A FAQ with Townsville CrossFit athletes who have injured themselves – “I probably shouldn’t do CrossFit?”
In Townsville as CrossFit and other high-intensity workouts become increasingly more popular, we often get asked the question of how to avoid CrossFit Injuries. At TPM, many of our clients are surprised to find out that a number of our Physiotherapists, Chiropractors, and Exercise Physiologist actually do CrossFit (and Coach!) and are also members at F45 (Functional Training)!
Its inevitable that people will argue that all CrossFit workouts and High Intensity Functional training is extreme and dangerous – lifting heavy weights against a countdown timer, throwing medicine balls above your head, and swinging from bars all sound like they would likely end in an injury eventually.
“Well, a recent a review which was published in 2017 in the Journal of Sports Rehabilitation comparing injury rates in people who participate in CrossFit workouts to those who enjoy other forms of exercise. They found that injury rates from regularly doing CrossFit workouts are actually comparable to those other sports like distance running, soccer, ice hockey, football or gymnastics.
There is actually well-established body of evidence supporting that weight training is great for you. Youth and adults can improve bone density, metabolism and overall fitness, while older adults can fight age-related bone loss and maintain independent living.2,3 .’
Due to the many benefits of lifting weights and strength training, we strongly encourage and support our patients to lift weights if they are able and it supports their current rehabilitation plan (including your own body weight!) . Please ALWAYS consult with your therapist before commencing any new strength training programs.
As Professionals who participate in CrossFit and Functional training – how do we avoid CrossFit injuries?
NEVER skip your warm-up.
Its one of those days, you had every red light and you turn up just in time for the class to start! It is never a good idea to jump straight into a box jump burpee or heavy weighted squats. Your CrossFit coach should lead you through light cardio exercises and stretching prior to you touching a weighted bar!
Warming up turns your muscles on, putting you in the best position to have optimal performance during your workout. A warm-up also loads up your muscle cells with the chemicals they need to perform hard physical activity.
All performance benefits aside, experts also recommend warming up to lower your risk of getting sidelined with an injury specifically during high-intensity workouts!
Understand when to MODIFY.
You will all have days when something hurts -pain! This is our bodies way of letting us know that something isn’t right. When it comes to CrossFit Injuries and Functional Training Injuries – Pain is NOT gain!
At times like this it is crucial to listen to your body and understand the differences between fatigue and muscle soreness or DOMS compared to specific acute pain within your body.
If you are unsure, at TPM we create CrossFit modification programs with our CrossFit Exercise Physiologist to assist with pain and injury. We teach you to be mindful during your workout and know when you need less reps, less weight or a complete modification of a certain exercise. The best part of this training is that is “scalable” for athletes of all ages and abilities. Just ask our Townsville CrossFit Coach and Exercise Physiologist for ideas!
Look around.
Just like any industry, not all CrossFit gyms or “boxes” and coaches are the same.
For us at TPM as Allied Health Professionals, knowing that your CrossFit coach is Invested in YOUR safety is our number one priority for Injury prevention and management.
You want to find a coach who has done additional training on-top of their two day CrossFit certification, who has the ability to modify and scale your workout as you are training. If your coach is on their phone whilst you are working out – keep shopping around!
Train smart by increasing Cross-training.
Repetitive-motion injuries caused by doing just one sport or repetition of the same workout are some of the most common. You can prevent them by adding in additional cross training sports or activities that work different muscles. For example, if you mostly run, try taking our TPM strength for runners class once a week. For CrossFit athletes, try adding in a running day!
TECHNIQUE, TECHNIQUE, TECHNIQUE!
Never let anything get in the way of asking for suggestions on how you can improve your technique – never stop perfecting.
For CrossFit injuries, sacrificing form for more reps or a faster pace is a big no – even for the highest experienced athletes.
Working out doing CrossFit or functional training should not cause you injury. Rather, the main goal should be to improve your strength which will assist in preventing injuries.
Proper form when box jumping, squatting, snatching, and deadlifting matters. Make technique a priority and your body will thank you.
If you find that CrossFit injuries are a little too frequent for you and you are constantly needing to modify, please do yourself a favour and come and seek professional assistance!
Contact TPM here
