Powerlifting can be very dangerous. You can really, permanently, mess up your body, specifically your back and neck. What steps do you take to mitigate that risk?
First of all, your statement is absolutely accurate. The weights involved can cause injury and can possibly be dangerous or even fatal when not handled correctly. On the other hand, exactly what is meant by "injury" can vary widely, so we have to be precise in our language.
Acute, serious injuries typically come about due to poor form, carelessness, failure to use safety mechanisms, or irresponsible selection of load. They are the most easily preventable type of injury, and unsurprisingly they are most common among novice lifters.
I address these risks by being deliberate about my form, consistent about my use of safety devices, and reasonable about loads and progression in my training. I also use a belt with proper abdominal bracing technique.
Chronic injuries, on the other hand, are much less preventable and much more common among experienced lifters. I've worked through several, including a soft tissue injury in my hips and a nagging tendonitis in my left elbow. Managing these types of injuries comes down almost entirely to sensible training.
Powerlifting in general is associated with a lower injury rate than other sports[1]. That's not to imply that injuries aren't a reality of powerlifting -- they are -- but more that I do not believe they constitute a good reason to forego the benefits of lifting.
I have been into powerlifting since the 90s. I think it is a convenient myth that form prevents injury. "Form" is just something that everyone thinks they do well and everyone else does poorly.
It is ultimately a trade off. I don't know any long term powerlifter who doesn't have a ton of injury.
Ultimately, it isn't a good idea to load your spine with 400lbs+ over long periods of time. There is no mystery what is going to happen here regardless of "form".
Just a couple of weeks ago I saw a video of a guy who got internally decapitated by the barbell during a high bar squat because he leaned forward and came up onto his toes rather than sitting back.
That's a freak accident, and it's certainly turned out that stuff like deadlift hyperextension is not nearly as dangerous as originally thought, but "form" also means "keeping the bar path under control and in a safe range".
Just because most people have figured that out before they graduate to handling potentially dangerous weights doesn't mean it's not still a critical piece of the safety equation.
> Chronic injuries, on the other hand, are much less preventable and much more common among experienced lifters. I've worked through several, including a soft tissue injury in my hips and a nagging tendonitis in my left elbow.
Honestly -- not really! Several people encouraged me to go to a specialist or PT but I was stubborn so I never got a diagnosis (my GP was clueless).
My self-diagnosis was some kind of muscle and/or tendon strain in my psoas / hip flexors. I squat very wide and deep so it wasn't a huge shock.
Net result was I couldn't squat properly for 4-6 weeks. I've added "prehab" stretches and it's mostly managed now, although if I go too crazy with volume I can feel it flare up.
citation desperately needed. Injury rates for resistance training is very very low. The far higher risk is in not training.
If you start juicing and compete to the absolute max, then maybe? Even then I am skeptical that the data supports this.
I don't know where this weird belief comes from, while the universal recommendation is to do both resistance training and conditioning to reduce a whole bunch of risk factors for health and longevity.
> What steps do you take to mitigate that risk?
Well, we train to make our tissues resilient, of course.
Powerlifting is probably the safest "sport" there is, which is why many of us nerds do it kind of like people do long-distance running. You pretty much control every variable. Obviously if you aren't ego lifting and "know what you are doing" to some degree.
It's dangerous if you get really strong and keeping pushing the envelope, but at "gen pop" levels if your form is good, you use safeties, get a spotter where needed etc you should be fine.
Personally, good coaching. I joined the Starting Strength gym near me and enjoyed having an incredibly high quality coach monitor nearly every lift. Rippetoe has some obnoxious views but the local gyms usually have coaches which are a great fit for the local culture. Our gym was very inclusive.
