Common HYROX Injuries and How to Prevent Them
HYROX injuries are often related to overuse, especially with running. Common problems include Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome, patellar tendinitis, shin splints, plantar fasciitis, biceps tendinitis, IT Band Syndrome, and low back pain.
Managing training load and gradually progressing running mileage and station work can help reduce injury risk. Improving movement efficiency can also help reduce unnecessary stress as training volume increases.
Physical therapy can help evaluate pain or injuries that develop during HYROX training and determine whether training modifications or further medical evaluation may be appropriate.
Common Injuries in HYROX Training
As an endurance event with high-volume reps, most HYROX injuries will be associated with overuse. And with over 60% of your time spent running, it’s no surprise that most of those injuries will be related to running.
Some of these overuse injuries can include:
Low back pain is also common and can similarly develop from overuse or from a direct injury during the stations.
How Training Load Affects Injury Risk
Overuse injuries occur when tissues are unable to adapt to the loads being put on them.
Simply put, if your patellar tendon only tolerates up to 3 miles of running per session but you consistently run 5 miles each session, it will eventually become irritated and painful.
Similarly, if your patellar tendon needs 2 days between each run session to recover, but you continue to run every other day, it will also eventually become irritated and painful.
But don’t worry; in this hypothetical scenario, you’re not stuck at only running 3 miles every two days. The good news is that your body is able to adapt.
Instead of increasing mileage for all run sessions at once, maybe increase one run session by a mile each week to see how your knee handles it. And rather than decreasing rest days between run sessions right away, start by shortening every third rest period and go from there.
This also applies to station work. If you are going to be spending an entire training session working on only one station, be mindful of the amount of reps you are doing.
The key to decreasing injury risk is to start at a manageable (and sustainable!) volume, be consistent with training, and progress gradually to avoid huge spikes in training volume.
Movement and Technique Considerations
Cleaning up your technique can also help decrease your risk of injury by improving your movement efficiency.
When you’re first starting HYROX training, getting practice with the different movements and building your overall fitness is generally more important than trying to perfect every detail of your technique. Spending too much time worrying about exactly how you move can take away from actually developing the strength and endurance you need for the race.
But as your fitness improves, technique starts to matter more. Good technique helps you perform each movement more efficiently, which helps with using less energy to accomplish the same amount of work.
Moving more efficiently can also reduce unnecessary stress on certain areas of your body. This doesn’t mean there is one “perfect” way to run, row, push a sled, or do a wall ball that will prevent injuries. But improving your technique can help you perform these movements without putting more stress than necessary on one area of your body over and over again.
When to See a Physical Therapist
While there are ways to decrease your risk of developing an injury during HYROX training, there is unfortunately no way to completely prevent them.
If you do start experiencing pain, it doesn’t necessarily mean you need to stop training right away. But it may be a good time to see a physical therapist if the pain:
Starts getting worse
Changes the way you move
Doesn’t improve with modifications to your training
Starts interfering with your day-to-day life
If you do end up dealing with pain or an injury during HYROX training, a physical therapist can be a good first stop. Physical therapists are trained to evaluate musculoskeletal injuries and can help determine whether you can start working on the problem right away or if you need further medical evaluation.
In Nevada, you also have direct access to physical therapy, which means you do not need to get a referral before scheduling an appointment with a physical therapist.
HYROX Athlete Physical Therapy in Nevada
If you have a race coming up and you think you’re dealing with an injury, I specialize in remote physical therapy for HYROX athletes in Nevada. Schedule a virtual movement assessment below to figure out what’s going on and how to keep training safely and enjoy your race.
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