Last updated: October 21, 2026
Per hour of training, weightlifting injuries are less common than injuries in professional soccer, though the gap depends on what you compare. A systematic review of Olympic weightlifting found 2.4 to 3.3 injuries per 1,000 hours of training (Aasa et al., British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2017), and a meta-analysis of professional male soccer found 8.1 injuries per 1,000 hours overall (López-Valenciano et al., British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2020). Soccer training alone came in at 3.7, so the difference is mostly matches, not practice. Lifting is not injury-free either: US emergency departments treated an estimated 970,801 weight training injuries from 1990 to 2007 (Kerr et al., American Journal of Sports Medicine, 2010).
This page collects weight lifting injury statistics from peer-reviewed papers and US government surveillance data (CPSC NEISS). Every number links to the paper where we checked it. Sports differ in how they define an injury, who was studied and how hours were counted, so we flag those limits next to each comparison.
Key weightlifting injury statistics
- 2.4 to 3.3 injuries per 1,000 hours of training in Olympic weightlifting, versus 1.0 to 4.4 in powerlifting (Aasa et al., 2017). Source
- 0.24 to 1 injuries per 1,000 hours in bodybuilding, the lowest of the weight-training sports; strongman was 4.5 to 6.1 (Keogh & Winwood, 2017). Source
- 8.1 injuries per 1,000 hours in professional male soccer, 36 in matches and 3.7 in training (López-Valenciano et al., 2020). Source
- Shoulder (26%), spine (24%) and knee (18%) were the most injured areas among CrossFit practitioners (Rodríguez et al., 2022). Source
- 65.5% of weight training injuries in US emergency departments from 1990 to 2007 were caused by weights dropping on the person (Kerr et al., 2010). Source
- 90.4% of those emergency department injuries involved free weights (Kerr et al., 2010). Source
- 8,073 to 14,612 estimated yearly US emergency department visits for weightlifting shoulder injuries, 2000 to 2017 (Pirruccio & Kelly, 2019). Source
- 46.1% of weight training injuries seen in emergency departments were sprains or strains (Kerr et al., 2010). Source
Weightlifting Injury Statistics: Rates Compared With Other Sports
The standard way to compare sports is injuries per 1,000 hours of exposure. In their 2017 review of 20 studies of competitive weight-training athletes, Keogh and Winwood found bodybuilding had the lowest rates at 0.24 to 1 injuries per 1,000 hours, while strongman (4.5 to 6.1) and Highland Games (7.5) were highest. They concluded these sports have relatively low injury rates compared with common team sports (Keogh & Winwood, Sports Medicine, 2017). Only 5 of the 20 studies had a low risk of bias, and only 4 were prospective.
A separate review of 9 studies found Olympic weightlifting at 2.4 to 3.3 injuries per 1,000 hours and powerlifting at 1.0 to 4.4. The authors judged the risk similar to other non-contact strength and power sports and low compared with contact sports, and noted most studies were of low quality (Aasa et al., British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2017). One strongman survey of 213 athletes reported 5.5 training injuries per 1,000 hours, counting any injury that caused a missed or modified session (Winwood et al., Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2014).
For the soccer side, a meta-analysis of 44 studies of professional male players found 8.1 injuries per 1,000 hours overall. Matches produced 36 per 1,000 hours and training 3.7 (López-Valenciano et al., British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2020). Most of those injuries were minor, with 1 to 3 days of time loss the most common category.
| Injuries per 1,000 hours of exposure | Low | High | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bodybuilding | 0.24 | 1 | Keogh & Winwood, 2017 |
| Powerlifting | 1.0 | 4.4 | Aasa et al., 2017 |
| Olympic weightlifting | 2.4 | 3.3 | Aasa et al., 2017 |
| Strongman | 4.5 | 6.1 | Keogh & Winwood, 2017 |
| Highland Games | 7.5 | 7.5 | Keogh & Winwood, 2017 |
| Professional male soccer, overall | 8.1 | 8.1 | López-Valenciano et al., 2020 |
| Professional male soccer, training | 3.7 | 3.7 | López-Valenciano et al., 2020 |
| Professional male soccer, matches | 36 | 36 | López-Valenciano et al., 2020 |
Sources: Keogh & Winwood, Sports Medicine, 2017; Aasa et al., British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2017; López-Valenciano et al., British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2020. A single value means the source gave one pooled figure.
Read the comparison carefully. The lifting figures come from competitive athletes in mostly retrospective surveys, and the soccer figure comes from professional players tracked prospectively. The soccer review counts injuries that cost playing time, while the strongman survey counts a missed or modified session, which is a lower bar. Soccer hours include matches, where most injuries happen, and a lifter has no equivalent of a 90-minute game. That is why "lifting is safer than soccer" holds on the overall hourly figures but not on every pairing: strongman at 4.5 to 6.1 sits above soccer training at 3.7, and Highland Games at 7.5 is close to soccer overall. We found no pooled injury rate for recreational gym lifters from a primary source, so we do not give one.
