3 Common CrossFit Injuries and How to Alleviate Them

CrossFit is a global phenomenon with thousands of locations around the world and a notably loyal clientele. The fitness regime relies heavily on high intensity exercises to help people build muscle, strength and lose weight as fast as possible. But those benefits can sometimes come at a cost.

While most affiliates encourage new clients to start small so that they can slowly work on building muscle over time, sometimes members can be lured into throwing themselves into a fast-paced, heavy lifting environment and doesn’t let up. Because of this, injuries are no stranger to functional fitness athletes.

Read on to learn about some of the most common CrossFit injuries and how to best treat them when they occur:

Lower Back Pain

Considering so much of CrossFit involves jumping, bending, pulling, and lifting, it makes a lot of sense as to why lower back pain is a common injury at these gyms. Putting too much strain on your back, or just doing an exercise the wrong way, can definitely give you some problems.

If the pain is mild, it is important to get a lot of rest and keep stress off of the injured area. A back massage or yoga class is a great way to alleviate minor back pain.

If your back pain appears to be more severe, you should seek the advice of a specialist. When you experience lower back pain like this, it is important that you halt your CrossFit workouts until the pain subsides and you get the go-ahead from your doctor.

Elbow Tendinitis

Elbow tendinitis (commonly known as tennis elbow) is a condition that is frequent among CrossFit beginners. Tennis elbow actually occurs when too much strain is placed on the wrist. Because of the way your tendons are connected, the pain caused at your wrist is actually felt in your elbow. Doing a high number of push-ups or pull-ups can be a key factor for experiencing this sort of inflammation.

An effective way to treat elbow tendinitis is stem cell therapy. Stem cell therapy works by first injecting stem cells and stem cell products into the injured patient. The stem cells then naturally go to the points in the body that are under inflammation. They then regenerate tissue and increase blood flow, thus effectively healing the tendinitis. For more information on stem cell therapy, check out this helpful website from Chronic Care of Richmond.

Further, immobilizing the injured arm with a brace or sling can help alleviate the pain, as well as icing the affected area. A high-quality neoprene padded elbow sleeve can help with keeping the elbow stable and supported during workouts. What’s more, taking a break from CrossFit or any other activities that require repetitive wrist motions can help give your body the rest it needs to fully recover.

Shoulder Pain

If you sit behind a computer most days and then immediately jump into an intense CrossFit workout, chances are you’re likely going to experience some shoulder pain.

Tendinitis is a common cause of shoulder pain. Unfortunately though, the pain could also be an indicator of something more sinister. If you are experiencing intense pain and weakness in your shoulder, you may have torn your rotator cuff. This means that your tendon actually tore away from the bone instead of just becoming strained.

After experiencing a shoulder injury, you should stop lifting weights immediately. You should also apply ice to the affected area twice a day for about 20 minutes.

If your rotator cuff is torn, seek the advice of a medical professional. A specialist can take an X-ray scan of your shoulder to better identify the problem. Working with a physical therapist that will come up with an individualized plan can usually alleviate torn rotator cuffs.

If the torn cuff is very severe, surgery may be required. Recovery after rotator cuff surgery can take up to nine months.

How to Cure Common CrossFit Injuries?

CrossFit is a powerful workout style that brings a lot of joy and satisfaction to thousands of people. And while the method CrossFit implements may not be inherently unsafe, their high intensity, high volume workouts definitely increase the risk of injury.

When you do these kinds of exercises, you need to remember to be mindful of their possible effects and be prepared with a plan for if things go wrong.