Our performance tip for CrossFitters : PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE for the sake of your shoulders, back and literally everything else, stretch out/release your chest!!! Needless to say, you don’t want to end up in the same boat as one of the 26 people in the regionals that tore their pecs from 21, 15, 9 ring dips and dumbbell snatches!
Prevent gym injuries by prioritising chest stretches and mobility exercises. Chest exercises help prevent common CrossFit injuries by promoting balanced muscle development and improving posture. Strengthening the chest muscles, along with proper stretching and mobility work, can enhance shoulder stability, reduce the risk of imbalances, and minimise the strain on other areas of the body during CrossFit movements.
Your lumbar spine which was designed for bending and extending movements has only 10 degrees rotation (not a lot!) giving rise to lower back pain. Tight pec minors will tilt your shoulder blade forward jamming your shoulders setting you up for bursitis and rotator cuff problems.
Also, because everything is connected by soft tissue, if you get jammed up in your shoulders it can feed down your body and tighten up your back and your hamstrings, calves and feet, limiting your ability to squat.
Having a tight chest will also contribute to muscle imbalance of your shoulder muscles, poor posture and injuries in pretty other parts of the body. Our senior physio and podiatrist, Ali, has even released a chest to fix a toe pain much to the surprise and delight of the patient!
If box jumps, running, or double unders make you need to dash to the bathroom for a pre-WOD prep pee…you’ll be pleased to know we are also lucky enough to have a women's health physio, Claire, who has dabbled in a bit of CrossFit so she understands the needs of the CrossFit community.
At PhysioChoice, we offer physiotherapy exercises for lower back pain as part of our full body assessments. If you have noticed a shoulder, hip or knee that is not moving how it should or is limiting you from progressing to your next goal (handstand press ups, cleans, bar muscle ups etc), you want your AMRAP’s or EMOM’s to be better than your best mates, or are you having to swap out your overhead squats and miss out on completing your workouts Rx, we are here to help.
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