Background: CrossFit is one of the fastest growing “high-intensity functional training” methods in recent years. Due to the very demanding motion sequences and high loads, it was initially assumed that there was an extremely high risk of injury. However, studies have shown that injury rates are given between 0.74–3.3 per 1000 h of training, which is not higher than in other individual sports such as weightlifting. The purpose of the study was to estimate the type of pain symptoms that are directly related to CrossFit, to estimate the frequency of injuries that occur within a population of recreational CrossFit athletes, and, finally, to identify the factors influencing the frequency of pain during CrossFit training. Methods: A total of 414 active CrossFit athletes completed an online survey inclusive of 29 items focusing on individual physical characteristics and training behavior, as well as simultaneous or previously practiced sports. Results: There was a significantly higher proportion of knee pain in athletes who had previously or simultaneously played another sport (p = 0.014). The duration, intensity, or type of personal training plan developed, along with personal information such as age, gender, or BMI, had no significant influence on the pain data. We could not find any significant variance between the groups that we formed based on the differently stated one-repetition max (RMs). There were differences in athletes who stated that they did specific accessory exercises for small muscle groups. Above all, athletes performing exercises for the hamstrings and the gluteus medius indicated fewer pain symptoms for the sacro-iliac joint (SIJ)/iliac and lower back locations. Conclusions: It is important not to see CrossFit as a single type of sport. When treating a CrossFit athlete, care should be taken to address inter-individual differences. This underlines the significant differences of this study between the individual athletes with regard to the ability to master certain skills or their previous sporting experience. The mere fact of mastering certain exercises seems to lead to significantly more pain in certain regions. In addition, there seems to be a connection between the previous or simultaneous participation in other sports and the indication of pain in the knee region.

Purpose: Hardly any other topic is as current as the gender-conscious medical treatment of every individual. Similarly, in sports, there are crucial differences that should be considered in order to treat everyone appropriately, with the aim to prevent injuries according to their needs. The objective of this study is to show that the differences between biological males and females are so significant that they require both specific injury prevention and therapy programs. Methods: This study is a retrospective analysis of letters from a department of orthopedics and trauma surgery between the years 2000 and 2015. Results: The analysis of 20,567 inpatient and outpatient letters of a level 1 trauma center in Germany revealed that 5455 patients suffered 7279 injuries; 1475 of the patients were female and suffered 2035 injuries, and 3890 patients were male and suffered 5244 injuries. Conclusion: The results show the differences between males and females with regard to sport-specific injuries, pointing out the sex differences in the sport-specific area in relation to the body region.

Zusammenfassung Einführung Aktuell gibt es nur wenige Daten zu traumatischen Wirbelsäulenverletzungen mit neurologischer Beteiligung im Hinblick auf Sportunfälle in Deutschland. Ziel dieser Studie ist es, die Häufigkeit traumatischer Rückenmarksverletzungen, verursacht durch verschiedene Sportunfälle, aus den letzten 22 Jahren darzustellen.  Methoden Die vorliegende Studie ist eine retrospektive Auswertung traumatischer Rückenmarksverletzungen (tSCI) bei sportlicher Aktivität eines Level-1-Traumazentrums mit Abteilung zur Behandlung von Rückenmarksverletzungen in Deutschland der letzten 22 Jahre.Die Akten der in den Jahren 1998–2020 behandelten Patient*innen wurden im Hinblick auf die Anamnese untersucht und diejenigen Fälle genauer betrachtet, bei denen es sich ursächlich um Sportaktivitäten handelte. Zusätzlich wurden Art und Schwere der Verletzung sowie die Geschlechtsverteilung erfasst. Ergebnisse Insgesamt wurden 1630 Patient*innen mit traumatischen Wirbelsäulenverletzungen mit Rückenmarksbeteiligung eingeschlossen. Von diesen 1630 Patient*innen waren n=116 (7,1%) Sportunfälle. Das Alter dieser Subpopulation war mit 41 Jahren signifikant jünger (p=0,05) als die Gesamtgruppe der tSCI mit 50 Jahren. Eine detailliertere Analyse der Sportverletzungen ergab, dass in absteigender Reihenfolge Reit- (n=22), Winter- (n=18), Luft- (n=16), Motor- (n=16) und Radsport (n=15) die häufigsten ursächlichen Faktoren für diese besonders schweren Wirbelsäulenverletzungen waren. Bei der Verteilung der Lokalisation der Wirbelsäulenverletzung in Bezug auf die Art des ausgeübten Sports zeigte sich im Luftsport ein signifikantes Ergebnis, wonach sich die Patient*innen dieser Gruppe hauptsächlich Verletzungen der Lendenwirbelsäule zuzogen (p<0,01). Die Geschlechterverteilung der einzelnen Sportarten zeigt im Pferdesport (männlich < weiblich, p < 0,01), im Luftsport (männlich > weiblich, p = 0,05) und im Radsport (männlich > weiblich, p = 0,07) signifikante Ergebnisse. Fazit Zusammengefasst ist vor allem Reitsport beim weiblichen Geschlecht in der Kategorie Sportverletzungen am häufigsten ursächlich für traumatische Wirbelsäulenverletzungen, obwohl Frauen insgesamt einen deutlich geringeren Anteil der Patient*innen mit traumatischen Wirbelsäulenverletzungen einnehmen als Männer. Ferner führen Winter- (n=18), Luft- (n=16), Motor- (n=15) und Radsport (n=15) zu häufigen traumatischen Wirbelsäulenverletzungen im Sportsektor. Patient*innen mit traumatischen Wirbelsäulenverletzungen mit spinaler Beteiligung bedingt durch Sportunfälle waren signifikant jünger als diejenigen der Gesamtheit aller traumatischer Wirbelsäulenverletzungen.

Recreational fitness sport is popular worldwide and ranks first among organized sports. Despite such great numbers of participants, there is little scientific work that deals with the injury behavior in mass fitness sports. This study attempts to fill this gap by examining which exercises may be most prone to injury and analyzes the body regions that are most frequently affected. Using an online questionnaire distributed nationally across Germany, 20 demographic and training-specific items and 49 sport-specific exercises were recorded. Frequent exercises, as well as the incidence and distribution of pain symptoms that the athletes experienced during or in relation to their training were evaluated. A total of 1378 respondents were included in this study. N = 732 (53,1%) (f = 333 (24,2%), m = 397 (22,3%)) indicated to have had pain in relationship to their fitness training. The way the training plan was created showed a significant influence (p = 0): Those athletes who create a plan on their own, report complaints more often than the comparison groups. Guided exercises on machines led to complaints the least often (11.54%). Exercises with free weights cause the most complaints among respondents (19.94%). We were able to identify exercises such as back squat, deadlift, bench press and triceps dips as the most pain associated exercises. The most common pain region was the shoulder followed by the lower back and knee. The present work is the first large-scale study to examine the injury behavior of recreational athletes in fitness sports. The results show a considerably high number of unreported pain symptoms.