CrossFit shows how wide the range can be. A review of 25 studies covering 12,079 practitioners found a mean injury prevalence of 35.3% and an incidence rate that ran from 0.2 to 18.9 per 1,000 hours of training, which the authors say is similar to weightlifting and powerlifting (Rodríguez et al., The Physician and Sportsmedicine, 2022).
Most Common Weightlifting Injuries and Where They Happen
The most common weightlifting injuries hit the shoulder, lower back and knee. Keogh and Winwood list the shoulder, lower back, knee, elbow and wrist/hand as the usual sites, and strains, tendinitis and sprains as the usual types (Keogh & Winwood, Sports Medicine, 2017). Aasa and colleagues found the spine, shoulder and knee most common in both weightlifting and powerlifting (Aasa et al., British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2017).
Two studies give percentages. In the strongman survey, 24% of injuries were to the lower back, 21% to the shoulder, 11% to the biceps and 11% to the knee; muscle strains and tears made up 38% and tendon injuries 23% (Winwood et al., Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2014). In the CrossFit review, the shoulder accounted for 26% of injuries, the spine 24% and the knee 18%, and a mean of 8.7% of those that were reported needed surgery (Rodríguez et al., The Physician and Sportsmedicine, 2022).
| Share of injuries by body area | CrossFit | Strongman |
|---|---|---|
| Shoulder | 26% | 21% |
| Spine / lower back | 24% | 24% |
| Knee | 18% | 11% |
| Biceps | not reported | 11% |
Sources: Rodríguez et al., The Physician and Sportsmedicine, 2022; Winwood et al., Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2014. Strongman spine is the lower-back share only.
Emergency department data tell a similar story for the trunk and shoulder. In US NEISS data for 1990 to 2007, the upper trunk was the most injured area at 25.3% and the lower trunk second at 19.7% (Kerr et al., American Journal of Sports Medicine, 2010). In 2013 to 2022 data for ages 14 to 35, the trunk was again the most common site, at 40.5% of cases for men and 31.1% for women (Coffey et al., Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2026). For weightlifting shoulder injuries, the estimated yearly national count rose from 8,073 in 2000 to 14,612 in 2017 (Pirruccio & Kelly, International Journal of Sports Medicine, 2019). Among upper-body weightlifting injuries in a 2026 NEISS analysis, the shoulder made up 33.8%, with sprain/strain the most common diagnosis at 26.2% (Lee et al., Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine, 2026).
| Weightlifting shoulder injuries in US emergency departments | Estimated national visits |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 8,073 |
| 2017 | 14,612 |
Source: Pirruccio & Kelly, International Journal of Sports Medicine, 2019 (NEISS). The paper projects 22,691 cases by 2030, a linear extrapolation.
What Emergency Department Statistics Show About Causes
Emergency department data capture the worst injuries, not the typical sore shoulder. Across 1990 to 2007, NEISS recorded 25,335 sampled weight training injuries, which Kerr and colleagues weighted to an estimated 970,801 nationwide. The mean patient age was 27.6 years and 82.3% were male. The most common diagnosis was sprain/strain (46.1%), the most common mechanism was weights dropping on the person (65.5%), and 90.4% of injuries involved free weights (Kerr et al., American Journal of Sports Medicine, 2010).
Free weights account for most injuries partly because most lifting uses them, and the paper has no participation data to adjust for that. It does show that free weights produced more fractures and dislocations (23.6%) than machines (9.7%). Machines caused a larger share of injuries in people 55 and older (18.2%) than in people 54 and younger (9.3%).
The 2013 to 2022 update (15,348 cases, 20.4% female) found women were more likely than men to arrive with accidental injuries: fractures (odds ratio 1.27), cuts and bruises (1.52) and concussions or internal injuries (2.45). Dropped equipment accounted for 18.5% of women's cases and 12.1% of men's. Among cases that named a setting, gyms and sports facilities were the most common place for both sexes, though 41% of cases gave no setting (Coffey et al., Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2026). The authors call proper set-up and lift execution critical, and say prospective tracking is needed to link specific lifts to specific injuries.
Training choices matter too. In the strongman survey, athletes were 1.9 times more likely to be injured doing strongman implement training than traditional exercises once exposure time was considered, and the authors advise monitoring technique and progressions for the lifts that load the lower back, shoulder, biceps and knees (Winwood et al., Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2014).
How to Lower Your Risk
The research does not test a prevention program, so treat this as practical reading of the data, not proven advice. Dropped weights and lift execution show up as the leading causes, and the common sites are the shoulder, lower back and knee. That points to a few habits.
- Add load gradually. Jumping weight faster than your technique can handle is the setup for a dropped bar. Our guide to progressive overload covers small, planned increases.
- Leave reps in reserve. The RPE calculator turns how hard a set felt into a target, and the one-rep max calculator shows what a given weight and rep count implies, so you do not test a true max on a bad day.
- Learn the high-load lifts well. Check form on the squat, deadlift, bench press and overhead press, the movements that load the lower back, knees and shoulders. A face pull is a common shoulder accessory.
