I finished my workout today and like many days I had to bring in a ton of extra stuff for my programming. I feel like the longer I do Crossfit the more “stuff” I accumulate! Granted it’s totally awesome stuff and I really use all of it but some days it’s like I need all the things for a 15 minute AMRAP! I plan on highlighting all my “stuff” another time but today I was reminded of what it’s like dealing with injuries and how some of this stuff can help you move through it.
Nearly a year ago something happened during a split jerk and I felt this sudden sting of pain in my right wrist. Ironically, I had the left wrist wrapped because twice in my life I’ve broken the left arm/wrist doing completely unrelated things. For whatever reason that day my right wrist tweaked. Like most of my past experiences I just powered through it and didn’t think much of the pain. I mean I was a dancer for years and a musician… we power through pain all the time! Apparently this time I did something more than what I could power through. I’m not the type of person who runs to a doctor for minor aches and pains but I do see a Massage Therapist on a fairly regular basis so I told her about it. That began the LONG 6 month treatment of my wrist. She felt like it was a combination of over use in simple writing as well as my Crossfit lifting which wasn’t giving it a break or a chance to rest. Of course I’m right handed. She would see me weekly and I was using ice and heat accordingly as well as some anti-inflammatory meds and honestly it just wasn’t getting much better. In hind sight, should I have probably stopped what I was doing to piss off my wrist? Absolutely! Did I? Of course not! So for months I dealt with the pain using Wrist Wraps
I will continue to work through my injury but I strongly recommend these wraps in general for giving your wrists added protection in those heavy overhead lifts or if you just need that extra support. They’ve done good by me and they’ve certainly got their workout.
Crossfit often gets a bad rep for “causing injuries”. Honestly, most athletic avenues can cause injuries. I don’t think I’ve gotten any more injured doing this than I did doing ballet. I mean, I broke an arm and a foot doing ballet and haven’t broken anything in Crossfit so what does that say. I broke bones doing ballet…. who thinks that’s going to happen, let alone twice! Injuries happen. It’s how to take care of them and move through them that matters. Don’t be stupid like I’ve been and get your pains checked out. See a doctor or a chiropractor or massage therapist or physical therapist. Whatever you need just take care of yourself. It doesn’t matter how hard you’re working if you’re not going to be able to function on a human level after you’re done.
In the meantime, check out some cool Crossfit gear! WODFitters has some Wrist Wraps as well as jump ropes and foam rollers. Both things you definitely need! They are even offering 18% off your order with code “NEWYEAR”!