ROGUE 2024 INJURY NOTES

Injury is an unavoidable in sport.   Competitive sport without injury risk is not sport at all.  At Rogue 2024, two athletes suffered torn Achilles tendons on the same test.   I wish Henrik and Gabi a speedy recovery, and I hope to see them compete again soon.   When two elite competitors are injured in the same way during the same workout, it’s worth a closer look.

The initial diagnosis was that rebounding jumps on an obstacle caused the injuries.   The event organizers changed the event to burpees over the obstacle, to eliminate rebound jumps.  However, I am less certain that rebounding jumps were the primary reason for the injuries.   Gabi did not use the rebounding technique in her first round; you can see her heat here: 

https://www.youtube.com/live/lT1A-lWglUw?si=2Ukw4ozoibwwOsIC&t=22361

She did rebound in Round 2, as did Henrik.   Both Henrik and Gabi rebounded on fewer than 10 jumps. Furthermore, athletes braced themselves using their upper body. This bracing would reduce the load borne by their feet / ankles / Achilles

Athletes were braced for the rebounds.

Perhaps a small number of (partially supported) rebounding jumps was not the primary stressor leading to injury.  An alternative explanation is that the sled pushes created conditions in which Achilles tendon injury would be more likely.   

SOME BACKGROUND

Sprints provide a useful biomechanical reference point to understand the stresses of a moderate sled push. In sprints, the first stride is the stride in which the front leg contacts the ground after leaving the blocks.   Here is an example of elite sprinters’ first stride:

Their forward lean maximizes acceleration by increasing the horizontal component of ground reaction force. This causes negative foot strike, where the athlete’s foot contacts the ground behind the athlete’s center of mass.  Negative foot strike increases stress on the Achilles tendon, because the foot is dorsiflexed (toes closer to shin) at ground contact.   This lengthens the Achilles tendon, which then must transition immediately and powerfully to plantar flexion.   

EXTRA STRESS

Acceleration requires maximal force production and maximal rate of force development.  While force remains high during every stride of a sprint, the ground reaction force becomes increasingly vertical as the sprinter transitions from a forward lean to an upright posture.    

The first stride imposes the greatest stress on the Achilles tendon due to the need for maximal force production in minimum time, a greater dorsiflexion angle, and high horizontal ground reaction forces.  The rapid loading and unloading of the Achilles, plus the rapid transition from dorsiflexion to plantar flexion, is a significant stressor. 

The use of a moderately loaded sled mimics the first stride of the sprint. Whereas sprinters transition to a vertical stride, the athletes at Rogue experienced the stress of the first stride with every step.  This aggregate stress likely created conditions where the risk of injury was elevated, and unfortunately, two athletes were hurt on the rebounding jumps.   It is possible that moderately loaded high intensity sled pushes exacerbated the risk of this injury.

 

The elite athlete paradox

It is possible that exceptional work capacity increases the potential for an injury like this.   Most recreational athletes – “regular people”- will experience a substantial slowdown as the workout progresses.   Sled pushes slow to a jog or a walk, reducing the forces applied and the injury risk.  Competitors like Gabi and Henrik can sustain high work rates, and are subject to greater forces for longer durations.   Despite their fitness, their injury risk may be higher.

 

Thoughts and guidelines to minimize future Achilles injuries

  • Athletes looking to compete at a high level must develop work capacity in this modality.   Moderately loaded sleds are  “in bounds” for a high-level fitness test such as Rogue.  Sleds and hill sprints are invaluable for this.     

  • For event organizers looking to reduce risk, a much heavier sled would increase the demand for force, but lower the stress on the Achilles tendon, as there would be no rapid loading and unloading. 

  • Recreational athletes (“the rest of us”) should be mindful of the total load and the type of loading on their Achilles tendons.  A push sled is a wonderful implement, but as with anything else, build capacity gradually.    Hill walks are a great place to start if you’re unaccustomed to this sort of stress.   Build to hill runs, unweighted sleds, and then add weight. 

  • Coaches of recreational athletes should recognize and implement training protocols which strengthen the Achilles tendon at stress levels appropriate for those athletes.

Injuries will always be part of the game, which means that the quest for injury reduction and avoidance is always part of our job description as coaches and athletes.

Questions? Comments? Think we’re way off-base? Let us know. coach@thegainslab.com or IG @ thegainslab1.