As gyms have now reopened, and as people are starting to play social and competitive sports again, physiotherapists are starting to see an increase in injuries, as people go straight back to doing the level of exercise they were doing pre-lockdown, without considering the effect of 4 months of reduced conditioning and movement.
In particular, golfers and tennis players are damaging their shoulders and elbows because their ribcages and pelvises have stiffened up; and as there are already high numbers of neck and back pain from sofa- or dining chair-sitting for too long, this is going to translate into new injuries when people expect their bodies to go back to exercising. There have also been an influx of calf and Achilles injuries as people started running again after a break at the start of lockdown.
This is an issue that hasn’t been discussed much yet, and while in the grand scheme of things it’s unlikely to be life-threatening, still musculoskeletal injury already costs the UK nearly £6bn and 9.9 million working days per year, and with the economy already in danger this is a high cost to pay.