Prevalence of Injuries in Exercise Programs Based on Crossfit®, Cross Training and High-Intensity Functional Training Methodologies: A Systematic Review

Yaira Barranco-Ruiz; Emilio Villa-González; Antonio Martínez-Amat; Marzo E Da Silva-Grigoletto

doi:10.2478/hukin-2020-0006

Prevalence of Injuries in Exercise Programs Based on Crossfit^®, Cross Training and High-Intensity Functional Training Methodologies: A Systematic Review

J Hum Kinet. 2020 Jul 21:73:251-265. doi: 10.2478/hukin-2020-0006. eCollection 2020 Jul.

Authors

Yaira Barranco-Ruiz¹, Emilio Villa-González¹, Antonio Martínez-Amat², Marzo E Da Silva-Grigoletto³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physical and Sports Education, PROFITH "PROmoting FITness and Health through Physical Activity" Research Group, Sport and Health University Research Institute (iMUDS), Faculty of Education and Sport Sciences, University of Granada, 52005 Melilla, Spain.
² Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Jaén, Jaén, Spain.
³ Functional Training Group (FTG), Federal University of Sergipe (UFS), Aracajú, SE Brazil.

Abstract

Current literature shows studies that question the safety of the practices carried out in high-intensity training modalities such as CrossFit®, Cross Training or High-Intensity Functional Training, which may lead to a greater risk in the prevalence of injuries. The aim of this study was to analyze in detail the prevalence of injuries occurring in training based on the CrossFit®, Cross Training or High-Intensity Functional Training modalities, through a systematic review, as well as evaluating the methodological quality of the included studies. We used the recommendations of the PRISMA protocol. For the quality analysis of the studies, we applied the tool proposed by the National Institute of Health (United States). The areas that mainly present a higher risk of injury during CrossFit, Cross Training or High-Intensity Functional Training practices are shoulders, knees and back. Additionally, 11 of the 12 included studies displayed a poor methodological quality according to the quality tool used.

Keywords: cross training; gym; high-intensity; sports injuries; training.