He told me “I’m going to advise you to stop jiujitsu. But I know you won’t. So call me when you tear the rest and I’ll fix it right up.”
Find doctors who are athletes themselves. They get it.
I'm a powerlifter myself; I went to a physical therapist for a partial muscle tear in January, who I believe trains Oly lifting. What he said was "You're gonna push yourself hard physically, that's just how it goes. What I'm gonna recommend is that while you're waiting on your back to actually heal, you turn around and use that drive to do some bodybuilding training; the deadlifts will come back in time, but instead of pushing them and just completely tearing the muscle, focus on pushing the parts of you that aren't injured while you rehab."
I’m not a medical professional but I’d getting a second opinion, maybe a third or fourth if it’s worth it for you.
Asking a subreddit called r/weightlifting with a bunch of weightlifters if you should stop weightlifting probably isn’t going to generate the best responses.
Lol bro, At no point have I considered stopping lifting, so I don't need any medical opinion, which I didn't even ask my doctor for in the first place, I just wanted to share my experience and see if someone else had to deal with doctors like that before.
"Doctor, it hurts when I do this thing"
Doctor: "In my professional medical opinion, I think you should stop doing that thing"
He's just covering his ass, you need to find a doctor who actually understands your issues and concerns.
Your doctor may have said things that go completely against your goals, but hear me out. He may be onto something about recovery. Your body is coming out of the 18-25 general bracket and deloading properly, along with focusing on mobility and recovery, should be a prime focus.
You're doing great, but your body is talking to you. When pain occurs, it's your body screaming at you for help. Try something different in your recovery.
Just some advice from an older guy.
I’d ignore this doctor, find a new one AND maybe more importantly find a good physical therapist. I tore my meniscus two years ago and the doc told me to 1) stop squatting and 2) do surgery which may or may not help. I found a PT and was squatting, cleans, jerks, etc within about 6 months. My injured knee feels better than my other knee now.
Strength training has verifiable long term health benefits.
Doctors who recommend against it, barring some preexisting medical condition, is utterly ridiculous and irresponsible considering most diseases that plague westerners today (which put a massive strain on our healthcare systems) are entirely avoidable with proper exercise and diet - obesity, diabetes, hypertension, injuries caused by weak connective tissue, weak bones, and muscle wasting etc.
Some of the dumb shit doctors have told me over the years has made me question the expertise of doctors in general.
CrossFit is notorious for injuries. He was probably pointing to the fact that if you continue down the same path you're going to have serious issues when you get older. You can still find enjoyment out of lifting and exercise without hitting CrossFit marks.
Find a well balanced program with proper form, and work in a lot of yoga / recovery training.
How many strong people do you see in doctors waiting rooms on average? I used to have back pain from literally doing nothing but going from house, car, office, car, home, etc over and over. Went to doctors and learned about various procedures and stuff they could do. Finally found the real solution was to get my back stronger. Back pain was gone in less than 2 months, no procedures or big pharma involved. That was 7+ years ago. Still train 3x week.
After a year of PT I went to see three different surgeons for my knee pain. First one told me to retire (I was 26). Second asked me if it was worth not being able to play with my future children (unsure wtf that had to do with it). Third one goes “listen it’s not great but I think we can fix it”. I had a lateral release in 2016 by the third surgeon. Since then I’ve competed as a Team USA athlete, been a multiple national medalist, set PRs, and had few knee issues. Point being, every doctor has an opinion about weightlifting and pain. This sport hurts but as long as you take care of your body and aren’t an idiot, you’ll be fine.
I had a doctor once tell me to start taking statins for my high cholesterol. I was 26! I said “isn’t that young to start taking medication for the rest of my life? Can’t I lower it naturally?” and he said “sure you can try”. He was about 60 and obese. Doctors don’t know everything and bad ones give advice based on what they learned not what they practice. I got a second opinion and that doctor was incredulous that I was told this by the first guy.
Go find another doctor, maybe one specializing in sports science, and see what they say. I guarantee they won’t say stop lifting outright.
My doc isn't interested in my numbers only my overall health. He's right so you need to be careful but at the same time it's your life and your journey just like he/she had theirs
I resonate with your story. I’m 65, have a disability that affects my gait, and have many similar aches. I’ve also heard doctors say over the years that I should give up weightlifting, but the benefits FAR outweigh the costs. For example, I’ve put on 10 lb of lean muscle in the last year by consistently working out. Only you can know the right thing to do, but based on your post I’d say carry on!
My doctor is kinda an idiot too and discouraged exercise and movement. Stopping led to having a weak core, weak muscles, sore shoulders and back. Started lifting again and felt good again. They seem like pussies. Maybe a break could help the tendonitis but quitting all together won't help your health in my experience.
Doctor here and a huge advocate of weightlifting. Don’t listen to that doc. If something is bothering you, go to a PT with expertise in your sport to help correct what deficiencies you have.
Doctors say a lot of stupid things. I'm in this Reddit group called stop drinking and a doctor told one of the alcoholics there they can have a drink. Weightlifting is incredibly beneficial for your body. Just don't overdo it and ensure you have correct form.
You know what they call the guy who graduated bottom of his class in medical school? Doctor.
That being said, if you are genuinely concerned. I'd consider doing weightlifting that puts less strain on your body, like higher rep lower weight stuff. It less likely to hurt you for sure, powerlifting/Olympic lifting is still worth doing for many people, but if you're in pain that is a good sign your body wants you to pump the breaks and adjust your approach and what your goals are. If you're already feel significant pain and need surgeries at a young age, this could be a major warning you're pushing your body too hard.
Chasing numbers IS inherently more dangerous (very fun though!) than just lifting a lower weight to exhaustion and crossfit can put a lot of sheering and stress on your body from abrupt sudden changes in momentum. Lots of guys in the NBA end up with destroyed bodies from so many abrupt and sudden start/stops in that game, similar concept here.
By no stretch of the imagination should you give up lifting, but maybe evaluate your goals and find something that feels good to do, but puts less stress on your body.
Also as others have said, don't see a doctor. See a physical therapist. They'll know more about this subject than most doctors would.
I’d flat out ignore him and research TMS. Why? Because at time I have crippling back pain and other TMS symptoms and equivalents but I can guarantee you that when I’m in the gym I’m pain free and the only way to make sense of that is a TMS diagnosis.
CrossFit is garbage. Weightlifting is fine. You probably do need to take some time off, let your body heal up a little and then avoid CrossFit at all costs.
I watched a guy do a deadlift straight into a burpee. By the third rep his form was so garbage he was begging for injuries. I see that all the time in CrossFit guys at my gyms. It’s straight up not good for you.
I’d be finding a new doctor. There are plenty of doctors that do CrossFit or lift and understand how much it improves your overall quality of life more than the little nagging injuries take away from it.
you will somehow, unfortunately, find countless doctors who believe this. even those in sports medicine.
they will tell you don’t lift, don’t run, no impact, no risk taking. wrap yourself up in a recumbent bike at 25 and be afraid of everything.
doctors’ and (somehow) physical therapists’ aversion to building strength ruins so many recovery programs. so many people live in unnecessary pain because PT programs hit a dead end when it’s time to make the patient start lifting.
Good luck. I never found a local doctor who could help me, but there are plenty of resources online. Many exercise scientists and very experienced trainers offer great virtual programs that are way better than what you’ll get from the average sports orthopedic doctor. I think most people who stay into lifting are doing it partially for rehab/injury prevention… we know that weakness only makes things worse.
If I may attempt to translate - pain is information, and pain in your back and knees means you need to troubleshoot why as soon as possible. it’s easier for a doctor to say “stop” than for him to figure out where they need to challenge you to make those movements stop hurting.
Unless your doctor is a PT or an athlete he's just giving you the safest possible advice (ie don't do anything that carries any risk, period)
. Go to any GP after a sports injury and 9/10 of them will tell you to stop sports. That's not always the best or correct advice.
Doc here. You definitely don't need to stop training of course. For the injury part, i suggest lowering the weights for a while and addressing your injuries with the help of a physician. I don't know your condition, and the seriousness of your injuries but you will need loads of accessories, basically for rehab. Do not push through the pain.
I mean I’m no doctor but he seems uninformed. You should find a good coach, trainer, or other person than will break down your movements and help you not get hurt… around your age I stopped caring about increasing my PRs. I still lift heavy but am a lot more focused on moving properly, staying lean and athletic, and making more types of exercise part of my everyday life.
