CrossFit Injuries – Higher rate compared to other sports?

Misconception

CrossFit has built up a reputation for causing a high rate of injury among participants. This style of training (and sport) is relatively new in comparison and demands a high level of output from its athletes, but does it truly lead to a higher incidence of injury?

Data

There is not a lot of published research regarding CrossFit injuries yet, but the most recent data appears to dispel the misconception of higher rates of injury. Two recent studies found relatively similar numbers regarding incidence of injury within CrossFit participation among novice athletes. Below are the rates of injury per athlete, displayed as injuries per 1000 hours of exposure for different activities. CrossFit’s rates were calculated to be 2.4 and 3.1 per 1000 hours of exposure for novice athletes in two separate studies.

Variability within the numbers can exist depending on level of training, gender, follow-up period, size and how injury was defined. Despite these factors, CrossFit appears to be on the lower end of the spectrum in comparison to a variety of sports. This early research dismisses the notion that CrossFit is a higher risk than other training modalities wtih properly supervision and appropriate progressions.

References

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Hak PT, Hodzovic E, Hickey B. The nature and prevalence of injury during crossfit training. J Strength Cond Res., 2013:Published Ahead of Print.

Kerr HA, Curtis C, Micheli LJ, Kocher MS, Zurakowski D, Kemp SPT, Brooks JHM. Collegiate rugby union injury patterns in New England: a prospective cohort study. Br J Sports Med 2008;42:595–603

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Weisenthal BM, Beck C., Maloney MD, DeHaven KE, Giordano BD. Injury rate and patterns among crossfit athletes. The Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine, 2014;2(4).