What Really Causes Injuries — The Truth Behind Pain, Load, and the Nervous System

There are a lot of myths about what causes injuries:

“You didn’t warm up enough.”

“You have bad posture.”

“You should stretch more.”

“You lifted with bad form.”

These explanations sound neat and tidy, but they don’t match what we know from research or from real-world rehab.

The truth is that most injuries come from load management, not tiny mechanical faults.

In simple terms: too much, too soon, for too long.

Your body is capable, adaptable, and resilient. But when training volume, intensity, stress, and recovery don’t line up, tissues and the nervous system can get overwhelmed. This creates signals of pain—not necessarily damage.

The real contributors often include:

• Sudden spikes in training

• High overall life stress

• Poor sleep or inconsistent recovery

• Adding volume or intensity without a plan

• Coming back too fast after a break

• A nervous system that’s guarded or sensitive due to cumulative load

Warm-ups and technique matter, of course, but they’re rarely the primary reason pain starts.

Plenty of people with perfect form get injured. Plenty of people with “bad posture” never experience pain at all.

When pain does show up, it doesn’t mean you’re broken. It usually means your system needs a small adjustment: a bit less load, a bit more recovery, or a shift in how you’re distributing stress.

A modern physiotherapy approach helps you understand these factors so you can keep training without the cycle of stopping, resting, and restarting.

It focuses on building tolerance, improving capacity, and teaching you how to regulate ups and downs.

When you know what truly causes injuries, you stop fearing movement — and start building a body that’s prepared for the life you want to live.