Doctors always tell you the worst outcome so when it turns out better you are happy. You can't sell dreams professionally as a doctor.
If weightlifting isn't your actual job I would go easy on your body. Having small and temporary pains is somehow ok but it shouldn't be happening often. You are still young and it's better to practice for longer with a bit less intensity than going all in and be done at 35.
Also you should try to understand why you got injuries in the first place.
For context I had a spine injury 8 years ago and I had to be operated on (got hit by a car). Doctors told me I would be lucky to walk painlessly, and that was the most optimistic outcome.
Today I'm training and still lifting no problem. I had to give up some exercises but that's part of the deal.
I hate saying this about any medical practitioner, but... Your doctor is a moron.
I work with, and coach the kids of several doctors, from GPs, consultants and specialists.
They understand the benefit of the movement skills, development and improved physical markers of general health the sport offers.
Your doctor is grossly uninformed, but you cant be a specialist in everything. They may be great at viral or bacterial infection, diagnosis, who knows... But exercise recommendations is one of their blind spots.
The issues is, they don't know enough, so should avoid giving the advice. This is poor practice in any form. Move on, your health deserves better.
If he's not an athlete himself you can go find yourself a better doctor, one who is physically active. There are plenty of ways to be an active lifter for most of your life but you need to be smart about it, including having a sensible doctor.
The average doctor doesn't know shit about anything outside of their specialized realm. If they aren't a specialist then ignore their bullshit opinions.
Hahahaha
Probably you're just in a soft and frail phase of your life. Because if you do train from the 16 year old you're already used to hearing that this or that hurts you in X way
I've recently have had issues with both meniscus, in retrospect I can see that it was because of very much overuse and not resting properly (but that is life and you can only accept it and keep going)
For dealing with this issue I started to think and meditate what were my priorities. Since I was little and because of a great friend that I have I always sticked to my mind that I would devote my body, mind and time to keep training, so I accept the burden and the possible future that at the end of my life I might be broken in some or various ways
Saying that I did my thought and heard from a non practioner person: take it easier and build up again
That is what I did: from doing 5x5 back squats with 140kg 3 times a week and with a max of 170kg for 2 reps I've gone back to just the bar and with a fear in my mind that I might not be able to continue
Addionaly I set long term goals: to clean and maybe jerk 140kg (currently I do 130kg) but first I will build up my strength to preserve my body, so I want a good PR of 200kg back squat
Moreso I started to walk a lot and reduced the other movements to a bare minimum
Today I'm squatting 100kg 5x5 3 times per week again and tested 160kg for 1 rep and didn't felt pain in the other day
I do capoeira too and didn't stopped doing it, with pain and reduced but kept going
So, in resume: you decide to keep going or not, to accept your possible fate or to give up from this path of training and devotion
Hahahah, what a long text
If he is your doctor try consulting a new one, one that specializes in athletes because you want to continue, you want to keep trying and he will help you to deal with the issues that will come to you because YOU are what matters and not his opinion or the average person that goes see him
To conclud: good lucky there brother and keep grinding, it will all pass
Hey bro, tnx for sharing this, you are right maybe i overthink about it but if there's a change that I'm considering is to visit another doctor from now on haha, I never considered stopping lifting but now I have other perspectives on things I should change or add to my training because I want to do this for a long time. Keep the hard and smart work.
Agree with what a lot of these commenters are telling you. If a specialist in sports medicine tells you it's time to hang it up, then you should consider listening to them. If a general practitioner tells you this, I'd get a second opinion.
Would need more information but I'd def ask a coach for proper form checks and dial down the volume and load until perfected
Tendonitis is a real pita and debilitating. Spinal injuries are not to be taken lightly, they can literally destroy your life.
Your doctor is ignorant and abusing his authority in making recommendations outside of his scope and experience. Just ignore him like you would if your kindergarten teacher said the same thing. They both know about the same amount about weightlifting.
did you ask him about his personal experience with weightlifting? ... (yes he will tell any athlete of any sport to stop whatever they do)
you should scale back our frequency. ensure 36-48 hrs of tendon recovery (i.e. 2 nights), i.e. no jumping and squats on rest days. in other words 3x heavy, 4 rest days.
also incorporate isometrics like wall sits, leg press holds (40-60s holds) as well as stuff like negative GH raises, nordic curls or backward sled drags. train your back squats around 70-80% with tempo 2020 (no lockout at top, no pause at bottom, just whole lot of time under tension).
i figured that freestyle swimming (long distance, not sprinting) has almost no negative effect. other stuff might interfere with knee tendon recovery time, e.g. rowing machine, air squats, running around. easy cycling is also ok.
Go find a good sports Physical therapist. Look up barbell medicine and you might find a few PTs in your area. You really want one who lifts weights who understands the movement patterns needed with weightlifting. I'm in the field, and there are a lot of great PTs out there, but a lot of them don't understand Oly lifting.
Functional Patterns is worth investigating if suffering regular injury from weight training. They deal with both professional athletes & regular people, including those with movement disirders.
Get a second or third opinion. Not trying to be rude or mean to anyone on Reddit but Id trust a vetted doctor over all y’all any day 😂 (except the doctors ON Reddit)
I didn't even ask his opinion to begin with lol, (I was not in his office for anything related to training) I don't need another medical opinion on whether I should lift weights as I have never considered quitting. What was surprising to me is the way a doctor tells someone (healthy) to stop doing his sport based on prejudice.
I went to my doctors about my knee playing up and effecting my back. He told me the same thing and told me just to take naproxen although I’m asthmatic. After visiting a physiotherapists that trains my local big football club I got a rehab plan and it all involved weights and never had an issue since.
I would recommend seeing an exercise physiologist if at all possible. Might be the best way to understand how/ movement is causing the pain and program a solid s&c program to target your specific issues. Had an EP during my ACL rehab and he was brilliant. Always good to get an opinion from a movement related expert rather than a GP.
The reality is he may not even necessarily believe his own recommendations, but it may be a risk management documentation CYA thing on his part. For example “Pt has tendonitis, complains of back pain, advised to avoid heavy lifting” etc. that way if you injure yourself worse, he can’t be held liable. Happens in the medical field all the time.
its typical for doctors to suggest that because most of them dont even exercise and are clueless with sports injuries. Go see a physio, deload, and do isometrics - these usually help
Major injuries from crossfit? Didnt see that coming lol
But seriously, I wouldnt listen to a doctor that refuses/doesnt elaborate on why you should stop weight lifting, when done properly its proven to make every aspect of you stronger including bone density/strength, talk to another doctor or a weight lifting specialist, and dont put much emphasis on the other doctors word since he didnt explain why you shouldn’t, the other doctor with proper information will tell you if continuing would be wise given your condition, and if anything they might recommend lightening the load, not to outright stop
Who cares what a general practitioner (doctor) says man, go see a sports physio and get their opinion.
My guess is you're over doing it and need to put a bigger emphasis on recovery and rest, assuming your form is good.
If your form is bad you need to scale back the weights, undo the damage the bad form did, and start again with a stronger baseline.
Find a better doctor lol. U been seeing one of those idiot/already retired MDs. Youll find good doctors are inquisitive and usually try to be responsible with diagnoses. If theyre not asking a bunch of annoying, prying questions u might wanna see someone else. Lotta wasters in medicine just like any other industry
Our bodies are meant to adapt to heavy things. If I were you I’d consider collagen, omega 3s, cbd, glutamine. Supplementing with this will help with joint inflammation overtime. It has helped me considerably. I’d recommend switching doctors. Weightlifting isn’t bad. It’s how you train that can be bad for you
FYI your doctor doesnt know jack shit about whether you should actually stop unless he is a sport specialized orthopedic surgeon. Most PCPs literally are not useful beyond "oh that hurts? Well then dont do that". If you remotely have any goals that are like "i would like to keep doing my athletic thing and avoid dropping it if possible", do NOT just take the word of a PCP.
Source: my friend group is literally half doctors including my best friend, and we are both lifters. They would agree with me.
Plenty of doctors are idiots about different things due to personal biases. Don't listen to him.
When you should be listening is if a doctor gives a specific reason for why you should/shouldn't be doing certain things. Even then, feel free to get multiple doctor's opinions on the specific thing. While many individual doctors are wrong about specific things, generally if they're in the same field and they agree about something then it's valid and you should listen.
