Injuries are common in all sports and training programs, with that being said it is understood that at some point one will sustain some type of injury during Crossfit workouts.
Crossfit is defined as “constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity.”
These workouts use several muscle groups with varying repetition schemes driven by high intensity.
If at any point during these workouts proper technique or form is ignored injuries are likely to occur, most commonly in the lower back and joints (shoulders, wrists, knees, and ankles). Below are some of the most common Crossfit injuries.
Back – Crossfit and Back Injuries / Crossfit and Lower Back Pain
This is usually caused by excessive weight and poor form, if you experience this pain you will need to decrease the intensity or modify your workout and reduce the amount of weight to manageable level.
Building your core, refocusing on proper technique, and using a weightlifting belt can ease strain on your back and reduce the likelihood of injury.
Shoulders – Common Crossfit Shoulder Injuries
Several Crossfit workouts put large amounts of stress on your shoulders, heavy weight loads and high intensity increase this stress and can lead to injury. The most common shoulder injuries involve the rotator cuff becoming either inflamed, pinched, or torn.
These injuries can be caused by the inability to maintain correct shoulder positioning and training with an excessive weight load.
In order to reduce your likelihood of injury begin your workout with flexibility drills, decrease overall weight load, and incorporate isolated rotator cuff exercises to strengthen your shoulder.
Wrists – Wrist Pain From Crossfit / Crossfit Hand Injuries
Almost every lifting, pushing, pulling movement involves your wrist, which means injury is possible with a variety of exercises.
These exercises include handstands, push ups, deadlifts, kettlebells, cleans, thrusters, bench press, etc. To reduce the risk of injury you can wear wrist wraps for additional support and stability as well as focusing on proper technique.
Knees – Crossfit Knee Injury
Knee injuries can occur while walking, running, lifting, squatting, or jumping and can affect several parts of your knee. Injury can range from your meniscus to your knee cap and typically have a lengthy recovery time.
To decrease risk of knee injury work on overall leg strength, wear knee sleeves for additional support, and focus on proper posture and positioning.
Ankles – Crossfit Ankle Injuries
Ankle sprains are extremely common and can happen at any time as a result of poor footing and a simple twist or roll. You can also strain or tear your Achilles tendon and injure your foot as a result of spraining your ankle.
Overall, common Crossfit injuries are as the name implies…. Common. They are typically caused by rigorous training, poor form, and excessive weight load.
However, some of these injuries are preventable, you just need to adjust the nature of your exercise so that you do not strain your muscles during training.
As a reminder, becoming sore after a workout is normal and you may need to reduce the intensity, weight, or the specific workout for your health….but if this soreness sustains or increases it may be the result of an injury and you will have to address for recovery and prevention.
