Common Injuries Across Baseline, 6-Month, and 12-Month Assessments in CrossFit® Athletes of Different Experience Levels

Crossfit® is a high-intensity interval training modality that combines weightlifting, aerobic exercises, and gymnastics. Although it has gained widespread popularity, it also presents a considerable injury rate without clarity on the extent to which experience categories exhibit distinct temporal patterns. This study identifies the most common injuries and their progression across CrossFit® categories over 12 months. We defined injury as any Crossfit-related event requiring healthcare consultation and interrupting an athlete’s activity. An observational, longitudinal study was conducted with 102 participants categorized into three groups (n = 34): beginner, scale, and rx. An adapted injury index questionnaire was applied, and descriptive statistics were performed. Results showed that the most frequent injuries affected the shoulder and knee, with variations across the different athlete categories. Beginners exhibited the highest injury rates: knee (56%) and shoulder (35%). The scale group presented a greater concentration of shoulder injuries, whereas rx demonstrated the lowest injury incidence overall. Over the 12-month follow-up, 135 injuries were reported at baseline, decreasing to 116 at six months and 101 at the final evaluation. Dropout rates were 35% among beginners, 12% in the scale group, and 0% in the rx group. Crossfit-related injuries primarily affect the shoulders and knees, with a higher incidence in beginners. Future studies should investigate movement technique, strength, mobility, and limb dominance considering the overhead demands and the associated injury risk, in addition studies should examine training programming too