Why Crossfit is an Orthopedic Surgeon's Dream

A few years ago I was completing my post-operative follow up appointment at my orthopedic surgeon’s office after having several pieces of a torn meniscus removed when I expressed to her my interest in taking up Crossfit as soon as my knee had healed.  Here’s how it went:

Me:  “Dr.,  I’m thinking when my knee heals up about taking up Crossfit to improve my overall strength and performance. What do you think?”

Dr.:  “Crossfit? That is an orthopedic surgeon’s dream!!!

Me:  “What do you mean?  You get a lot of business from Crossfit?  You mean by people hurting themselves?”

Dr.:  “Yes, especially shoulders, knees and hips…. I have literally made millions from it…”

So this got me thinking… we hear all the great benefits of Crosfit or bootcamp-like work out programs, but what is this dark secret about all the injuries we don’t hear about?  And more importantly, how can I, as a chiropractor, help prevent those injuries from happening?

On a side note, after my knee healed, I did start Crossfit and I love the way it has made me a better all around stronger athlete with better endurance.  I’m an avid surfer, mountain biker and skier and in my late 30′s, without an ACL in my left knee (yes, the same knee that I had a several parts of my meniscus removed), and find it hard to do all the sports I like, so when I do have time, I play hard.   I started Crossfit to give me more strength in my core and unstable knees (yes, it helps a lot) so I can still surf, ski and ride at a high level .   From my own personal experience Crossfit has improved my ability on all levels in all the sports I like to do.  And no, I haven’t been injured yet from Crossfit.  This is because before anything, I make sure my body is aligned and moving properly before I work out.  So what about these people that have been injured?  These people with injuries who are behind the “millions” of dollars my orthopedic surgeon has made due to their injuries at Crossfit or similar type of workout activities.  How can we prevent this?

As old adage goes “time will tell,” it sure did in this case.  As Crossfit has become bigger and more popular, the ratio to injuries from these activities appear to be on the rise not only in my orthopedic’s office, but also across the board and in my own chiropractic clinic.  The majority of the injuries being low back, neck and shoulders.  A trend in injuries is happening here and chiropractic has shown not only to be highly effective at alleviating those injuries but also in preventing them.

Imagine this scenario for a second…. You have a door that is slightly off the hinges and out of alignment at those hinges.  The hinges are not gliding smoothly and every time the door is opened or closed the hinges make a loud grinding noise and you see metal shavings fall on the floor from the grinding metal.  Now imagine you have 100 people coming and going through that door per day.  How long do you think those hinges will last?   Now imagine those hinges are the joints in your spine.   You have one or more vertebrae out of alignment in your back or neck and then you walk into the Crossfit gym to do a WOD (Workout Of the Day).  Your first exercise is 100 kettle bell swings.   What do you think is going to happen to those joints?   Just like the door, these joints are going to suffer more much more wear and tear and give out much sooner.  This wear and tear will create more stress on the tissues, decreased strength and overall balance and eventually lead you to engage or use muscle groups or movements that will prevent you from doing this exercise correctly and safely.  When something finally gives, you end up with strained muscles, sprained ligaments,  torn rotator cuffs, back pain, neck pain and disc injuries such as herniations or protrusions.   Prevention is the key here, and if those misaligned joints of the spine and body were in correct alignment and biomechanically functioning correctly before the exercise(s), you could have probably avoided these injuries all together. The longer the problems has been there the more likely you are to hurt something.

This is the big idea with chiropractic; keeping your body healthy, aligned and functioning at it’s highest potential to prevent injuries to the spine, body, neuromuscular and nervous systems.   Just like when go to the dentist to keep our teeth clean to prevent cavities and get our car’s oil changed and valves aligned to prevent our engine from breaking down, it is essential for overall health and peak performance that we tune up our bodies BEFORE they break down.  This in the long run, requires so much less money, and less visits to a chiropractor, than waiting until you have a breakdown in your spine and need to be treated for a major injury.  And for those of you that are Crossfitters this idea becomes even more relevant, you’re not training your body to be a Hyundai, you are training to make your body run like a finely tuned powerful high performance machine like a Ferrari, so why wouldn’t you make sure the alignment is straight and you’re firing on all cylinders?

So how often should you get checked by a chiropractor?  If you are having pain or other musculoskeletal issues, immediately.  For a typical “healthy” person who has been regularly adjusted by a chiropractor, once or twice per month should be appropriate.   People with a history of spinal problems, professional athletes or someone who has never been to a chiropractor before, maybe 1-2 times per week depending on the patient at the start.     In our office we like to get people out of pain as quickly as possible and get their bodies functioning at their peak performance as soon as possible so we  start off with treatment plans that are more frequent in the beginning, then, as their bodies respond, hold their alignments better and learn to move correctly again, we decrease the visits accordingly.    There is a reason almost every professional sports team has a chiropractor on staff, those athletes are going out everyday and pushing their bodies to the limit.   They are constantly putting their bodies out of alignment due to the constant stresses and impacts they are undergoing due to their activities.  If they want to continue to perform at the highest level and prevent injuries, it’s essential their bodies and joints be in aligned.

Whether you are a weekend warrior, avid Crossfitter, trying out a new sport or activity or just going through the motions of daily life.  You will inevitably function,  perform and feel better keeping your body aligned with chiropractic.  As chiropractors our goal is to keep your body functioning at it’s highest potential and keep you from becoming part of an orthopedic surgeons dream.

To schedule your first appointment or to schedule a chiropractic tune-up with Dr. Sam Vella at Heavenly Chiropractic and Wellness Center in South Lake Tahoe, please call our office at (530) 600-3669.