How to prevent shoulder injuries and pain in CrossFit?

You are an occasional or professional Crossfit practitioner and you have been practicing for some time...

If so, you may be familiar with that shoulder pain that starts with a twinge while performing a jerk or handstand, then returns the next day after a night's sleep.

You tell yourself it will pass... but the pain gets worse as the days, even months go by .

When you warm up, it seems to disappear and then comes back stronger afterward, or even during exercise.

You'll read here and there that such and such an exercise is bad for the shoulders, that you should stop Crossfit because it's a sport for brutes...

This is the current trend. Since most advisors don't have any real solutions to offer, they simply point the finger at the culprits.

If you want to continue training hard without destroying your shoulders , take the time to read this article.

Shoulder Pain in Crossfit: Why?

Shoulder pain can occur for several reasons, the most common being inflammation due to overuse.

Exercises such as kipping pull-ups, the American swing, or repeated overhead presses place a lot of stress on the shoulder joint.

This is not necessarily a problem in itself; the shoulder is designed to be used intensively.

This overuse can lead to tendonitis, particularly shoulder or rotator cuff tendonitis.

So where does the problem come from?

To sum up, it comes from a poor ability to move and a poorly or poorly educated nervous system .

These problems cause multiple compensations in the shoulder.

Multiple compensations + complex movements with loads + numerous repetitions + intensity = injury and shoulder pain

It also comes, even if the subject stings practitioners a little, from the performance and competition mentality inherent in Crossfit.

This state of mind does not reinforce a conscious practice or listening to the body.

The training sessions are imposed and do not take into account the current state of the practitioner.

The Importance of Joint Mobility for the Shoulder

To prevent these injuries, it is crucial to work on shoulder joint mobility.

It is therefore essential to integrate joint mobility exercises into your training routine, but also into your warm-up !

Good joint mobility not only improves performance, but also reduces the risk of injury.

It helps increase the efficiency of the nervous system by offering it varied work, carried out consciously.

This work allows the brain to improve its body mapping, often deteriorated by overly repetitive practices and a sedentary lifestyle.

It’s also the ideal warm-up for a good session!

What are the Shoulder Injuries in Crossfit?

The most common shoulder pathologies in CrossFit include shoulder tendonitis, bursitis, and shoulder instability.

Shoulder tendonitis is often caused by repetitive movements, often associated with rough nerve patterns.

Bursitis, on the other hand, is often the result of inflammation due to excessive pressure on the bursae.

Shoulder instability can occur due to sudden movements and muscle weakness around the joint.

It can also come from weakness in the rotator cuff muscles and the stabilizing muscles of the scapula (which is the case for 90% of people living in the West).

How to strengthen your shoulders by doing CrossFit?

The first step in having healthy shoulders is to strengthen the stabilizing muscles.

Rotator cuff muscles, serratus anterior, trapezius…

The stronger they are, the more the shoulder stays in place and can take it.

They also prevent joint misalignments linked to poor posture (sedentary lifestyle).

To do this, you might as well look for exercises that are easy to do directly in the box.

Slam-Ball

It may not seem like it, but the Slamball can help stabilize the shoulder because it recruits the serratus anterior or internal serratus anterior muscle as well as the rotator cuff (external rotation).

It is the movement that starts with the arms in the air with a powerful return along the ground that recruits the serratus, mimicking the biomechanics of a pullover.

The rotator cuff is involved in raising the arms.

So it's a double benefit, shoulder stability in a single exercise.

These muscles are very important for stabilizing and increasing the shoulder's resistance to shocks.

This exercise can also be done with a sandbag for example.

Shoulder push-ups

It is mainly at the top of the movement that the pump becomes interesting.

You will have to push into the ground until your scapulas or shoulder blades are in maximum protraction.

This engagement recruits the trapezius and serratus anterior, muscles that we want to be strong to preserve our shoulders.

How to train more to have less shoulder pain?

That's what I suggest. But not by doing more CrossFit.

You should incorporate short, daily joint mobility exercises for your shoulders to speed up their healing.

The human body is a machine that has everything it needs to heal itself.

The problem is, you don't have the instructions.

That's why I created the series “NEVER WRONG” and “RECOVER”.

These trainings will allow you to eliminate pain in your shoulders and elsewhere and rebuild correct movement patterns to prevent it from returning.

I have 25 years of experience in multiple sports, from professional Muay Thai fighter to Salsa dancer.

I have traveled all over the world to study movement with the best mentors: Ido Portal, Roy Goldschmidt, Marcello Palazzo, Joseph Frussecks “the fighting monkey” and so on, the list would be too long.

Please understand that I know what I'm talking about. I know these pains well.

Crossfit is not a complete sport

To heal your shoulders, you need to understand that the range of movement possibilities in the human body goes far beyond what you can do in CrossFit.

Get rid of this idea that you've been sold that CrossFit is a complete, natural practice and that you tick all the physicality boxes.

She isn't at all.

Do you like this sport? Do it! But do what you need to do on the side so you can continue without destroying your shoulders!

This is the only way to prevent and treat shoulder pain in CrossFit.

You only have one body, one vehicle for your life. Become a top pilot.

This is the role of any physical preparation which aims to maintain good health: to complete what is not worked on in the sporting discipline.

This notion of physical preparation is not understood by a large majority of people, including coaches.

To heal, the body needs movement .

As varied as possible, and with the widest and greatest possible amplitudes.

This is the Mouvers approach. A foundation of joint mobility throughout the human body.

So you will have to train more, but differently.

For example, with a movement practice that will provide the nourishment your body needs to move well.

This is the condition to improve your mobility and no longer have shoulder pain when doing Crossfit.

I hope I have shed some light on your shoulder problems.

See you soon,

Nomad Slim
Founder of MOUVERS