CrossFit Injury Rehab Part 2: Questions Every Crossfitter Should Ask Themselves

At Made 2 Move, we see a lot of CrossFit athletes for injuries such as lower back, shoulder, knee, wrist, or elbow pain. And unlike other professionals, we are NOT going to tell you that Crossfit is bad for you and that you need to stop doing it. (Check out last week’s blog where we dispelled some of the myths surrounding injuries in the sport of CrossFit). 

Almost every one of our Made 2 Move PTs has done CrossFit previously or currently trains at one of the local CrossFit boxes throughout the Charleston area. However, there are times when we as CrossFit athletes (your Made 2 Move PTs included) could be smarter with our WODs, programming, and movements to reduce the risk of injury in the sport of CrossFit. As a regular “check in” and/or if we start to feel a nagging pain come on, we like to ask ourselves these questions:

• Can I manage this volume? 

This applies to volume in daily workouts, as well as big-picture, looking at how much work you’re doing in a given week and month. 

• If the answer to the above question is NO, you can tweak by: 

  • Dial back time: ie. if it’s a 20-minute AMRAP, make it 12-15 minutes. 

  • Dial back REPS: ie if it’s 20 wall balls and your knees are talking to you, make it 10-12. 

  • Dial back WEIGHT: This goes without saying but often our egos get the best of us and we try to RX every WOD. Know the STIMULUS of the workout (and if you don’t know, ask your coach). Is it meant to be heavy and moved for singles or light and cycled for quick reps?

  • Adjust SKILL: ie. if it’s handstand walks but your wrists feel taxed or you’re not proficient in handstands, put your feet on a box and walk around with your torso stacked. This will mimic the positions of handstand walking while taking some of the pressure off the wrists. 

• Am I effectively learning these new skills? (Or just beating an already dead horse)

  • Don’t do something over and over again poorly. 

    • We say it all the time, but: Quality > quantity. Quality can decrease slightly during a 1 RM or competition but if you’re going to technical failure in every WOD, we may want to rethink. 

  • If learning a new skill (kipping, gymnastics, etc.), focus on that skill, THEN work on incorporating it into metcons. 

    • When first learning the skill, incorporate them through: 

      • EMOMs

      • Lighter versions or smaller pieces of the movement

        • Learning cleans? Stay lighter while you learn the movement pattern and incorporate high-pulls to emphasize the proper bar path for the pulls. 

  • Try not to do the same skill every day: 

    • For example, we had a client who was learning handstands- instead of doing drills, she just practiced handstand walking every day. Why was this ineffective? Didn’t have the prerequisite STRENGTH or POSITIONAL MUSCLE MEMORY to effectively execute. This led to frustration and wrist pain. 

• Is my technique appropriate? 

  • We hesitate to even use the word technique or form because are NOT the form police and know that every person is going to move slightly differently. We will encourage you to move in every way to move in all planes because THIS is what life is. Not just neutral spine deadlifts or perfectly aligned presses. 

• Do I have the prerequisite MOBILITY and STRENGTH for this movement? 

  • For cleans can I get into a comfortable front rack position?

  • For handstands, are you doing strict pressing to build up static strength before moving dynamically upside down?

  • For pull-ups, can I do a strict pull-up before I start kipping?

• Am I recovering properly? 

  • Sleep + adequate fueling + rest days

Interested in working with a PT who will help you manage your injury and incorporate CrossFit into your rehab as we work back to it? A PT who KNOWS your CrossFit movements and will cheer you on every step of the way? Schedule your free consultation at Made 2 Move today!