Injury profile in CrossFit practitioners: systematic review

ABSTRACT CrossFit is a new form of physical training that has become popular since its inception. This study aimed to analyze the injury profile of CrossFit practitioners through a systematic review. PRISMA recommendations were applied to this systematic review. Electronic search was performed in the databases CINAHL, SciELO, Science Direct, SCOPUS, LILACS, PEDro, PubMed, SPORTDiscus and Web of Science. The methodological quality of the studies was assessed. Ten studies were selected. The prevalence of injuries in CrossFit practitioners ranged from 5 to 73.5%, and the overall injury incidence rate per 1000 training hours ranged from 1.94 to 3.1 injuries. The body region most affected by injuries was the shoulders, followed by the back and the knees. Regarding associated factors, the type of exercise performed and CrossFit training time were related to injuries. Besides that, sex was associated to the prevalence of injuries, with men showing more injuries than women. Age was not related to injury prevalence. It was concluded that the most commonly affected body region among CrossFit practitioners was the shoulders, predominantly in males and with previous injuries, often obtained in other modalities. In addition, CrossFit can be safely practiced by individuals aged 18-69.