By Dayne Hudson
One of the most common criticisms of Crossfit is the injury rate.
People constantly claim this style of training can cause all sorts of problems.
But are they right?
There are some great benefits to Crossfit as there are for other types of training.
But one of the controversial topics has always been the injury rate, so let's investigate!
CROSSFIT INJURY RATES
One study into 486 men and women in Crossfit gyms found the training to be very injury prone, even with a professional trainer present (1).
The research found that when a trainer is there "some times" - the injury rates were TWICE as high; 32%.
And when a trainer was there, the injury rate was 15%.
Take a look at the graph below for more info:
But many have had a problem with this study, specifically what determines an "injury rate."
Critics came back at this study, up in arms over the idea that the 20% figure, that was found to be the injury rate of Crossfit, was inaccurate.
They claimed that by definition - an injury rate is indeed how many injuries occured during a given time.
This study just involved people involved in Crossfit filling out an online survey - which some claim is not scientific at all and shouldn't be looked at closely.
The authors admit their limitations in their paper:
"This study has limitations. We distributed our survey electronically to current participants who then chose whether to complete it. This introduces sampling bias because participants who have had injuries may be more likely to complete the survey."
So unlike the rest of the science I present to you on FIT'N'FLEXED - this area - injury rates in Crossfit, isn't all the black and white.
I must leave this open for you to decide for yourself.
Another study into Crossfit injuries found that over 73% of respondents suffered from an injury at one point in their training, which on average was over 18 months (2).
Again, this was an online questionnaire via Crossfit forums.
They found an injury rate of 3.1 per 1000 hours - which is similiar to the rates recorded for Olympic weight-lifting, running, power-lifting and gymnastics, but lower than sports like rugby union and rugby league.
So these are the findings.
The question to you is, what do YOU make of them?
Are you happy with the questionnaire or do you want something more concrete?
ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE
Sometimes, anectodal evidence can be a bad thing.
But in this context it may be the best thing for you.
If you regulary do Crossfit, ask yourself how many injuries you pick up.
If you've been going for a long time with no issues and are really making progress, then forget the research and keep going for it!
This is one little sector of the fitness world where anecdotal evidence is important.
But generally speaking, it's a recipe for bro science and an "it works for me bro!" attitude, which generates fitness myths and untruths to those who don't do much scientific research.
Nutrition and anecdotal evidence is a potential problem, eg "eating every 3 hours is the best to get lean as it speeds up your metabolism bro!" - which we know not to be correct.
But in this context - anecdotal evidence is most likely your best shot at a solid conclusion.
Make of these studies what you will!
"Stay Fit, Stay Flexed!"
REFERENCES
(1) Weisenthal, Benjamin M., et al. "Injury rate and patterns among CrossFit athletes." Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine 2.4 (2014): 2325967114531177.
(2) Paul Hak, et al. The Nature and prevalence of injury during CrossFit training. Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research. POST ACCEPTANCE, 22 NOVEMBER 2013. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000000318.
