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Is CrossFit Injury-Ridden?

Is CrossFit Injury-Ridden?

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Say what!? I am asking the question, I’ll point you to a few facts and you can draw some conclusions, or give me your own answer.

First, let’s get more specific. CrossFit in its standalone form is rather safe as long as you are doing the movements correctly.

I am, more specifically asking, is training for the CrossFit Games, or being a CrossFit Games competitor, too taxing, unsafe, or does it cause you to be injury prone?

One thing you have to keep in mind is that CrossFit is still very much in its infancy as far as a “sport” goes. Especially when it comes to the CrossFit Games. The first CrossFit Games was in 2007, and I as I have mentioned before in, “We Found The Fittest Man in 2009, Are We Still Looking?“, I don’t think the CrossFit Games level of intensity, as we see it today, started till 2009. This is when competitors were reportedly doing multiple CrossFit workouts a day as well as strength training and other forms of functional fitness. Now it is just standard. You have to train like a beast to be a beast. But is this new level of intensity and training, only 3 years old, bad for athletes and their bodies? Let’s take a look at some of the top CrossFit Games Athletes.

What do these three CrossFit Games athletes have in common?

Mikko Salo

Sam Briggs

Graham Holmberg

  1. They are all CrossFit Games Competitors
  2. They have either won or placed in the top 5 of the CrossFit Games

  3. They all have knee injuries!

Sam Briggs and Mikko Salo actually aren’t competing this year due to their injuries. Graham on the other hand had surgery and is back at it full swing.
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Some may say that their injuries were caused from other incidents like Mikko having played soccer or Sam from running, but that would come from one source…CrossFit Inc….Well, Sam Briggs actually said she had a weak knee from running, but the injury was from CrossFit, so that is up for debate. The fact of the matter is they were injured recently and they are training for CrossFit, with CrossFit.
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If I started a “sport” that had recently gotten a lot of hype I would blame it on other stuff too, so CrossFit may not be the best source. However, I am not trying to start some conspiracy theory.
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Conclusions?

  • Honestly, CrossFit is too new and there is not near enough data to actually determine if training for the CrossFit Games is dangerous. It is an interesting idea and something to keep in the back if your mind. As I said earlier, CrossFit is still in its infancy and we do not know the long-term effects of trying to train at such a high level for years on end.
  • Another point, it can’t really be compared to any other sport. Why? Because CrossFit is training. Training is something someone does for sport. But now training = sport. Most sport related injuries are caused from the unnatural movement the sport requires or the physical contact involved in the sport. Most sport-specific injuries are not caused from the training, yet the sport itself. That leaves CrossFit in a whole new category which leaves us with a….Let’s wait and see…

What do you think???