- Use safeties. With weights dropping on the lifter as the leading mechanism, set pins or spotter arms on heavy squats and bench presses, and do not lift heavy without a spotter or safeties.
- Be wary of novelty at high load. The strongman data link unfamiliar implement training to higher injury risk, so ramp up new movements slowly.
Injury risk is also a reason to keep going, not to stop. Strength training is linked to lower mortality in the research we cover in our strength training longevity article, and you can see how common it is in how many people lift weights.
What These Numbers Mean for You
- Lifting is low-risk per hour, not no-risk. Rates of about 1 to 6 per 1,000 hours sit below professional soccer overall (8.1) but overlap with soccer training (3.7).
- Expect problems at the shoulder, lower back and knee. Those sites lead in every source that reports them.
- The serious ER cases are mostly accidents. Weights dropping on the lifter was the top mechanism, which safeties and sensible loading address.
- The data are imperfect. Most lifting studies are retrospective, definitions differ and no good rate exists for recreational lifters.
If you want help keeping loads sensible, we build GymGod, a workout tracker for iPhone and Apple Watch. It shows your last session's weights and reps the moment you start an exercise, calculates your next weight from what you actually lifted with its auto-progression, and includes an automatic rest timer. Your first 3 workouts are free, with no account needed. See the features and pricing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is lifting weights dangerous?
Per hour of training, injury rates are low to moderate. Olympic weightlifting had 2.4 to 3.3 injuries per 1,000 hours and bodybuilding 0.24 to 1, versus 8.1 in professional male soccer. Injuries still happen, mostly to the shoulder, lower back and knee.
What are the most common weightlifting injuries?
The shoulder, lower back, knee, elbow and wrist/hand, mostly strains, tendinitis and sprains. In a CrossFit review, 26% of injuries were to the shoulder, 24% to the spine and 18% to the knee.
Is weightlifting safer than soccer?
On overall hourly rates, mostly yes: 2.4 to 3.3 per 1,000 hours in weightlifting versus 8.1 in professional male soccer. But soccer training alone is 3.7, strongman is 4.5 to 6.1, and the studies use different definitions and populations.
What causes weightlifting injuries that end up in the emergency room?
In US NEISS data from 1990 to 2007, 65.5% of weight training injuries were caused by weights dropping on the person, and 90.4% involved free weights. Sprains and strains were 46.1% of diagnoses.
How many weightlifting injuries are treated in US emergency departments?
An estimated 970,801 weight training injuries were treated from 1990 to 2007, and estimated weightlifting shoulder injuries alone rose from 8,073 in 2000 to 14,612 in 2017.
Cite this page
Feel free to quote any number on this page. Please link back:
Source: GymGod, "Weightlifting Injuries: 2.4 to 3.3 per 1,000 Hours, Versus 8.1 in Pro Soccer", https://gymgod.app/blog/weightlifting-injury-statistics.html (October 14, 2026)
<a href="https://gymgod.app/blog/weightlifting-injury-statistics.html">GymGod: Weightlifting Injuries: 2.4 to 3.3 per 1,000 Hours, Versus 8.1 in Pro Soccer</a>
Please also cite the original source listed below for any individual number.
Sources
- Keogh JW, Winwood PW, "The Epidemiology of Injuries Across the Weight-Training Sports," Sports Med 47(3):479-501, 2017. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27328853/
- Aasa U, Svartholm I, Andersson F, Berglund L, "Injuries among weightlifters and powerlifters: a systematic review," Br J Sports Med 51(4):211-219, 2017. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27707741/
- Winwood PW, Hume PA, Cronin JB, Keogh JW, "Retrospective injury epidemiology of strongman athletes," J Strength Cond Res 28(1):28-42, 2014. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23669816/
- López-Valenciano A et al., "Epidemiology of injuries in professional football: a systematic review and meta-analysis," Br J Sports Med 54(12):711-718, 2020. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31171515/
- Rodríguez MÁ et al., "Injury in CrossFit: A Systematic Review of Epidemiology and Risk Factors," Phys Sportsmed 50(1):3-10, 2022. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33322981/
- Kerr ZY, Collins CL, Comstock RD, "Epidemiology of weight training-related injuries presenting to United States emergency departments, 1990 to 2007," Am J Sports Med 38(4):765-771, 2010 (CPSC NEISS). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20139328/
- Coffey K et al., "A 10-Year Analysis of Resistance Training-Related Injuries Treated in Emergency Departments," J Strength Cond Res 40(1):e1-e8, 2026 (NEISS, 2013-2022). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41118234/
- Pirruccio K, Kelly JD, "Weightlifting Shoulder Injuries Presenting to U.S. Emergency Departments: 2000-2030," Int J Sports Med 40(8):528-534, 2019 (NEISS). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31288292/
- Lee PM et al., "A National Evaluation of Upper Extremity Weightlifting Injury Surveillance," Orthop J Sports Med 14(1), 2026 (NEISS). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41552626/
This article is for general educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Statistics were checked against the linked source pages on October 14, 2026. If you spot an error or a newer figure, please contact us.
