Did you know that the shoulder is the most common injury in CrossFitters? Overall injury rates in CrossFit are not higher than in other sports, but they all tend to center around this sensitive joint.

If you, like so many people, are addicted to CrossFit, it's important to stay aware of your shoulders. Addressing shoulder pain as soon as it pops up is the best way to prevent more serious shoulder injuries. However, sometimes injuries can't be prevented and recovery is the only way through.

In the spirit of making the rehab and treatment process more transparent, we put together this guide to common CrossFit shoulder injuries and their treatments. Read on to learn all about it!

Why Are Shoulder Injuries So Common?

The shoulder is the most flexible joint in the body. The range of motion in your shoulder allows you to move your arm in almost every direction. Compare your shoulder to your knee which only bends in one direction, and you'll see what we mean.

Your arm is attached to its socket primarily through muscles. This allows for great flexibility but also makes it susceptible to tears, strains, and more. Many gyms favor volume rather than intensity, meaning it's very easy to overwork your shoulder muscles, which can cause them to tear and give out.

In addition, many gyms have a culture of toughness where athletes are considered strong only if they push through injury and pain. Sure, this might make you tough, but it also makes you prone to overuse injury resulting in months at home on the couch! Listening to your body's warning signs is the best way to stay active and tough in the long term.

Rotator Cuff Injuries

Your rotator cuff is a set of four tendons that stabilize the joint. Specifically, they help stabilize overhead arm movements. Considering how much lifting and overhead motion CrossFit demands, these tendons get a lot of use!

In addition, your tendons adapt to exercise much more slowly than your muscles. While your muscles strengthen and adapt (relatively quickly), your tendons have less blood flow and strengthen over time. So while your muscles might be able to handle heavy weights and lots of reps, your tendons are less willing!

Shoulder impingement is a common result of overworking your rotator cuff, as are rotator cuff tears. Impingement is when one of the tendons gets stuck or pinched between the bones of the shoulder, resulting in pain.

Prevention

You can prevent rotator cuff injuries by maintaining proper form. If you notice your form slipping, it's probably due to your tendons getting tired. Either back off the weight or take some time off and rest.

Remember, it's better to take a few days off than to get injured and have to take a few months off.

Treatment

Your first stop when you experience shoulder pain should be a pain management specialist. Your pain could be the sign of a serious injury, or it could be the warning sign that a serious injury is on the way. The earlier you catch an injury, the quicker your recovery.

If you catch it early, your treatment can be simple as rest, over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medication, and physical therapy for shoulder injuries. In addition, cortisone injections and other treatment methods can help reduce pain and promote healing.

Bursitis

Bursitis is the inflammation of a fluid-filled sac known as a bursa sac. Bursa sacs are in almost any joint, meaning that you can experience this condition almost anywhere. However, for CrossFitters, the shoulder is the most common.

The bursa sac is intended to reduce friction and absorb impact in the joint. Repetitive movements can cause these sacs to get inflamed. In addition, if your tendons are over-stressed or you're over 40, your bursa sacs will end up absorbing more impact.

Bursitis results in extreme pain in the joint. Your joint might also be stiff, swollen, or even red. Sometimes bursitis is sudden, sometimes it has a slower onset.

Prevention

Bursitis isn't always preventable, but you can take a few steps to reduce local joint stress. Start slow and build up your routine, don't rush into tons of volume and heavy weights. This is especially important if you're starting a new exercise.

In addition, make sure to back off if you experience any pain, and take frequent breaks.

Treatment

Bursitis is a fairly simple injury to treat, especially if you diagnose it early. Stop by your pain clinic for confirmation, but usually, treatment can be as easy as ice, rest, and over-the-counter painkillers.

As with all CrossFit injuries, if you ignore the pain and let it get more severe, treatment might be more complex so make sure to check in with your doctor as soon as you notice something's wrong.

Cartilage Tear

Around the rim of your shoulder joint is a layer of cartilage, padding for impact and motion. You can easily tear your cartilage with the same repetitive motions or during a fall. In addition, absorbing lots of force can cause a cartilage tear making it one of the most common shoulder injuries during CrossFit.

You'll notice pain when you raise your arms above your head, a feeling of weakness, and a catching or locking sensation.

Prevention

Maintaining good form and posture is the best way to keep proper shoulder function. In addition, make sure you warm up properly so your muscles are ready to absorb the force of your exercise.

Treatment

Cartilage is a low blood flow tissue in the body, which means it has a slow healing time. Usually, it can be treated with rest and physical therapy, however, cortisone and PRP injections have some proven benefits for speeding up recovery in these kinds of cartilage injuries.

Checking in with a pain specialist is the best way to form a treatment plan, as cartilage tears can vary in severity.

Treat Your CrossFit Pain and Shoulder Injuries

The shoulder is a delicate and complicated joint. An expert will be able to assess your condition and give you the best treatment plan for your shoulder injuries. If you're looking for expert pain care in Arizona, look no further than AZ Pain Doctors.

