Crossfit and Joints: A Painful Romance That Doesn't Have to Be

Let’s be honest, if you already do CrossFit, your joints have hurt you at some point.

And if you have practiced any other sport… probably the same result.

Even if you are a stationary person, it is more than likely that they also hurt you badly at times.

Our joints suffer from both excess and defect: A hardsports practice will test your body and in some cases that could degenerate into pain or even injury. But we must bear in mind that a sedentary lifestyle can also cause such pain and what is more, not strengthening our muscles while practicing any sport can also have an impact on our joints.

In this post, we’re going to focus on the first. Those who practice CrossFit or similar disciplines and have problems with the joints due to those workouts.

During the WOD we demand a lot from our body, and especially from our lower parts: After all, when you stand in front of the rack with the bar on of your neck while you are about to squat, it is your legs, and your back, which keeps you firm. And that’s just the first contact, you haven’t started with the hard part yet!

As I said and you know, we subject our joints to great tensions in which we include different variables that will cause a considerable increase in the likelihood of increased pain.

You may end up having to equip yourself with the best ankle brace for your needs, but there is more to protection and prevention than simply attaching an ankle brace on.

Learn to Take Care of Your Knees in Crossfit

We all start or should start, to practice CrossFit with some kinds of fundamentals or rookie advice. Professionals should teach us the correct way to perform the exercises using our bodyweight as much as possible.

Although it seems little, if as a server you exceed 95 kg, think about the impact that it creates every time you jump up or down from the drawer, as well as the effort involved in climbing from a deep squat, for example.

After some time you will start to put discs on the bar and there the pressure that your legs will withstand can double your weight, so the technique is basic. A good technique, your coach and a lot of learning are needed to know how far you should go to distance yourself from pain and injury. Remember, CrossFit does not harm. The ego and bad planning do.

Breaking the Parallel

In our discipline, it is not enough to do a squat. You have to meet standards for this to count, and breaking the parallel is one of them. Meeting this basic requirement may seem easy, but it may not be in everyone’s hands at first.

Remember that overexciting with pressure will cost us more and more instead of less. As we increase the load the over-effort will be proportionately higher.

Indeed, this will not go easy on those who are fond of thinking the following, “today chest, and biceps that is for Friday;” but if your box is good it will also be its programming. Your coaches and trainers will know how to organize WODs and the training so that you can improve any part of your body including the knees that usually suffer more than is strictly necessary.

Remember when you go to “that” box. People and equipment matter but your health is worth more.

Its All About the Right Technique

If you want your knees to suffer less than necessary, you just have to do the following:

Ignore your coach and his constant corrections if you feel constant pain in the knee area. Stop with not taking your time and always moving forward despite the evident pain. Not using the proper hinged knee braces for the right amount of protection needed when making excessive moves.

Don’t forget to listen to your body at all times. It’s not always easy but nobody will know before you when something hurts. Learn to stop, to think, and to reconsider if it is more important to train today or be able to do it for the next 2 weeks.

Visit your physio/osteopath regularly, they are professionals who can help you release tension and pick you up. They can also provide guidelines to improve your flexibility or ability to rotate joints. Do not see them as the cure, make them something preventive.

Use knee pads, of course not for every single thing that you do or exercise but when you go to move heavy loads or start practicing with sudden excessive moves with your legs.

Consider CBD oil for managing pain and inflammation. There has been a recent surge in athletes all over the globe re-discovering the benefits of cannabidiol.

Since being taken off the restricted list in 2018, it has been used by athletes all over to manage physical stress, aid joint health and rest, as well as helping with intestinal irritability. After reading up on what athletes need to know about CBD oil , speak with your doctor and determine whether its something that would benefit your regiment.

Parting Words

The knee is the largest joint in the body, numerous muscles are inserted into it and its main movements are flexion and extension.  It makes a union between the thigh and the leg. Formed by the junction of the tibia below, femur above and patella in front.

Apart from allowing movement, it serves as a support for most of the weight when we are standing and for this, to withstand this load, between the femur and tibia bones there is a kind of “pads” called meniscus.

Protecting the knee area is of vital importance for the successful career of any sportsman or person practicing CrossFit. The healthier the knees the longer the carrier, keep that in mind and protect yourself especially before starting with heavy lifting sessions.