Upper Extremity Injuries in CrossFit Athletes —a Review of the Current Literature

AbstractPurpose of ReviewCross-discipline fitness, or CrossFit, has exploded in popularity during the last two decades. During this time, there have been a high volume of patients presenting to clinicians with a wide range of associated injuries. Given the high intensity, high repetition, and competitive nature of CrossFit training and competition, athletes are vulnerable to injury, particularly upper extremity injury. The rate of injury to the shoulder, elbow, and wrist in CrossFit is higher when compared to traditional weight-training and more comparable to elite-level gymnastics and Olympic-style lifting. Due to the growing popularity of CrossFit-style exercise and the relatively high rate of injury among its participants, clinicians are likely to encounter these athletes. The purpose of this review is to familiarize clinicians with CrossFit and the associated injuries they will likely encounter.Recent FindingsThe medical literature focusing on CrossFit has demonstrated exponential growth, with the first article published in 2012 and 59 articles published in 2020. Although the body of literature is growing, there are no high-level studies focusing on CrossFit. The literature mainly consists of level IV and V studies, primarily consisting of case reports and case series. Recent studies have proven that CrossFit athletes are vulnerable to high rates of upper extremity injury and a few studies have identified risk factors for injury. Future high-level research is required to ...
Source: Current Reviews in Musculoskeletal Medicine - Category: Orthopaedics Source Type: research