Common Injuries Experienced by People Training for Hyrox – and How to Avoid Them 🏋️♂️🏃♂️
Hyrox is coming to Brisbane in 2026, and if you’re already eyeing up the start line, you’ve probably started ramping up your training.
With a mix of functional fitness movements like running, strength work, and high-intensity efforts, Hyrox is one of the most physically demanding events you can take on (not to mention the most difficult challenge - getting tickets!).
But with that challenge comes an increased risk of injury - especially if your body isn’t prepared for the unique demands of the race.
At Bison Osteo, we regularly assess, treat, and rehab clients training for multi-discipline events like Hyrox - whether you’re an elite athlete or a first-timer!
By understanding the most common injuries and how to prevent them, you can train smarter, stay pain-free, and perform at your best when Brisbane hosts the race in 2026.
1. Knee Pain (Runner’s Knee aka: Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome) 🏃♂️
Why it happens: The constant switching between running, lunges, sled pushes, and squats can place repetitive stress on the knee joint and surrounding tendons.
It’s not that these movements are ‘bad’ for the knee, but any training with high intensity consistently for long periods can impact these tissues!
Common signs:
Pain just below the kneecap
Stiffness after training
Discomfort during deep bends.
Prevention tips:
Strengthen quads, glutes, and hamstrings evenly.
Incorporate eccentric exercises (slow lowering) for tendon resilience.
Don’t ignore early signs — load management is key.
If you’re struggling to understand how to program your workouts to manage load… maybe you should consider a coach… like the ones available here at Bison Osteo. 😉
2. Shoulder Impingement and Rotator Cuff Strains (aka: Rotator Cuff-Related Shoulder Pain) 💪
Why it happens: Movements like wall balls, sled pulls, and farmer’s carries involve repetitive overhead or heavy carrying loads, which can irritate the rotator cuff and shoulder tendons when training with high intensities for extended periods of time.
(Notice the theme? It’s not the ‘movements’ themselves that cause injury, it’s the mismanagement of how often and how hard we do them for when factored in with other things in our life like stress, nutrition and sleep! 😣🍎💤 )
Common signs:
Pain when lifting your arm above shoulder height
Pain when pressing like during the broad burpee jump’s and wall balls.
Weakness, clicking or catching sensations.
Prevention tips:
Prioritise shoulder mobility and stability work.
Train your rotator cuff muscles through all of the ranges of motion (external rotation drills, scapular control exercises).
Don’t ignore early signs — load management is key…
Hey, hold on…. I swear I heard this before….
3. Lower Back Pain (Strains, Disc-related injuries) 😫
Why it happens: Sled pushes, carries, and lifting movements place large demands on spinal stability. Fatigue, along with a multitude of other factors impacting your ability to recover, can overload the lower back.
Despite how painful low back pain can be, it is rarely serious or long-lasting.
Common signs:
Tightness, aching, or sharp pain during or after lifting/running.
Pain referring into the hips, buttocks, legs or even calves/feet
Prevention tips:
Strengthen areas like your hips and core using compound movements.
TRAIN YOUR LOWER BACK!
A lot of people neglect lumbar strengthening exercises out of fear of hurting their back, but the low back is extremely robust and adaptable and if you gradually progress exercises that train it, it can and will get even stronger!
Focus on keeping your technique at a high-standard and avoid “rushing” heavy reps under fatigue.
Schedule recovery days and mobility work.
Wait, isn’t this just ‘load management’ with extra words?
4. Plantar Fasciitis & Foot/Ankle Pain 🦶
Why it happens: High running volume combined with explosive sled work and lunges can place a lot of stress on the plantar fascia in the foot. Any limitations in how the big toe, foot, ankle or knee moves may impact it’s function dramatically.
Common signs:
Sharp heel pain, especially in the morning getting out of bed or after sitting.
Finding yourself limping less than half way into your workouts.
Swelling or bruising around the front or sides of the ankle.
Prevention tips:
Wear supportive footwear designed for both running and lifting.
This doesn’t need to be expensive, custom-made orthotics despite what some people may tell you. It needs to be comfortable and preferably have some level of shock absorption. That’s about it.
Mobilise and strengthen your calves and foot muscles.
Gradually build running distance and intensity.
Strategically building load as training goes on… that sounds like management of load doesn’t it? Hmmm…. 🤔
5. Elbow Tendonitis (Tennis/Golfer’s Elbow) 🎾🏸
Why it happens: Heavy grip demands from farmer’s carries, rowers, and ski-ERG’s can occasionally irritate the tendons of the forearm.
Common signs:
Pain on the inside or outside of the elbow, possibly radiating down to the hand.
Reduced grip strength.
Pain with heavy gripping or pushing/pressing exercises
Prevention tips:
Mix grip positions during training.
Useful for when some pain has already begun, but I wouldn’t recommend this as a preventative strategy as the continual switching of grip doesn’t allow for consistency in training.
(ie: the exercise will feel different every time you do it, if every time you do it you do it different)
Strengthen wrist extensors and flexors.
Mobilise tissues in the forearm
Avoid sudden spikes in volume for grip-heavy exercises.
Don’t say it… don’t say it… don’t say it….
We have coaches here at Bison Osteo to help guide you through load management.
Damn it, sorry.
How Bison Osteo Can Help Hyrox Athletes
Whether you’re training for Hyrox Brisbane 2026 for the first time or chasing a personal best, staying injury-free should be as much of a priority as improving your race time.
At Bison Osteo, we:
Assess movement patterns and identify injury risk factors.
Treat pain and injuries with hands-on osteopathy, dry needling, and other manual therapies.
Rehab with targeted exercise programs tailored to your sport.
Support your training plan so you can keep progressing without losing time to injury.
Book Your Hyrox Injury Assessment
If you’re feeling a niggle, struggling with mobility, or want to bulletproof your body before Brisbane 2026, now is the time to act.
✅ Book an appointment today at Bison Osteo and we’ll get you moving pain-free and ready to tackle Hyrox head-on.
