The desire to constantly push yourself to the next level compels and drives so many of us, in all facets of our lives be it professional, personal or recreational. As the Steve Jobs once said, “There is always one more thing to learn” and many of us take that to heart constantly looking for the latest trends in fitness to give us that edge to optimize and manifest the body and performance we desire. However, just because a trend is new doesn’t guarantee it is safe and or effective. Over the past decade, interest in high intensity interval training (HIIT) has increased considerably with a myriad of research to validate its efficacy. However, with increased intensity comes the potential for increased injury rates.
The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) was queried from 2007 through 2016 to estimate injury incidence related to exercises such as burpees, push-ups, and lunges and exercise equipment such as barbells, kettle bells, and boxes, which are representative of HIIT exercise programs. Injury incidences were calculated and compared between 2007-2011 and 2012-2016.
There were an estimated 3,988,903 injuries, most often in males (58%) aged 20 to 39 years (39%). Most commonly, injuries were in the lower extremity (35.3%), trunk (28.5%), and upper extremity (19.6%). From 2012-2016 versus 2007-2011, there was a 144% increase in all injuries including a 159% increase in trunk injuries, a 137% increase in lower extremity injuries, and a 132% increase in upper extremity injuries. There was also a 127% increase in lower extremity strains and a 124% increase in upper extremity strains. Additionally, knee and ankle sprains increased 125%. These increases in injury incidence correlated with a 274% increase in HIIT interest.
There is always a scale of good, better and best in implementing strategies to our own training programs. Therefore, given increases in injuries related to high-intensity workout programs, it is incumbent on us as Fitness Professionals to educate our clients on how to best maximize the proven benefits of HIIT while minimizing preventable injuries. With particularly high rates of knee and ankle sprains and strains, neuromuscular training and pre-strengthening programs, which have been previously demonstrated to be effective among young athletes, may be particularly worthwhile to those we train in our spheres of influence.
J Sports Med Phys Fitness. 2019 Feb 12