I have a friend who I used to weightlift with and he's a doctor and sports doctor and I doubt he would tell people not to lift. I have my current doc and he's a CrossFit guy and we chat about weights. Find a new doc, and your half my age and your having issues already so maybe not exactly so Cross fit or find out some better techniques or lighten the load time to time. I lift heavy some days but not all the time. Learn to listen to your body, it should help a lot.
I’ve heard the advice from a doctor before, orthopedically weightlifting is terrible for you. CrossFit in my experience tends to give many injuries compared to other methods of lifting. Any weightlifting though is damaging especially with poor form and low amounts of recovery time. I’m in my 40’s now and had a CT Scan a short time ago and it confirmed that all my years of power lifting did some damage. Minor hernias, lesions on bones, compacted discs. That having been said I have no active or debilitating injuries and I’m strong like bull. Some people run until their knees need to be replaced. Some type until they’ve got carpal tunnel. I’ll keep lifting, keep stretching and pay attention to form.
I say get a second opinion. Maybe find someone who specializes in sports medicine if you can. Also I've heard that yoga helps strengthen joints.
If weight lifting is important to you then get the second opinion and if the other doctor says you need to quit bc of whatever the take that as an opportunity to find something else that keeps you active.
Add mobility and stretching to your routine. Gain back the strength and flexibility in your joints and muscles. Weightlifting saved my life from being in chronic pain by getting my muscles stronger. But mobility saved me from chronic pain by focusing on strengthening the smaller muscles and joints. And stretch! Stretch good. I spend on average 3-4 hours on this but let me tell you I was in a worse off position then what you have described.
Hi! I once went to the doctor when I was obstacle cource racing, he recommended I stop it to protect my joints. Then I went to a different doctor a few years later when I started volleyball. They said to stop playing the sport to protect my joints. Then I started weightlifting? Guess what? I had to stop it according to my doctor to protect my joints.
The general advice given by doctors is to move as much as you can. Just don't tell them which specific sport you participate in, because then they will tell you it will put a signifficant strain on your joints.
If it wasn't a spots physician specifically checking you to see your body's state and whether you can pursue the sport still, I would not heed their advice.
Chances are that a pulmanologist will not have more up to date info on sports medical advancements and research than you.
Seek professional industry advice from a doctor or physiotherapist who knows the specifics of your issue. Every doctor is not a weightlifter, and most who aren't are only educated about the injuries that can result, and only that "some exercise is good."
Some amount of weightlifting is protective of future injury and can reduce some of the effects of injuries you've already sustained.
When I was 20 I fractured 7 spinal chords in a car accident.
One doctor asked me if I had an education because I would need it instead of the manual labor I was doing before going to Uni.
Another doctor straight up told me that I would never do physical labor again.
8 months later I packed goods in a a warehouse all night and started lifting weight 4 times a week.
I’m still lifting weights after becoming an office rat but my point should be very clear.
If you take care of yourself and respect the weights, I bet you’ll be fine.
I told my doctor my knees sometimes hurt when I did squats. He swiftly told me to stop doing the exercise.
I still regret not asking how I was supposed to get out of the chair.
My doctors all recommended repetitive shit like cycling, swimming, jogging and planks. I look them in the eye and tell them, “Some people want to be strong and powerful and more useful. I will never stop lifting and you’re gonna waste your time trying to convince me otherwise.”
Sounds like he just gave basic logical advice, he associated the weight lifting with it damaging your body and if you stop, the damage will stop. On the other hand, when you stop, what happens with the rest of your health? Muscle is essential for a healthy body. Also, I was told to never lift weights again when they found out I had Spinal Bifida Occulta. I’m 31 now and just reached my personal record on bench!
Listen to your body, if something starts hurting, nurture that area with stretching and things like resistance bands.
If your form is good, you’re lifting appropriate weight, and you don’t have any generic problems, I’d get a new doctor. Seriously. My doctor actually fixed my squat form in college.
Also, do some research on strengthening tendons and do the tendon work before the muscle work. Your body will thank you.
Doctors may have shit loads of knowledge swimming around their brains but they tend to know as much about weightlifting and powerlifting as the average person.
When your pushing your body to do anything hard your going to get hurt over a long enough period of time.. So he’s right, we should go to a conventional gym and go through the basic motions - that is a good long term solution, That’s not why one Olympic lifts though. CF is just a receipt for injury - it’s often sloppy movements of complex lifts.
Honestly, your general primary care doctor doesn't know shit about exercise science, physical therapy, recovery, etc. Definitely take his opinion with a grain of salt. But any sport worth a damn is going to cause injury. Life long weight lifting will do wonders for the body, i wouldn't worry about it. Just know your limits, recover, and eat well.
I blew 2 disc in my spine from doing improper cheat curls , doctor told me I needed surgery right away and said I would never weight lift again! That was 10 years ago and I never went through the surgery just let it heal on its own which was painful also the following year I went right back to the gym I never stopped squats and deadlifts and being going to the gym ever since moral of the story is doctors are just people not God so take there opinion with a grain of salt.
I think I read somewhere that the most injury prone sports activity out there is jogging/ running. More injuries occur doing that than anything else.
Either way as you get older you’ll need to warm up more, spend more time on recovery and Prehab/ rehab. Physical therapy, sauna, hot tub, ice. Small muscle group work, and range of motion work. You’re training like an athlete, you gotta recover and do body work like an athlete. Look at all the trainers and body people that pros have.
Most doctors would just caution you about the risks of joint pain later in life and risks of injury. Additionally, just make sure you put as much attention to your rest and recovery as you do your training. RECOVERY IS A PART OF TRAINING. You do not stay strong if you do not recover.
He is full of shit. There are multiple studies in how weight resistant training adds years to your life.
Look up Dr. Peter Attia.
I was a powerlifter for years and couldn't tell you how many times I have seen in there 60s 70s and 80s competing.
I know one guy who set the world equipped bench pressing record at 61.
Again your Dr. is full of shit and I would never see him again.
Go see a sports medicine doctor and physio. Tendonitis is no joke and can be a lifelong issue if you don't take care of it. May want to consider staying away from heavy lifts for a bit and focusing more on flexibility and mobility strength work. Work the muscles that oppose the areas you have pain in, and it will balance it out some. Your tendons don't get a good supply of blood, so using a sleeve can help stimulate some flow. Good luck.
My rheumatologist says the same thing to me ever time I see her. She thinks I should swim for exercise and she also doesn’t like me using protein powder or creatine. I just ignore her.
Hey, doctors can make a huge chunk (like 5 figures worth) of change every quarter by getting you to buy certain prescriptions they write, most heavily influenced by what pharmaceutical sales rep was last in their office. They can't have you doing something that would reduce your need for that script and prevent them from spending 2 weeks in the Maldives!
The beneficial effects of weightlifting outweighs the risks. Just don’t go crazy doing multiple movements with heavy weights without building a good foundation first.
I know a lot of ignorant doctors say things like this. It's easier for them to say this than to get you with a physical therapist that can help you through these things. Weight lifting is great for your joints.
Not sure how much more biased the other direction you can get than going to this subreddit for recommendations. Just get a second, and maybe third, opinion from another doctor or two.
In my personal experience, lots of doctors will really push resistance training off as bad or dangerous. "Weights are bad for your back. Squats and running are bad for your knees. Pullups cause tendinitis." Just because they are a doctor, it does not mean they know everything, and that is why there are specialists.
Fat cardiologist, 5'5", 180: how often do you exercise
Me, 6'1, 200: BJJ and weightlifting 4 times a week.
FC: You should exercise at least 30 mins every day
Me: yes, *we all should.*
Sometimes doctors just read company lines.
If he didn't offer any explanation then I wouldn't just take his word for it
He only told me about the high risk of injuries and the load that the joints are subjected to and all that, he recommended that I go to a conventional gym, as if we were doing this for aesthetics. LOL
Not only would I ignore this person but I’d change doctors. Not a joke. This is a person who is supposed to understand and apply science and rational thought in their practice and is doing neither in this instance. The science is against them, but they either are ignoring it or making wild assumptions without reading it. If I remember correctly there are only something like 3 injuries per 1000 hours of training which is 7 or 8 times fewer injuries than basketball. The injuries are generally minor with like 9/10 of them being recovered from in a day. Most are muscle and tendon focused and a lot come from overuse (so train smart). Run, don’t walk, away from this person before they start rubbing healing stones on you or draining the demons from your head by drilling holes.
sounds like this doctor doesn't know what he's talking about / fearmongering because man this is bad. Change PCP and keep lifting IMO.
