Build an injury-free body

Cold starts, brittle muscles and harder surfaces raise the risk of injury to the body's weakest links. Summer may be coming on, but it's still cold out for the moment and injuries can occur when you forget some basic steps.

Runners: knock knees into shape
Most running-related injuries - 42% according to the University of British Columbia - occur at the knee joint, with pain often at its worst after long distance or downhill runs.

"For knee strengthening, squats and balance work are key," suggests Gavin Burt, an osteopath and running specialist who lists Paula Radcliffe among his clients.

"To cover both, take a wobble board (or use a tightly rolled-up towel under the foot as an unstable platform) and stand on one leg on the board (towel). With your arms out in front of you, bend the knee keeping your bottom sticking out behind you and arms in front until your thigh is between 45-75 degrees to the floor." Hold the squat for a couple of seconds and then return to the starting position. Repeat 3 sets of 10 repetitions.

Rugby players: work on wrist action
Wrist injuries are common in high contact sports like rugby. "Clubs neglect to focus on wrist and forearm strength," warns Brett Davison, physiotherapist to the England Rugby Sevens side.

"Wrist supports should be used during weight sessions to cut injury risk and ligaments can be toughened up by winding a weight - like a litre bottle of water - up from the ground," says Davison.

To do this, tie a one metre-long string to the bottle neck and the other end around the middle of a 50cm-long metal rod or stick. Davison continues: "Hold your arms out in front to slowly wind up the string and lift the weight while working the flexor and extensor muscles in the wrists - the burn you get to the forearms is huge but it's a superb strengthening move."

Cyclists: back out of strains
An International Journal of Sports Medicine study found that of 520 cyclists who clocked up an average of 75 miles a week, 86% were suffering from at least one repetitive strain-like injury.

"Upper back and neck pain can kick in after long rides," explains Phil Burt, physiotherapist with British Cycling and consultant to Team Sky.

"To counter this you need to examine your body and bike position - getting a balance between comfort and performance. There's no point in adopting an aerodynamic posture if you can't hold it comfortably for more than a few minutes."

Ideally see a bike fit specialist who uses a system like the Retul system to analyse the biomechanics of you on your bike.

Golfers: swing into back stretches
According to Macquarie University in Sydney, injuries to the lower back are one of the most common golf-related problems - affecting around 34% of amateur golfers and 24% of pro players.

"To strengthen this area do supine golf twists using a swiss ball and a club," explains Daniel Wall, exercise specialist with PerformanceGolfer.com.

"Lay back with shoulders on the ball, feet flat - hip width apart - and hips level with your knees and shoulders. Holding the golf club with hands spaced at either end of the club, at eye level, perform a full shoulder rotation turning 90 degrees - keeping the feet and knees firmly positioned to ensure twist is isolated to your core area."

Do three sets of six rotations. "This prevents back injury and improves swing mechanics," adds Wall.

Footballers: make ankles combat crunching tackles
The weakest link in the legs and target for tackling ferocity means ankle sprains account for 36% of all football injuries.

Drills used to strengthen ankle joints - especially after injury - include using resistance bands beneath the foot and flexing the foot to strengthen ankle and calf muscles.

An American study of ankle injuries among college soccer players found that performing balance exercises - such as the wobble board drills outlined for runners - for five minutes on each leg, every day for four weeks in preseason and twice a week during the season reduced their incidence of injury by 77%.

Martial artists: kick out hip pains
The nature of many martial arts such as Thai boxing can put a lot of stress on the group of muscles - hip flexors - that support the ball and socket joint at the top of the leg.

"To cut your injury risk, activate the hip muscles prior to a session with dynamic stretches," says Khalid Ismail, MMA fighter and trainer at ldgfitnesscentre.com.

"Warm up then do low swinging front kicks, progressing to higher kicks, then on to kicks rotating from the hip plus swinging side and back kicks - up to 20 times on each leg," says Ismail. "Then at the end of a session do leg raises, alternating lunges and split squats to strengthen the hip flexor support muscles."

Weight trainers: build strong shoulders
Using heavy weights incorrectly can cause injury to the hardworking shoulder joint called the rotator cuff.

"To strengthen the rotator cuff muscles, build strength by using lightweight barbells or resistance bands," says Kwane Aitken, personal trainer at Stars Gym.

"Always use a weight that you can control throughout each movement and beware of doing exercises behind the neck - like shoulder presses - the most common cause of rotator cuff injuries in the gym.

"To avoid putting unnecessary stress on the rotator cuff lower the bar in front of your face for shoulder presses, when performing pull-downs bring the bar to your chest and when doing pull-ups keep the bar in front of your face."

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