Every joint, every muscle, every disc in your spine — designed for motion. Most injuries that sideline athletes on the Costa del Sol don't happen from doing too much. They happen from moving poorly, for too long, without anyone catching the warning signs.
Working with triathletes, golfers, cyclists, and runners across the Costa del Sol.
As a physiotherapist working with athletes across the Costa del Sol, I see the same patterns again and again. Here are the five most common preventable injuries — and what you can do about them before they stop you in your tracks.
Pain around or behind the kneecap — especially going downhill or after sitting for long periods. The root cause is almost never the knee itself. It is usually weak hip stabilisers, poor foot mechanics, and too much load added too quickly.
Prevention: Strengthen your glutes, check your running form, and build weekly mileage gradually — no more than 10% per week.
Cycling is lower back pain's best friend — especially if your bike fit is off or your hip flexors and thoracic spine are stiff. Hours in a flexed position overload the lumbar spine and compress the discs.
Prevention: Invest in a proper bike fit, add thoracic mobility work (exactly what we do in the Weekly Mobility Class), and strengthen your core — not just your abs, but the deep stabilisers.
A repetitive strain injury caused by poor stroke mechanics, muscle imbalances around the shoulder blade, or — most commonly — simply doing too much too soon.
Prevention: Balance pulling with pushing exercises in your strength work, keep your lats and rotator cuff strong, and pay attention to fatigue in the water. A tired swimmer is an injured swimmer.
The strongest tendon in the body — yet one of the most commonly injured. It hates sudden spikes in load: increased running volume, added hill sessions, or a switch to a more minimalist shoe.
Prevention: Calf strengthening (particularly eccentric heel drops), adequate recovery between sessions, and never ignoring that morning stiffness that disappears after a few minutes of walking. That stiffness is your tendon talking to you.
Hours at a desk, looking at screens, then adding cycling or swimming on top — the cervical spine takes a beating. Tension headaches, stiff necks, and radiating arm pain are all signs your posture and thoracic mobility need attention.
Prevention: Take regular breaks from your desk, work on thoracic extension daily, and strengthen the deep neck flexors. Most neck problems are posture problems in disguise.
Prevention starts with movement quality — mobility, control, and posture that let your joints work the way they were designed to.
Most injuries come from spikes in training load. Build gradually, respect recovery, and progress with a plan — not enthusiasm alone.
Small niggles caught early are far easier to fix than chronic issues. Listen to your body and act on the first warning signs.
Every one of these injuries is largely preventable with the right movement habits, load management, and support. That's exactly why I created the Weekly Mobility Class — a live online session where we work on joint health, movement quality, and the small corrections that keep you injury-free for the long haul.
Book your first session or join the Monday Mobility Class, starting from September.
