A Physiotherapists take on CrossFit...

 CrossFit brands their exercise style as “constantly varied functional movements performed at relative high intensity”. Relative or not, as with any sport and exercise, there is the unfortunate occurrence of injuries. But does CrossFit deserve the notoriety of having Physios running for the hills tacking up “boycott CrossFit” signs on their way? At Kinetic we encourage all sport and exercise and therefore take the opportunity on our blog space to professionally explore the crossfit world in terms of injuries and debunk the myth of Physiotherapists “hating CrossFit”…

A research study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning in 2013 aimed to evaluate “The nature and prevalence of injury during CrossFit training”. The researchers, Hak, Hodzovic and Hickey’s purpose was to determine the injuries and rates sustained via an online questionnaire.

The total rates of injury were found to be 3.1 per 1000 hours. This is similar to weight lifting, power lifting and gymnastics. To put this in perspective, contact sports has a considerably higher rate. The study also identified the main areas of injury as shoulder and spine.

So does CrossFit deserve the title of “hated by Physiotherapists”? Sorry CrossFit but we actually don’t hate you and nor are you outside the scope of Sports Physiotherapy management.

The varied exercise within the realm of CrossFit enables continued exercise whilst managing most musculoskeletal exercise. Similarly, the nature of scaling additionally means that a structured return can be optimised.

The take on CrossFit from our Physiotherapists at Kinetic Sports Physiotherapy... enjoy safely and with common sense. Ensure good foundations of movement with lifting before getting carried away with loading on weight. If there is a niggle that isn’t settling, come in and see us, we will aim to keep you training whilst we manage it.

Winter is rapidly approaching which brings two things; the answer as to whether Jon Snow is dead or not, and the return of winter sports. With winter sports, netball, rugby, AFL and soccer we see the return of jumping and landing injuries. Specifically, we see an increase in ankle, knee and hip injuries in sports where there is rapid change of direction, landing and contact. The good news however is that many of these injuries can be prevented if the risk factors are identified early and modified with appropriate exercise.

In an earlier blog, we discussed the changes that happen in our brain in response to injury and how these changes in movement often remain after the injury has healed and the pain has gone. These changes in movement are in all likelihood contribute to the fact that a previous injury is the greatest predictor of future injury. They can even increase your chance of injuring something on the opposite side.

There are a number of research validated clinical tests available that predict someone's jumping and landing performance. Even better, research has shown that if there is a movement deficit, neuromuscular training improves performance and reduces injury risk. Kamper & Moseley (2011) in a review study concluded that neuromuscular training reduced ankle sprain risk by 50%, knee injury by 54%, all lower limb injury by 39%. Furthermore, if there had been a previous injury the benefits of neuromuscular training were even greater.

There are a number of good examples of neuromuscular training programs that are easily availiable such has the FIFA 11+ program and Netball Australia's KNEE program. Alternately, contact us if you'd like an individual assessment and exercise program.

If our body is the machine that performs all the amazingly skillful movements and tasks that we do every day, our brain is the supercomputer that drives these movements. Injury and the pain associated with injury however can dramatically alter our brain’s ability to drive these tasks, and then in turn, impair our recovery and return to the things we love to do.

Some great research has been done by Sarah Wallwork and her colleagues at the University of South Australia that describes the specific way this happens.

To perform the complex skills required in sport, our brain uses large clusters of brain cells that need to act together, a bit like musicians in an orchestra. If they work together, the task is performed with skill, but if some of these cells don’t fire, the movement may not happen or may be performed inaccurately.  In a sporting context, the perfect execution of the skill can make all the difference, success or failure, injury or not.

Our response to injury, both physical and emotional, conscious or subconscious, has a profound effect on how these brain cells act, and in turn, our ability to perform skilled movements. In general, injury reduces our ability to activate the parts of our brains we require to perform skilled tasks. Furthermore, the longer we don’t perform these tasks the harder it is to perform them in the future and the more work we need to re-learn them.

With this in mind, early functional rehabilitation is crucial in the recovery process from injury. Knowing what you can do to accelerate your recovery can prevent changes in your brain and in turn, reduce the chance of you injuring yourself again.

Recovery from injury is not just training the body, it’s also training the brain.