Our professionals have seen everything and can treat your CrossFit aches and pains, so you can be back in the gym quickly! Schedule your first appointment today and see how good you can feel!

Did you know that more than one-third of athletes experience knee injury or pain at some point? Knee injuries are the most common type of sports injury.

Your knee is a complex joint, interlocking bone, ligaments, and tendons. In addition, it's the source of all your pivoting and twisting motions and absorbs a lot of impact in the gym. For all these reasons, knee injuries are rampant among athletes.

Rehabbing a knee injury can take months, robbing athletes of valuable time doing what they love. However, these injuries are not unavoidable. You can actually prevent most knee injuries with a bit of care and attention!

Read on to learn how to do it!

Don’t Avoid Stretching

If you're like most athletes, you hate stretching! Stretching is one of the most misunderstood and neglected tools for athletes. Because it can be boring, many athletes put it off or don't put in the time required to support the body.

However, stretching can prevent most common knee injuries!

Your knee is supported by all the muscles in your leg, from your glutes down to your ankles. Even your core helps control your leg movement. For this reason, it's important to stretch everything in the chain.

Dynamic vs. Static Stretching

For a long time, sports experts thought that static stretching was the only way to go. Stretching was reduced to holding each position for a couple of minutes, and calling it a day.

Now, experts call for dynamic stretching, working on the full range of motion by moving your muscles as you stretch them.

But, the perfect stretching routine uses a combination of both dynamic and static stretches.

Dynamic stretching improves your proprioception, balance, and coordination. It will also fire up your nervous system and get your muscles ready to move. This makes it a great way to warm up. And it's got proven benefits on sports performance, too, in addition to injury prevention!

In contrast, static stretching is holding each position for an extended time, rather than moving the muscle. The purpose of static stretching is to relax and lengthen the muscles, improving flexibility, motion, and mobility.

The benefits of static stretching are best for cooling down. Static stretching before a workout can actually increase injury risk because it doesn't warm up your joints and muscles in the same way as dynamic stretching. However, when used as a cooldown, static stretching can help prevent overuse injuries like jumper's knee.

To sum up: use dynamic stretches before your workout to get your body into gear, and use static stretches to cool down and relax your muscles.

Get Strong and Stay Strong

The stronger your muscles are, the more they're able to protect your body and your knees from injury. Even if your sport doesn't require a lot of muscle mass, it's important to keep the area strong and resilient. You can build strength without building bulk that will slow you down.

For example, your hamstrings are an incredibly important set of stabilizing muscles for the ACL. Your ACL is a knee stabilizer ligament that runs from your thigh bone to your shin bone through the middle of your knee. Essentially, it keeps your shin bone locked into place and supports knee flexion.

This functionality is mirrored and therefore supported by the hamstrings, the muscles on the back of your thigh. Studies have shown that patients with ACL tears often have weak hamstrings, highlighting their ability to reinforce knee function.

Similarly, your PCL is a ligament running the opposite way from the ACL. Just like how the hamstrings protect you from an ACL tear, your quads protect your PCL. All the surrounding leg muscles need to be strong to prevent knee injuries in athletes.

Preventative Care

The human body is a fascinating machine of interconnected muscles, tendons, and ligaments. If you're not an expert, it can be difficult to parse exactly what's going on. If you've ever experienced knee pain and taken to google, you've probably seen at least five potential causes.

Without an experienced eye, it can be difficult to assess your own condition. If you're experiencing any minor aches and pains, it's easy to write them off as just part of aging. However, this risks a more serious injury down the line.

Your knee pain might be a sign of something serious or the result of poor body mechanics. It's best to listen to your body and see an expert before it turns into something worse. Check-in with a pain management specialist for comprehensive treatment that keeps your body supported in the gym.

Take Care of Your Equipment

Up until now, everything we've discussed has been about taking care of your body. However, properly maintaining and replacing your equipment can also help with knee injury prevention.

For example, did you know that your running shoes wear out? Even if there's no visible damage and you still have tread on the bottom, the foam and carbon plates inside can be worn down or broken. This means your shoes don't provide as much spring or support.

Running a mile is approximately 2,000 steps. In other words, if your shoes are worn out, you're performing 2,000 reps on a faulty set of equipment.

Without proper shoe support, your knees are forced to absorb more impact, causing pain and risking acute injury. It also risks conditions like plantar fasciitis, shin splints, and more.

Most shoes have a lifespan of about 300 to 500 miles, although this number can vary. Racing flats and less padded shoes tend to have a shorter lifespan, so always check your specific model and replace them on schedule.

Be Proactive About Preventing Knee Injuries

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! With a bit of preventative care, you can keep your knees in great shape, preventing knee injuries and improving your performance. Take the time to stretch, strengthen, and care for these important joints and you'll reap all the benefits of a long athletic career.

For help with knee pain, sports injuries, and more, reach out to Arizona's top pain management doctors. At AZ Pain Doctors, we've seen it all can help support your body both in the gym and out of it. Schedule your first appointment today!