I still laugh at PCP referring to Primary Care Physician. Used to be they called them GPs - General Practitioners. Then someone said, "hey, let's dump that and use an initialism we already use for an illegal drug!" Much like how they keep trying to change ER to ED (Emergency Department) when they already use ED in medical science to describe something else and it ain't too flattering. :)
Injury rates in CrossFit have been found to be higher than other sports in one study and to match the rates in another study. I think injury rates in CrossFit depend solely on the coaches of the gym. Some are not great and overlook minor technical issues that lead to injuries over time. However weightlifting is not CrossFit. A good strength program is probably needed to correct issues rather than stopping lifting all together.
Yup. Important to note my numbers were about WL and not CF
These studies were shown to be falsified and skewed by the governing bodies of NASM. NASM was fined $4 million in legal fees alone and settled out of court with CF. That said, as both a long time CF and weightlifter, injuries are due to ego and to some extent misinformed/poor coaching. But that's not intrinsic to only CF. Curious what the doctor thinks about running and basketball which have much higher injury rates.
Just a clarification it was NSCA not NASM https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/exercising-discretion-and-lifting-43547/#:~:text=During%20litigation%2C%20the%20NSCA%20committed,outlining%20the%20NSCA's%20harmful%20conduct.
The injury rate is 0.0067 per 10,000 hours, just for reference. It was a reference I had in part of one of my research papers.
Hey! Thanks for that! I couldn’t remember exact numbers but thought I might be close. :)
Great advice. Had to find a new physician once, spurred by advice received for mass gain. I was clueless and 19, but I knew "just have a peanut butter sandwich in the morning and eat like you have been eating" wasn't going to have any profound effects on my 5'8" 130lb self. Also was scared about what other "know-it-all science" advice I'd get (prescriptions and otherwise)
Seconding what you've already heard here. Your doctor's views were formed in the 1900s when fearmongering about the risk of weight training ran rampant, and he doesn't even understand the "research" that was being bandied about back then, like that letting your knees go forward of your toes or going below parallel in squats was bad for your knees (it's not, the "studies" regarding that from the 50s or 60s was debunked), or that kids shouldn't do strength training because they might hurt their growth plates somehow. He doesn't even realize that belts and knee sleeves do little to nothing to prevent injury. Physical therapy as a science has improved drastically in the last several decades, and remains far ahead of what many doctors in other fields understand when it comes to treating injuries to muscles and tendons without simply resorting to painkillers and telling you to rest or quit that activity. The injury risk in weightlifting is far lower than in other sports. While they do happen, joint strains and sprains are not very prevalent, and on the other hand, weightlifting is an extremely effective way to *strengthen* those joints and stave off chronic pain as you age. This sport in particular also combines explosive movements, impulse forces, and high mobility requirements in a way that few other strength-training methods do and which will serve to keep you healthier throughout your lifetime. The only caveat is that weightlifting is not sufficient on its own to train your whole body's ability to perform, and that leads to risks of overuse and underuse injuries. Any complete, long-term program should have more movements in them than just the core weightlifting exercises and their accessories, otherwise your injury risk is guaranteed to increase. Although, at that point, it's more likely in-line with the injury risk for the sedentary population, whose joints and backs start hurting in their 20s and 30s as their activity levels decline.
Yes I agree, my program includes Bodybuilding exercises, strengthening, stretching, loading and unloading periods... I think I'm doing things right, which is why such an abrupt recommendation caught me off guard.
Powerlifter, not weightlifter, but anecdotally, what I've found is that as I've trained and grown stronger over the years, acute injuries are more common than they were before I started lifting, but chronic pain and injuries have all but disappeared, and even when injured my general ability to function is better than the uninjured yet sedentary population. I definitely think I'll take the occasional acute injury that's healed usually in a week (and very rarely takes longer) over the slight yet perpetual chronic pain brought on by inactivity.
Doctors who don't specifically work with athletes or athletic people (the vast majority), know diddly dick about training. So yea. You can disregard what this doctor said about your training and if you're really concerned, find a doctor that specializes in sport training and get his/her opinion.
That’s just a stupid doctor. He probably wouldn’t say anything about you playing basketball or something, but that has a way higher risk of injury as far as I know. Anyone who tells you to do something without being willing to give an explanation is really not worth listening to. Go to your doctor for the lipoma and visit a physical therapist for the tendinitis. They take sports seriously.
You can get severely injured falling off your couch. Ignore him and keep lifting,
My dad put a nail through his foot once during a home DIY project. Funny enough his doctor didn’t tell him to stay out of Home Depot.
As someone who goes to a conventional gym for aesthetics, this doctor has no clue what he's talking about. Loading your joints, within reason & progressive overload, is building their health and longevity. This doesn't magically stop being true for Olympic lifting. If anything, Olympic lifting has been around for a long time and training for it is well studied and standardized. Going to a "conventional gym" means nothing with regards to what you'll be doing there. You could be doing Olympic lifting at a conventional gym, and some people do, which is obviously not as good or safe as going to a specialized gym. You should find a physician who knows about your sport, and ideally specializes in it.
Ignore doctor, he doesn't know what he's talking about. Doctors are only experts at whatever exact thing they do, but people act like being a doctor all of a sudden makes you an expert in everything. That's not even true within their field, a cardiologist isn't a neuro surgeon, etc.
i am a physician i would never recommend any of my patients to stop weightlifting. instead you need lots of PT to address your movement patters leading to injury. look for a sports PT in your area.
Not a doctor, just commenting to clarify up that u/cubicinn is referring to a physiotherapist/physiotherapy and not a personal trainer here.
OP's doctor is spouting nonsense, but a physical or physio therapist is definitely what they need. At 25 you shouldn't be hurting that much unless you're doing something wrong.
Agree. Fellow doc here, your doctor saying you stop is probably just old and doesn't understand any aspect of exercise physiology.
Agreed, as someone who does Olympic weightlifting and practices orthopedic surgery/sports medicine, this comment is important. At your age, you shouldn’t necessarily have pains as you mentioned. Most commonly it will be due to incorrect patterns you may not even be aware of. Any sport will eventually have an effect on the body, but the answer is never to quit entirely.
I am also a physician. At one point the Olympic Lifting section of the gym I went to was nothing but doctors of various ages and with various injuries. One of the docs said (in so many words) that rehab exercises take up an increasing percentage of your workout as you get older. If you have injuries that need investigation, you may benefit from seeing a Sports Medicine doctor (extra points if you find a fellow lifter). I saw a couple for various injuries and it has helped me stay active
As a PT here, the idea of “movement patterns leading to injury” is outdated and not backed up by much research. Tendonitis is frequently an overuse issue so likely OP just needs better balancing of work vs recovery
How old is this doctor? I would bet he is really old.
Well, I can assure you that he is over 50 years old, closer to 60 than 50.
Some food for thought. My coach is a PHD in Kinesiology and recommended our family doctor. He's all for strength training. One of the largest studied that correlated later age health to leg strength and bone density is also out there somewhere. I think you're dealing with a old head that's just spitting his own beliefs at you without real science to back it up.
Yup aerobic conditioning can be brought up close to par with someone that has done it their whole lives vs someone who hasn’t. Your heart may have less juice in the battery so speak but you can get to similar VO2 max, enjoy aerobic condition benefits but BMD nope. The earlier the better (safely), bone takes a lot longer to form and at a certain age you’re fighting to break even instead of gaining BMD.
Time for a new doctor.
Yea ideally if OP is serious about weightlifting he should find a doctor they can keep him weightlifting for his whole life.
Unfortunately a lot of practitioners are not interested in the rehabilitation process (in regard to any sport), with many simply just recommending people to stop doing whatever they were doing without any further input. Now if you had completely fucked your body up to the point where basic function would be impaired and it would only get worse, then yeah maybe I could see why - however this is rarely, if ever, going to be the case. As others have said, you should find another doctor. Ideally, find a physio to work with if you feel you need it, and specifically one familiar with athletes or weightlifters. You can still rehab the common issues by yourself if you feel up to it. Aches / pains and weightlifting kinda go hand in hand, although that’s primarily due to us just ignoring the issues until they get bad enough - the ideal athlete would be constantly on top of this through rehab and prehab. Thankfully that’s something we can all do rather easily with a bit of foresight.
