Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Related
garyjlui@gmail.com
•
December 9, 2020
Will I get injured if I try CrossFit? A commonly asked question. We also hear pretty outlandish claims about the supposed high risk of injury that is apparently prevalent in what we do. These claims are usually made by those with a vested interest in steering people away from our program. It's sad. Because a lot of the time it's those exact same people who need our program the most.
It's easy to dismiss these claims as baseless. There's a bunch of statistics CrossFit.com can point to that immediately debunk the falsehoods. But it's much more effective to acknowledge that injuries do occur. That's the real truth. People can, will and do injure themselves. But here's some other truths that might help with injecting some perspective;
Every recreational or competitive runner I have ever met has suffered some kind of injury. Those I know who are still running regularly, are also carrying their injuries at the same time. I also know that wild horses couldn't keep them from doing what they love to do!
A guy in his mid twenties trained with us earlier this year. He plays rugby league. I asked him about pre-existing injuries when screening him. There were so many he couldn't actually remember them all. He managed to recall the major ones. I recall there were some reconstructions on the list. When he left us he was no worse off than when he arrived except maybe a little fitter and stronger than he would have been otherwise.
I've trained quite a few netballers. CrossFit is a good fit for their strength and conditioning needs. When these guys don't show up to class it can be due to work commitments and family responsibilities. But on a few occasions it was because of injuries sustained on the court. Rolled ankles and wrist injuries (from falls) were the chief complaints. I don't recall anyone having to sit out a game due to injuries sustained in their CrossFit class though.
I don't like to go to the big gym franchises mainly because I can't bear to watch guys injure themselves due to shitty deadlift form and then shake it off like that very last rep didn't burst a blood vessel somewhere! That's the most common problem I see but there's many other examples. The truth? We don't get to see the incident reports and I'll argue that most incidents aren't actually reported. Why? Because guys don't want to admit they got hurt doing something they know they shouldn't have even been contemplating in the first place. They'll see the injury as their fault. Which it is. Kind of.
Our oldest member is in his 70s. He too has a laundry list of pre-existing health issues and injuries. I know that every time he comes to work out there's a real risk that he'll get hurt. But we manage the risk together. Open, honest and frank communication is key. He thinks the risk is worth taking because of the flow on benefits he's experienced since starting with me around 3 years ago. I agree with him. The alternative? Well let's just say he's happy he doesn't need to go there! And he's had some injuries. That's for sure. But his approach is to use those injuries to inform a course correction. He now knows what he can or can't do in the gym and so he can keep working out with us.
There will be a spike in the anti-CrossFit articles and news items over the next 2 to 3 months. Our competitors will be surfing the post-holiday period bump in new gym memberships and they don't want us riding the same wave. So I expect to see some more of the criticisms about injury rates etc etc etc.
So what do we do about it? Well it's annoying that's for sure. But we'll just keep doing what we always do. We help one person at a time. We find out what their concerns are and then prescribe a solution to their problem. We practise a help first approach and we explain to people what the risks are and how we manage and mitigate them. Working together to deliver the outcomes they need is the best approach.
Others will take the bull by the horns though! Which is also great. Here's a great article from The Barbell Physio about injury rates in CrossFit. It���s a great read. Longish but worth it if you're interested in some real talk.
.png)
.png)
.jpg)
%2B%20Strength%20eBook.png)
