“As long as people do CrossFit, physical therapists will never lack patients…”
I’m just writing what you’re thinking! But I completely disagree!
CrossFit has such an interesting history, and a lot of it is seen negatively by gen pop. Remember ‘Uncle Rhabdo’ ?!
Seriously?!
Speaking as a physical therapist who primarily treats CrossFit athletes as well as being a CrossFitter himself, I wanted to take some time breaking down research and my thoughts on the safety of CrossFit.
But don’t CrossFitters get injured ALL the time?
Lets first address this elephant in the room:
If you’re active and taking your body through the reps, you can expect to get a little banged up from time to time. It happens. Its the human condition. We occasionally overreach, over-train, under recover, poorly brace…And many of us have compensation strategies that can lead to higher stress on certain structures. This can lead to bumps, bruises, or even injury.
This is across sports and ALL lifting styles.
Given the choice, I would rather tweak my back repping a 400+ lb deadlift than be rendered useless after picking my child up from their crib. The safety, functionality, and practicality of having a high baseline for strength, mobility, power, cardio, flexibility cannot be understated. Our bodies are built to be stressed and thrive when stressed upon.
“Strong people are harder to kill, and are more useful in general.”
With CrossFit, assuming frequent injuries can be chalked up to assumption and confirmational bias. Confirmational biases are where you place an unconscious spotlight on things that confirm pre-held beliefs about something. We all have it! It’s best to recognize it as you are able. We also tend to hold on to the negative. ie “One of my friend’s sister’s step mother’s cousin started CrossFit and is always hurt. They ended up in the hospital a few years back after doing something stupid” But that’s exactly the stuff we remember and hold on to! It’s an unconscious self preservation technique.
What are the statistics?
Really, CrossFit injury rates are super comparable across the board when looking at sports like running, weightlifting, and powerlifting. Here is the breakdown of injury rates per 1000 hours of training:
.27-3.1 injuries per 1000 training hours – that’s not a lot! Lets break it down:
You might say, “But I had a friend who started CrossFit and…”
Well, new or novice athletes have an injury rate of 9.5 per 1000 hours of training. So the new people definitely get hurt a bit more.
A lot of them come into CrossFit injured or have a significant injury history:
When linked to previous (non CrossFit injuries) the statistic dropped to 2.5 injuries / 1000 training hours.
Take all this data, and then bring in everyone else. The statistic balances at the .27-3.1 / 1000 training hours. This is actually pretty cool, because once you are no longer ‘new’, statistically speaking, there is an incredibly low injury rate.
Are there any risk factors of getting injured?
Previous Injury | Male | Competitor | Years of participation | High weekly training hours
According to this, if you want to have the least likelihood of injury while doing CrossFit:
1 – You shouldn’t begin with an injury
2- Leave your ego at the door (stereotypical male issue) and be ok with scaling when needed
3- Don’t compete
4- Prioritize recovery
5- And train consistently for good amount of time
Of course these are just statistics and are not predictive. If you want to compete, go for it! Personally, I thrive when I am training towards something. It helps to give me more motivation, helps me stay consistent, and I’ve got a goal to work towards! (and typically celebratory beer at the end!)
Time and time again, it’s been shown that problems with CrossFit style training is not with the methodology, its with the execution. ie if you’re super aggressive/competitive, not holding well to form, and not taking rest days —- WHEN you get hurt, that is 100% your fault, not a CrossFit’s fault.
It is an important note that a Crossfit box should have strong relationships with medical providers who understand the sport – especially in regards to novice members.
If you do end up getting hurt, the first line of defense is your coach. They can help you scale, give you tips and tricks to help overcome without entering the medical system. Do not undervalue your coach. They are an amazing resource and super knowledgeable. Ideally, most things get taken care of under their instruction. If this is ineffective, they should know quality providers in the area. They should be able to help connect you to someone who gets you, and gets the sport. Not someone who will tell you to stop lifting, but to help you stay in the gym, or get back as quickly as possible.
Here is my personal favorite medical provider to CrossFit athletes in the Louisville KY Area: 😁
You can book a free consult below:
What injuries are most common?
In my experience, this is completely true. Shoulders and Low backs are the top problem areas that I see with CrossFit athletes. I could bore you with theories, but I’ll save that for another time! I can’t say that I’ve seen any eye injuries, but some wild things are known to happen during MetCons!
What factors can be manipulated to decrease risk of injury?
Programming
Not to much to touch on here, but quality programming is important. Having solid cycles, deload weeks, and benchmark testing is important for longevity. You don’t want to skimp on quality programming!
Class Size
The larger the class size, the less attention your coach is able to give to you. When you don’t have that attention, they will not be able to critique form as well, help you scale, and help trouble shoot. Class size is important for staying injury free.
Onboarding Process
There are some fantastic Crossfit beginners courses. This is something that when utilized greatly diminishes the injury rate. They often look different between different gyms, but should consist of taking the athlete through movements that they will be utilizing in class. This is a time to get to know your coach as they get to know you. Often times it is 1:1 instruction or a very small group depending on the setup.
Education of Coaches – L1, L2…
Coaches can be great and hugely helpful to their class. A lot of coaching excellence comes from experience. Personality matters as well. As a coach, are you connecting with your class? Do they receive your instruction and encouragement well? These ‘soft’ skills are hugely important in communication and direction. As an athlete, find a coach that you connect with. They are there to push you and keep you in line with the intention of the day. They are there also to help curate an amazing workout experience. A CF-Level 2 trained coach is typically more knowledgeable and equipped to coach, help scale, and lead the class than an L1. Again, let me stress that is not the rule, but more so a generalization.
People who train under 3 days / week and people who train more than 6 days/ week
This is a big one. I’ll always encourage people, especially when they are new to not fall below 3 days / week. Also, with my more seasoned athletes, encouraging them not to train more than 6. Overtraining and undertraining need to be respected. The research is clear.
Gym Swag
Statistics are clear that the more of your gym’s swag (or performance PT’s swag) you wear during workouts, the less likely you are to get injured.
My personal thoughts
Overall, CrossFit isn’t more dangerous than any other sport or lifting venture. In fact, adhering to many of the points mentioned above will greatly increase the probability of you staying injury free.
As a physical therapist who has worked with these athletes for years, I am completely comfortable training in a CrossFit style gym. I am comfortable referring any of my patients towards a CrossFit gym. In fact, I will argue that it is probably one of the most beneficial types of exercise out there. If you want to stay strong, flexible, powerful, conditioned, and generally prepared for all of life’s requirements – this is the type of place to go.
And if you happen to get a little banged up, manage your risk factors, communicate clearly and quickly with your coach. If needed, consult with a medical provider who gets it and gets you back ASAP.
Its better to listen to your body whisper, so that you don’t have to hear it scream!
If you’re reading this and need help getting connected to a good CrossFit gym or fitness forward PT please reach out. I’d love to help make connections to get you where you need to be!