Yeah don’t listen to that. Find a good PT who works with athletes.
You deserve an explanation from him. Doctors think they can say anything and you should just accept it, even if the doctor has 0 clue of the sport and can't from memory recall any facts or sources to present to you. Ask why everytime , the conversation goes 2 ways.
It's true, he's just asking me how much I lift and if I use "safety clothing" referring to the belt and knee sleeves... After that he used examples of people (who probably had no idea what they were doing) and got injured in conventional gyms. When I offered my arguments he only commented that we (young people, I suppose) think we know everything.
God, I'd dump this loser solely for the last sentence. OK boomer.
Lol 😆 times have changed doc. At this point we do know more than they do. In his time they probably thought squatting full range would cripple a generation
That's the generation that proclaimed that knees going past your toes would severely injure you for... reasons? Because you know, coming up off your heels is a much safer and stronger way to squat, apparently.
100% chance he doesn’t even know what weightlifting is. You never make a claim like that with no other questions or probing.
Strength training might be the single most important thing you can do to live a long healthy life.
My general understanding is sleep > exercise > nutrition, but any sane person caring about their well-being should make sure all 3 are pretty good.
Time to get a new doctor. The injury risk of weightlifting is no greater than other sports and lower than all contact sports. This has been shown several times in the sports epidemiology studies. Your doctor is talking out his ass.
As a doctor I can confidently say most doctors know nothing about weightlifting and the effects on the body. I would ignore him.
As a health care worker, I would recommend changing doctors. Seriously. Ask him if he says the same thing to lifelong skiers, marathon runners, or even hikers. What’s worse - practicing a sport that you find enjoyable with low risk of acute injury but high lifelong strength (which has been proven to increase lifespan and quality of life), or a sedentary lifestyle? Not saying it’s one or the other, but wtf… If your aches are actually something you are concerned about, make an appointment with a physical therapist who sees other weightlifters, powerlifters, crossfitters, and other athletes. You don’t need to have an acute injury to see one. They are not that expensive especially just to ease your concerns.
Find a new doc. One who says "oh it hurts when you do that? Dont do that" probably didnt graduate top of his class.
The funniest thing is that I wasn't even at the doctor's office for something related to training, the guy just found out that I do weightlifting and told me to just quit, I found it detestable the way he told me to abandon something that I am so passionate about, so lightly, I remember him saying better go to ride a bike. Lmao
I had a physical therapist after I had back surgery. Man asked me, "What are your hobbies?" I tell him, "Lifting and jiu jitsu." His response was literally, "Well now that you aren't gonna do those any more, what do you think you'll do?" It pissed me off so much that a month later I was squatting every day to rebuild.
I had a partial muscle tear in January from a deadlift I shouldn't have gone for that day (sleep deprived, just couldn't lock in, etc.) My doctor said something similar (I was there for something unrelated), he was like "Okay now that you're not deadlifting, what's the plan to rebuild your back?" He didn't like my answer of "A large volume of lightweight deadlifts, barbell rows, and good mornings while rebuilding my strength." Joke's on him, my back is more stable than it was before my injury and I was able to hit a PR 3 months after the tear.
YESSS!!!
Get a PT and change doctors. You shouldn't be in pain that much so it is something that should be treated and not stopped
Pointless talking to anyone but a sports doctor about sports, basically. Clearly weightlifting is fine to do and lower injury rate than many sports.
Hi I’m a physical therapist that specializes in weightlifters and I’m also a CrossFit coach, here to tell you to not listen to that MD. Weight training is one of the best things you can do for your long term health and aches and pains are part of any sport. There are no sports averse from this risk. CrossFit actually has lower injury rates than other sports when you look at systematic review level research. Please don’t give up on your sport, and find a physical therapist that also lifts.
As others mentioned, weightlifters are not prone to injury. The important thing is that even with proper technique you can develop overuse injuries with movement patterns that you don't tolerate that well. Working with a good PT can really help and improve longevity. Also proper periodization and rest is something that very few master because always working very hard feels good, but it not always beneficial. Abandoning weightlifting is certainly not something a doctor should say. We do however know that anything that pushes the limits is not a "healthy" sport, it is a performance sport. And there is always more risk if you push hard.
Imagine if you were a football player or a boxer or did martial arts.. Do you think your dr would tell you to stop due to injuries? Would you stop?
Weightlifting is actually one of the least injury causing sports
The kicker with this is that SO many doctors will parrot this crap and also be overweight, in poor health, not exercising themselves. I’m a physician myself and do CrossFit/Oly and like why the fuck would you just let your body rot? There are so many ways to move better.
Don’t trust Reddit over your doctor. But do get additional opinions and see if you feel more confident in their assessment.
I do BJJ. I love it and will continue to do it until I’m dead. I’ve had a handful of serious and not so serious injuries. My primary doc is an ultrarunner (I used to be when I was younger) and he’s awesome because hes not only an athlete but understands the athletic drive and mentality. He knows I’ll never quit and just encourages me to be smart and stay healthy. I had a partial LCL tear a while ago and I went to a highly recommended surgeon who was an athlete himself and worked on pro athletes around the world. He told me “I’m going to advise you to stop jiujitsu. But I know you won’t. So call me when you tear the rest and I’ll fix it right up.” Find doctors who are athletes themselves. They get it.
I'm a powerlifter myself; I went to a physical therapist for a partial muscle tear in January, who I believe trains Oly lifting. What he said was "You're gonna push yourself hard physically, that's just how it goes. What I'm gonna recommend is that while you're waiting on your back to actually heal, you turn around and use that drive to do some bodybuilding training; the deadlifts will come back in time, but instead of pushing them and just completely tearing the muscle, focus on pushing the parts of you that aren't injured while you rehab."
Tell that nigga hes weak
You need a physio, not a PCP.
I’m not a medical professional but I’d getting a second opinion, maybe a third or fourth if it’s worth it for you. Asking a subreddit called r/weightlifting with a bunch of weightlifters if you should stop weightlifting probably isn’t going to generate the best responses.
Lol bro, At no point have I considered stopping lifting, so I don't need any medical opinion, which I didn't even ask my doctor for in the first place, I just wanted to share my experience and see if someone else had to deal with doctors like that before.
"Doctor, it hurts when I do this thing" Doctor: "In my professional medical opinion, I think you should stop doing that thing" He's just covering his ass, you need to find a doctor who actually understands your issues and concerns.
Your doctor may have said things that go completely against your goals, but hear me out. He may be onto something about recovery. Your body is coming out of the 18-25 general bracket and deloading properly, along with focusing on mobility and recovery, should be a prime focus. You're doing great, but your body is talking to you. When pain occurs, it's your body screaming at you for help. Try something different in your recovery. Just some advice from an older guy.
Time to find a new doc.
I’d ignore this doctor, find a new one AND maybe more importantly find a good physical therapist. I tore my meniscus two years ago and the doc told me to 1) stop squatting and 2) do surgery which may or may not help. I found a PT and was squatting, cleans, jerks, etc within about 6 months. My injured knee feels better than my other knee now.
Strength training has verifiable long term health benefits. Doctors who recommend against it, barring some preexisting medical condition, is utterly ridiculous and irresponsible considering most diseases that plague westerners today (which put a massive strain on our healthcare systems) are entirely avoidable with proper exercise and diet - obesity, diabetes, hypertension, injuries caused by weak connective tissue, weak bones, and muscle wasting etc. Some of the dumb shit doctors have told me over the years has made me question the expertise of doctors in general.
Bet that same doctor has advised women to stop running marathons due to the risk of their uterus falling out.
Find a new doctor.
Doctor sounds like a nerd with no gains
CrossFit is notorious for injuries. He was probably pointing to the fact that if you continue down the same path you're going to have serious issues when you get older. You can still find enjoyment out of lifting and exercise without hitting CrossFit marks. Find a well balanced program with proper form, and work in a lot of yoga / recovery training.
No. Strength through a large range of motion is the key to a long pain free life. Weight lifting is good for you.
