Sports injury prevention researcher Caroline Finch, head of the Centre for Healthy and Safe Sport at Federation University, said more than a third of fitness centres surveyed failed to screen members to establish their pre-existing health issues.

This is despite a national screening system designed by Fitness Australia and introduced in 2012 which, although voluntary, was designed to lift industry standards.

Known as the Australian adult pre-exercise screening system, the guidelines include assessing a gym member's risk of cardiovascular disease, metabolic or respiratory disease and getting clearance from a health professional.

The results of the survey of more than 1100 people working in the fitness industry - conducted by Professor Finch and colleagues from Bond University, the University of South Australia, Sports Medicine Australia and Fitness Australia - also found almost a quarter were insufficiently aware of the guidelines.

''If you go to a gym where the people don't know about the guidelines, then you're not going to get assessed before you start to exercise, and they're not going to tell you what's safe for you,'' Professor Finch said. ''Failing to follow these guidelines puts people at risk.''

The research, to be presented in Monaco at the International Olympic Committee sports injury conference on Friday, also included analysing Victorian hospital admission data between 2002 and 2012 to identify the most common type of exercise to cause injury.

Shannon Gray from the Monash Injury Research Institute said of the 1979 people injured in fitness centres during that period, more than half were using motorised equipment such as treadmills or undertaking general gym work, 37 per cent were doing resistance training and 11 per cent were doing aerobic exercises.

Professor Finch said 44 per cent of people in her survey said weights were often not put away, making them a hazard for gym users. Half of respondents also reported seeing gym members lifting weights too heavy for them.

She said gyms, YMCAs and even personal trainers had a duty of care to ensure the exercise people participated in reflected their ability and that training programs took health issues into account.

Mish Wright from Mishfit Personal Training said because her business specialised in personal training for pregnant and post-natal women, all clients required medical approval to participate. She said in addition to following the industry guidelines, she required details of specific health conditions, such as abdominal diastasis and incontinence.

''If we can help rehabilitate, then women can go forward for the rest of their life knowing they are in the best possible place,'' she said.