Fitness: Are CrossFit enthusiasts more prone to injury?

CrossFit workouts are known for their intensity, combining speed with traditional strength training and gymnastic exercises. The day training sessions (WOD) often involve doing as many reps as possible (AMRAP) in a finite time. But while its popularity is unmistakable – there are 13,000 CrossFit gyms in more than 120 countries – CrossFit has often struggled with exercise traditionalists who believe that speed and weight training do not mix well. .

Given CrossFit's reputation, it is not surprising that several studies have been done on participant injury rates over the past decade. Yet, despite a deep dive into the world of CrossFit, the results are equivocal: some studies suggest that the injury rate is not higher than in other recreational sports, and others suggest that CrossFit enthusiasts are actually more prone to injury.

One of the reasons for this range of results is that there is no single definition of damage. According to the study, injuries can range from a break in training to a visit to a health professional, to allowing the study subjects to determine for themselves whether they are injured or not. . The larger the definition, the greater the number of recorded injuries.

But the latest study, published in the May issue of the Orthopedic Journal of Sports Medicine, took a slightly different approach, comparing the injury rates of CrossFit and traditional weight training coaches in the same geographic location and in the US. same amount of time.

The research team distributed an injury history questionnaire to seven Pennsylvania gyms, three of which identified as CrossFit gyms. They also distributed the questionnaire to individuals on several mailing lists associated with the Hershey Medical Center and the College of Medicine at Pennsylvania State University. They received 411 responses – 122 from CrossFit participants and 289 from those who said they followed a more traditional bodybuilding routine.

The CrossFit group had more women and was older than the traditional weightlifting group, but both groups of exercisers were training about four times a week for one to two hours per session. About half of both groups reported being injured in the last two years, with CrossFit participants being 1.3 times more likely to be injured and 1.86 times more likely to see a doctor.

The shoulder was the most common site of injury for all respondents, followed by the lower back and hips. The exercises most likely to cause injury among CrossFit participants were sharpness and ascent exercises, dead lifts and clear pulling movements. In the traditional weightlifting group, bench press exercises with dumbbells and dumbbells, deadlifts and back squats were most often associated with injuries. Men were more likely than women to be injured in traditional CrossFit and bodybuilding programs.

Still, despite the higher injury rate among CrossFit participants, the research team suggested that it was the intensity of the training, not the exercises themselves, which resulted in more injuries. They pointed out that "many of the same exercises and areas of the body accounted for a similar percentage of injuries in CrossFit groups and traditional weightlifting groups."

CrossFit boasts of a culture that pushes people to their physical limits – it is at this point that form and technique can begin to be neglected. While the intensity, competitive atmosphere and fast pace of the workout are what many people find convincing, practicing experts have long preached that when the technique is sacrificed to the benefit of a more number of representatives, the risk of injury worsens.

For the record, CrossFit asked the orthopedic journal of sports medicine to withdraw its article, claiming that it "is tainted with scientific error, cites retracted studies containing artificial data, and misstates other studies concerning our CrossFit® brand. " In fact, CrossFit has aggressively conducted several scientific journals that have published studies suggesting that injury rates among CrossFit participants are higher than in other types of workouts.

But the results of the latest study do not suggest that injury rates are worth giving up everything that makes CrossFit so popular. The camaraderie, the competition and the variety of training are all positive points. Problems only occur when the technique is compromised due to fatigue. Thus, more demanding and more technical physical exercises or exercises must be performed early in the training session before fatigue sets in. Or, the culture has to change to give more value to the technique, rather than noticing another representative or finishing a game in record time.

CrossFit brought and kept people at the gym. It has also fundamentally changed the way we do exercise by being an early adapter for high intensity interval training. That said, not all CrossFit gyms are created equal; some staff members are more knowledgeable and respectful of exercise technique than others. So, when it comes to CrossFit, or any other training, never sacrifice the technique for the benefit of a last representative.

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