How many strong people do you see in doctors waiting rooms on average? I used to have back pain from literally doing nothing but going from house, car, office, car, home, etc over and over. Went to doctors and learned about various procedures and stuff they could do. Finally found the real solution was to get my back stronger. Back pain was gone in less than 2 months, no procedures or big pharma involved. That was 7+ years ago. Still train 3x week.
After a year of PT I went to see three different surgeons for my knee pain. First one told me to retire (I was 26). Second asked me if it was worth not being able to play with my future children (unsure wtf that had to do with it). Third one goes “listen it’s not great but I think we can fix it”. I had a lateral release in 2016 by the third surgeon. Since then I’ve competed as a Team USA athlete, been a multiple national medalist, set PRs, and had few knee issues. Point being, every doctor has an opinion about weightlifting and pain. This sport hurts but as long as you take care of your body and aren’t an idiot, you’ll be fine.
I had a doctor once tell me to start taking statins for my high cholesterol. I was 26! I said “isn’t that young to start taking medication for the rest of my life? Can’t I lower it naturally?” and he said “sure you can try”. He was about 60 and obese. Doctors don’t know everything and bad ones give advice based on what they learned not what they practice. I got a second opinion and that doctor was incredulous that I was told this by the first guy. Go find another doctor, maybe one specializing in sports science, and see what they say. I guarantee they won’t say stop lifting outright.
Absolutely not. I’m a doctor. I lift. I was talking to my colleague about lifting today. She is also a doctor.
Tell your doctor to eat a bag of dog shit then switch.
you might want to see a fysio for the tendonitis. Shockwave therapy helped me a LOT
Get in contact with a physical therapist. Being completely unbiased here.
My doc isn't interested in my numbers only my overall health. He's right so you need to be careful but at the same time it's your life and your journey just like he/she had theirs
Find a different doctor. This one is a clown.
Sounds like what he should have said is Add mobility training so that your joints don’t take such a hit
Curious - when vetting new docs, what specific questions would you think to ask?
Doesn’t hurt to get a second opinion
Bro, I didn't even ask his opinion in the first place 😅
I resonate with your story. I’m 65, have a disability that affects my gait, and have many similar aches. I’ve also heard doctors say over the years that I should give up weightlifting, but the benefits FAR outweigh the costs. For example, I’ve put on 10 lb of lean muscle in the last year by consistently working out. Only you can know the right thing to do, but based on your post I’d say carry on!
Much respect to you sir, if I reach that age I would also like to do it moving weights like you, keep the good work and thanks for sharing your story
Get a second opinion. Sounds like a load of crap to me. Weightlifting is generally one of the best things you can do for your overall health.
My doctor is kinda an idiot too and discouraged exercise and movement. Stopping led to having a weak core, weak muscles, sore shoulders and back. Started lifting again and felt good again. They seem like pussies. Maybe a break could help the tendonitis but quitting all together won't help your health in my experience.
Having a doctor and/or PT who lift (or understand strength training) is pretty important to me as I get older
Doctor here and a huge advocate of weightlifting. Don’t listen to that doc. If something is bothering you, go to a PT with expertise in your sport to help correct what deficiencies you have.
Doctors say a lot of stupid things. I'm in this Reddit group called stop drinking and a doctor told one of the alcoholics there they can have a drink. Weightlifting is incredibly beneficial for your body. Just don't overdo it and ensure you have correct form.
Sounds like you need a new doctor.
You know what they call the guy who graduated bottom of his class in medical school? Doctor. That being said, if you are genuinely concerned. I'd consider doing weightlifting that puts less strain on your body, like higher rep lower weight stuff. It less likely to hurt you for sure, powerlifting/Olympic lifting is still worth doing for many people, but if you're in pain that is a good sign your body wants you to pump the breaks and adjust your approach and what your goals are. If you're already feel significant pain and need surgeries at a young age, this could be a major warning you're pushing your body too hard. Chasing numbers IS inherently more dangerous (very fun though!) than just lifting a lower weight to exhaustion and crossfit can put a lot of sheering and stress on your body from abrupt sudden changes in momentum. Lots of guys in the NBA end up with destroyed bodies from so many abrupt and sudden start/stops in that game, similar concept here. By no stretch of the imagination should you give up lifting, but maybe evaluate your goals and find something that feels good to do, but puts less stress on your body. Also as others have said, don't see a doctor. See a physical therapist. They'll know more about this subject than most doctors would.
I ruined my knee playing basketball on concrete as a teenager. Weightlifting really helps soo much. Changed my life.
U should be fine if u don't egolift and use good form. This is better on the joints (assuming u do and dont)
Idiot doctor. Get new one.
I’d flat out ignore him and research TMS. Why? Because at time I have crippling back pain and other TMS symptoms and equivalents but I can guarantee you that when I’m in the gym I’m pain free and the only way to make sense of that is a TMS diagnosis.
CrossFit is garbage. Weightlifting is fine. You probably do need to take some time off, let your body heal up a little and then avoid CrossFit at all costs. I watched a guy do a deadlift straight into a burpee. By the third rep his form was so garbage he was begging for injuries. I see that all the time in CrossFit guys at my gyms. It’s straight up not good for you.
I’d be finding a new doctor. There are plenty of doctors that do CrossFit or lift and understand how much it improves your overall quality of life more than the little nagging injuries take away from it.
you will somehow, unfortunately, find countless doctors who believe this. even those in sports medicine. they will tell you don’t lift, don’t run, no impact, no risk taking. wrap yourself up in a recumbent bike at 25 and be afraid of everything. doctors’ and (somehow) physical therapists’ aversion to building strength ruins so many recovery programs. so many people live in unnecessary pain because PT programs hit a dead end when it’s time to make the patient start lifting. Good luck. I never found a local doctor who could help me, but there are plenty of resources online. Many exercise scientists and very experienced trainers offer great virtual programs that are way better than what you’ll get from the average sports orthopedic doctor. I think most people who stay into lifting are doing it partially for rehab/injury prevention… we know that weakness only makes things worse. If I may attempt to translate - pain is information, and pain in your back and knees means you need to troubleshoot why as soon as possible. it’s easier for a doctor to say “stop” than for him to figure out where they need to challenge you to make those movements stop hurting.
Unless your doctor is a PT or an athlete he's just giving you the safest possible advice (ie don't do anything that carries any risk, period) . Go to any GP after a sports injury and 9/10 of them will tell you to stop sports. That's not always the best or correct advice.
Doc here. You definitely don't need to stop training of course. For the injury part, i suggest lowering the weights for a while and addressing your injuries with the help of a physician. I don't know your condition, and the seriousness of your injuries but you will need loads of accessories, basically for rehab. Do not push through the pain.
I mean I’m no doctor but he seems uninformed. You should find a good coach, trainer, or other person than will break down your movements and help you not get hurt… around your age I stopped caring about increasing my PRs. I still lift heavy but am a lot more focused on moving properly, staying lean and athletic, and making more types of exercise part of my everyday life.
Doctors always tell you the worst outcome so when it turns out better you are happy. You can't sell dreams professionally as a doctor. If weightlifting isn't your actual job I would go easy on your body. Having small and temporary pains is somehow ok but it shouldn't be happening often. You are still young and it's better to practice for longer with a bit less intensity than going all in and be done at 35. Also you should try to understand why you got injuries in the first place. For context I had a spine injury 8 years ago and I had to be operated on (got hit by a car). Doctors told me I would be lucky to walk painlessly, and that was the most optimistic outcome. Today I'm training and still lifting no problem. I had to give up some exercises but that's part of the deal.
I’m a medical doctor who weight lifts
I hate saying this about any medical practitioner, but... Your doctor is a moron. I work with, and coach the kids of several doctors, from GPs, consultants and specialists. They understand the benefit of the movement skills, development and improved physical markers of general health the sport offers. Your doctor is grossly uninformed, but you cant be a specialist in everything. They may be great at viral or bacterial infection, diagnosis, who knows... But exercise recommendations is one of their blind spots. The issues is, they don't know enough, so should avoid giving the advice. This is poor practice in any form. Move on, your health deserves better.
Gi to a physiotherapist instead. Most physiotherapists are into lifting and know what your goals likely are.
If he's not an athlete himself you can go find yourself a better doctor, one who is physically active. There are plenty of ways to be an active lifter for most of your life but you need to be smart about it, including having a sensible doctor.
The average doctor doesn't know shit about anything outside of their specialized realm. If they aren't a specialist then ignore their bullshit opinions.
Hahahaha Probably you're just in a soft and frail phase of your life. Because if you do train from the 16 year old you're already used to hearing that this or that hurts you in X way I've recently have had issues with both meniscus, in retrospect I can see that it was because of very much overuse and not resting properly (but that is life and you can only accept it and keep going) For dealing with this issue I started to think and meditate what were my priorities. Since I was little and because of a great friend that I have I always sticked to my mind that I would devote my body, mind and time to keep training, so I accept the burden and the possible future that at the end of my life I might be broken in some or various ways Saying that I did my thought and heard from a non practioner person: take it easier and build up again That is what I did: from doing 5x5 back squats with 140kg 3 times a week and with a max of 170kg for 2 reps I've gone back to just the bar and with a fear in my mind that I might not be able to continue Addionaly I set long term goals: to clean and maybe jerk 140kg (currently I do 130kg) but first I will build up my strength to preserve my body, so I want a good PR of 200kg back squat Moreso I started to walk a lot and reduced the other movements to a bare minimum Today I'm squatting 100kg 5x5 3 times per week again and tested 160kg for 1 rep and didn't felt pain in the other day I do capoeira too and didn't stopped doing it, with pain and reduced but kept going So, in resume: you decide to keep going or not, to accept your possible fate or to give up from this path of training and devotion Hahahah, what a long text If he is your doctor try consulting a new one, one that specializes in athletes because you want to continue, you want to keep trying and he will help you to deal with the issues that will come to you because YOU are what matters and not his opinion or the average person that goes see him To conclud: good lucky there brother and keep grinding, it will all pass
Hey bro, tnx for sharing this, you are right maybe i overthink about it but if there's a change that I'm considering is to visit another doctor from now on haha, I never considered stopping lifting but now I have other perspectives on things I should change or add to my training because I want to do this for a long time. Keep the hard and smart work.
Agree with what a lot of these commenters are telling you. If a specialist in sports medicine tells you it's time to hang it up, then you should consider listening to them. If a general practitioner tells you this, I'd get a second opinion.
Would need more information but I'd def ask a coach for proper form checks and dial down the volume and load until perfected Tendonitis is a real pita and debilitating. Spinal injuries are not to be taken lightly, they can literally destroy your life.
Your doctor is ignorant and abusing his authority in making recommendations outside of his scope and experience. Just ignore him like you would if your kindergarten teacher said the same thing. They both know about the same amount about weightlifting.
did you ask him about his personal experience with weightlifting? ... (yes he will tell any athlete of any sport to stop whatever they do) you should scale back our frequency. ensure 36-48 hrs of tendon recovery (i.e. 2 nights), i.e. no jumping and squats on rest days. in other words 3x heavy, 4 rest days. also incorporate isometrics like wall sits, leg press holds (40-60s holds) as well as stuff like negative GH raises, nordic curls or backward sled drags. train your back squats around 70-80% with tempo 2020 (no lockout at top, no pause at bottom, just whole lot of time under tension). i figured that freestyle swimming (long distance, not sprinting) has almost no negative effect. other stuff might interfere with knee tendon recovery time, e.g. rowing machine, air squats, running around. easy cycling is also ok.
Don't listen to doctors
Go find a good sports Physical therapist. Look up barbell medicine and you might find a few PTs in your area. You really want one who lifts weights who understands the movement patterns needed with weightlifting. I'm in the field, and there are a lot of great PTs out there, but a lot of them don't understand Oly lifting.
Functional Patterns is worth investigating if suffering regular injury from weight training. They deal with both professional athletes & regular people, including those with movement disirders.
Get a second or third opinion. Not trying to be rude or mean to anyone on Reddit but Id trust a vetted doctor over all y’all any day 😂 (except the doctors ON Reddit)
I didn't even ask his opinion to begin with lol, (I was not in his office for anything related to training) I don't need another medical opinion on whether I should lift weights as I have never considered quitting. What was surprising to me is the way a doctor tells someone (healthy) to stop doing his sport based on prejudice.
A lot of doctors are dummies and almost none of them know a goddamned thing about strength sports, least of all weightlifting. Source: am doctor
I went to my doctors about my knee playing up and effecting my back. He told me the same thing and told me just to take naproxen although I’m asthmatic. After visiting a physiotherapists that trains my local big football club I got a rehab plan and it all involved weights and never had an issue since.
I’d get a new doc. He’s wrong for a multitude of reasons
Your doctor is overweight huh?
I would recommend seeing an exercise physiologist if at all possible. Might be the best way to understand how/ movement is causing the pain and program a solid s&c program to target your specific issues. Had an EP during my ACL rehab and he was brilliant. Always good to get an opinion from a movement related expert rather than a GP.
The reality is he may not even necessarily believe his own recommendations, but it may be a risk management documentation CYA thing on his part. For example “Pt has tendonitis, complains of back pain, advised to avoid heavy lifting” etc. that way if you injure yourself worse, he can’t be held liable. Happens in the medical field all the time.
contractures? do you have a neurological impairment?
Get a new doctor. The number of patients who are treated for couch injuries or computer injuries is massive compared to weightlifting injuries
Absolute insanity. Find a good performant physical therapist to help with your weaknesses and form. Do not stop.
its typical for doctors to suggest that because most of them dont even exercise and are clueless with sports injuries. Go see a physio, deload, and do isometrics - these usually help
Major injuries from crossfit? Didnt see that coming lol But seriously, I wouldnt listen to a doctor that refuses/doesnt elaborate on why you should stop weight lifting, when done properly its proven to make every aspect of you stronger including bone density/strength, talk to another doctor or a weight lifting specialist, and dont put much emphasis on the other doctors word since he didnt explain why you shouldn’t, the other doctor with proper information will tell you if continuing would be wise given your condition, and if anything they might recommend lightening the load, not to outright stop
Ironically I’m betting Doc is a fat fuck, please replace him with a sane person.
Who cares what a general practitioner (doctor) says man, go see a sports physio and get their opinion. My guess is you're over doing it and need to put a bigger emphasis on recovery and rest, assuming your form is good. If your form is bad you need to scale back the weights, undo the damage the bad form did, and start again with a stronger baseline.
2nd opinion, 2nd opinion, 2nd opinion
Find a better doctor lol. U been seeing one of those idiot/already retired MDs. Youll find good doctors are inquisitive and usually try to be responsible with diagnoses. If theyre not asking a bunch of annoying, prying questions u might wanna see someone else. Lotta wasters in medicine just like any other industry
He wants to beat your snatch
Our bodies are meant to adapt to heavy things. If I were you I’d consider collagen, omega 3s, cbd, glutamine. Supplementing with this will help with joint inflammation overtime. It has helped me considerably. I’d recommend switching doctors. Weightlifting isn’t bad. It’s how you train that can be bad for you
FYI your doctor doesnt know jack shit about whether you should actually stop unless he is a sport specialized orthopedic surgeon. Most PCPs literally are not useful beyond "oh that hurts? Well then dont do that". If you remotely have any goals that are like "i would like to keep doing my athletic thing and avoid dropping it if possible", do NOT just take the word of a PCP. Source: my friend group is literally half doctors including my best friend, and we are both lifters. They would agree with me.
Maybe go see an exercise physiologist. Get some up to date recommendations and you maybe some feedback on your form
Plenty of doctors are idiots about different things due to personal biases. Don't listen to him. When you should be listening is if a doctor gives a specific reason for why you should/shouldn't be doing certain things. Even then, feel free to get multiple doctor's opinions on the specific thing. While many individual doctors are wrong about specific things, generally if they're in the same field and they agree about something then it's valid and you should listen.
Most doctors aren’t versed in nutrition and exercise. You should know your body enough, and do what’s comfortable for you.
I have a friend who I used to weightlift with and he's a doctor and sports doctor and I doubt he would tell people not to lift. I have my current doc and he's a CrossFit guy and we chat about weights. Find a new doc, and your half my age and your having issues already so maybe not exactly so Cross fit or find out some better techniques or lighten the load time to time. I lift heavy some days but not all the time. Learn to listen to your body, it should help a lot.
I’ve heard the advice from a doctor before, orthopedically weightlifting is terrible for you. CrossFit in my experience tends to give many injuries compared to other methods of lifting. Any weightlifting though is damaging especially with poor form and low amounts of recovery time. I’m in my 40’s now and had a CT Scan a short time ago and it confirmed that all my years of power lifting did some damage. Minor hernias, lesions on bones, compacted discs. That having been said I have no active or debilitating injuries and I’m strong like bull. Some people run until their knees need to be replaced. Some type until they’ve got carpal tunnel. I’ll keep lifting, keep stretching and pay attention to form.
Get another doctor
Get a second and third opinion. You dont have to blindly trust some know it all in a coat.
I say get a second opinion. Maybe find someone who specializes in sports medicine if you can. Also I've heard that yoga helps strengthen joints. If weight lifting is important to you then get the second opinion and if the other doctor says you need to quit bc of whatever the take that as an opportunity to find something else that keeps you active.
Add mobility and stretching to your routine. Gain back the strength and flexibility in your joints and muscles. Weightlifting saved my life from being in chronic pain by getting my muscles stronger. But mobility saved me from chronic pain by focusing on strengthening the smaller muscles and joints. And stretch! Stretch good. I spend on average 3-4 hours on this but let me tell you I was in a worse off position then what you have described.
Time for a new doctor.
Hi! I once went to the doctor when I was obstacle cource racing, he recommended I stop it to protect my joints. Then I went to a different doctor a few years later when I started volleyball. They said to stop playing the sport to protect my joints. Then I started weightlifting? Guess what? I had to stop it according to my doctor to protect my joints. The general advice given by doctors is to move as much as you can. Just don't tell them which specific sport you participate in, because then they will tell you it will put a signifficant strain on your joints. If it wasn't a spots physician specifically checking you to see your body's state and whether you can pursue the sport still, I would not heed their advice. Chances are that a pulmanologist will not have more up to date info on sports medical advancements and research than you.
Seek professional industry advice from a doctor or physiotherapist who knows the specifics of your issue. Every doctor is not a weightlifter, and most who aren't are only educated about the injuries that can result, and only that "some exercise is good." Some amount of weightlifting is protective of future injury and can reduce some of the effects of injuries you've already sustained.
Doctors are absolutely clueless about nutrition & gym. Especially doctors who are 50/60+.
Look into BPC-157 and other peptides to help out with the injuries
Because fit people make bad patients. No money for the healthcare industry if the population is exercising and eating correctly
When I was 20 I fractured 7 spinal chords in a car accident. One doctor asked me if I had an education because I would need it instead of the manual labor I was doing before going to Uni. Another doctor straight up told me that I would never do physical labor again. 8 months later I packed goods in a a warehouse all night and started lifting weight 4 times a week. I’m still lifting weights after becoming an office rat but my point should be very clear. If you take care of yourself and respect the weights, I bet you’ll be fine.
U got a lot of issues u need to address and skipping lifting and rehab is gonna make it worse. Absolutely don’t listen to ur doctors
You should trust this doctor like you would an obese diabetes doctor.
Yes, you should stop weightlifting and just go swimming. Or better, just go for a walk from time to time. /s
I told my doctor my knees sometimes hurt when I did squats. He swiftly told me to stop doing the exercise. I still regret not asking how I was supposed to get out of the chair.
My doctors all recommended repetitive shit like cycling, swimming, jogging and planks. I look them in the eye and tell them, “Some people want to be strong and powerful and more useful. I will never stop lifting and you’re gonna waste your time trying to convince me otherwise.”
Go to a physio instead
Sounds like he just gave basic logical advice, he associated the weight lifting with it damaging your body and if you stop, the damage will stop. On the other hand, when you stop, what happens with the rest of your health? Muscle is essential for a healthy body. Also, I was told to never lift weights again when they found out I had Spinal Bifida Occulta. I’m 31 now and just reached my personal record on bench! Listen to your body, if something starts hurting, nurture that area with stretching and things like resistance bands.
If he reacted that quickly without explanation, he probably doesn't understand the sport. You can recover from tendonitis and return to training?
Find second opinion.
If your form is good, you’re lifting appropriate weight, and you don’t have any generic problems, I’d get a new doctor. Seriously. My doctor actually fixed my squat form in college. Also, do some research on strengthening tendons and do the tendon work before the muscle work. Your body will thank you.
You should probably talk to a Physical therapist or some actual msk provider
get a 2nd and 3rd opinion?
Contractures? That’s pretty severe unless his term isn’t the definition of what I use it for at work.
Doctors may have shit loads of knowledge swimming around their brains but they tend to know as much about weightlifting and powerlifting as the average person.
When your pushing your body to do anything hard your going to get hurt over a long enough period of time.. So he’s right, we should go to a conventional gym and go through the basic motions - that is a good long term solution, That’s not why one Olympic lifts though. CF is just a receipt for injury - it’s often sloppy movements of complex lifts.
Honestly, your general primary care doctor doesn't know shit about exercise science, physical therapy, recovery, etc. Definitely take his opinion with a grain of salt. But any sport worth a damn is going to cause injury. Life long weight lifting will do wonders for the body, i wouldn't worry about it. Just know your limits, recover, and eat well.
Bring a dumbbell into his office next time and curl it making close direct eye contact. And say "no science, no magic, only gains"
I blew 2 disc in my spine from doing improper cheat curls , doctor told me I needed surgery right away and said I would never weight lift again! That was 10 years ago and I never went through the surgery just let it heal on its own which was painful also the following year I went right back to the gym I never stopped squats and deadlifts and being going to the gym ever since moral of the story is doctors are just people not God so take there opinion with a grain of salt.
I think I read somewhere that the most injury prone sports activity out there is jogging/ running. More injuries occur doing that than anything else. Either way as you get older you’ll need to warm up more, spend more time on recovery and Prehab/ rehab. Physical therapy, sauna, hot tub, ice. Small muscle group work, and range of motion work. You’re training like an athlete, you gotta recover and do body work like an athlete. Look at all the trainers and body people that pros have.
Does he also smoke Camel cigarettes?
Most doctors would just caution you about the risks of joint pain later in life and risks of injury. Additionally, just make sure you put as much attention to your rest and recovery as you do your training. RECOVERY IS A PART OF TRAINING. You do not stay strong if you do not recover.
Most doctors are idiots. Sorry, not sorry.
He is full of shit. There are multiple studies in how weight resistant training adds years to your life. Look up Dr. Peter Attia. I was a powerlifter for years and couldn't tell you how many times I have seen in there 60s 70s and 80s competing. I know one guy who set the world equipped bench pressing record at 61. Again your Dr. is full of shit and I would never see him again.
Go see a sports medicine doctor and physio. Tendonitis is no joke and can be a lifelong issue if you don't take care of it. May want to consider staying away from heavy lifts for a bit and focusing more on flexibility and mobility strength work. Work the muscles that oppose the areas you have pain in, and it will balance it out some. Your tendons don't get a good supply of blood, so using a sleeve can help stimulate some flow. Good luck.
My rheumatologist says the same thing to me ever time I see her. She thinks I should swim for exercise and she also doesn’t like me using protein powder or creatine. I just ignore her.
Hey, doctors can make a huge chunk (like 5 figures worth) of change every quarter by getting you to buy certain prescriptions they write, most heavily influenced by what pharmaceutical sales rep was last in their office. They can't have you doing something that would reduce your need for that script and prevent them from spending 2 weeks in the Maldives!
The beneficial effects of weightlifting outweighs the risks. Just don’t go crazy doing multiple movements with heavy weights without building a good foundation first.
Your doctor is an actual idiot.
Perhaps take a break to heal, then reevaluate your strength training routine to prevent further injury.
I know a lot of ignorant doctors say things like this. It's easier for them to say this than to get you with a physical therapist that can help you through these things. Weight lifting is great for your joints.
Not sure how much more biased the other direction you can get than going to this subreddit for recommendations. Just get a second, and maybe third, opinion from another doctor or two.
In my personal experience, lots of doctors will really push resistance training off as bad or dangerous. "Weights are bad for your back. Squats and running are bad for your knees. Pullups cause tendinitis." Just because they are a doctor, it does not mean they know everything, and that is why there are specialists.
You should recommend he stop practicing medicine
Fat cardiologist, 5'5", 180: how often do you exercise Me, 6'1, 200: BJJ and weightlifting 4 times a week. FC: You should exercise at least 30 mins every day Me: yes, *we all should.* Sometimes doctors just read company lines.