No matter how careful we are when moving from point A to point B, we're bound to mess up at one point (or two, or three) during our parkour journey. Here are five of common injuries that, if you haven't suffered through yet, you probably will eventually.
You might be thinking, "Pfft, you can't call that a parkour injury, Brooke. Let's be real." Let me clarify. I'm not talking about that pitiful "Oh, the skin on my hands starting peeling after a lache." I'm talking bloody palms worthy of a mad barbarian from rips deep enough to make you shudder at the sight of bars for at least two weeks (and hand sanitizer. Don't even get me started.)
If you're new to parkour, don't be scared off by this list. When you train responsibly, you reduce your risks significantly, although some small injuries are pretty much unpredictable. In the end, minor injuries are just the risk we take for playing around and being active. The trade-off is worth it.
So go out, have fun, and try not to get hurt today!
1. Shinners
We all know this one. It's the time we fell just short of precision jump we were sure we had, got at least one shin permanently branded by that sharp ledge, and totally pretended like nothing happened around the rest of our crew, although we were rolling on the floor crying inside. Well, let's just call it a "rite of passage" to make ourselves feel a little better about the nastiness that is "the shinner." |
| Freerunner Stefanno "Fanno" De Lira not getting injured |
2. Callous Rips
You might be thinking, "Pfft, you can't call that a parkour injury, Brooke. Let's be real." Let me clarify. I'm not talking about that pitiful "Oh, the skin on my hands starting peeling after a lache." I'm talking bloody palms worthy of a mad barbarian from rips deep enough to make you shudder at the sight of bars for at least two weeks (and hand sanitizer. Don't even get me started.)3. Knee Bangs
The funny thing about this one: sometimes, you barely feel anything when your knee grazes the ledge, and then a few minutes later, your knee is purple and the size of a grapefruit. Common culprits include kong vaults, landings gone wrong, kong vaults, various types of bails, kong vaults, speeds, and... probably kong vaults.4. Ankle Rolls
Whether it's just a tweak from landing a little bit weird or a full-blown ankle sprain, we all eventually face that moment of pure terror knowing that we'll be out of training for at least a few weeks (or we'll be training anyway, knowing it's a really, really bad idea.)5. Bruised Palms
This is just one of those annoying little injuries that you don't ever think about or expect, and then it happens. Most of the time, you won't see much aside from some blood blisters under the skin, but you still feel that irritating tenderness in the soft part of your palm. This can be from slapping your hands down on those kong vaults (shame on you!) or instinctively bracing yourself against the concrete during a fall.The Truth About Parkour Injuries...
Right now, you might be thinking about toe sprains, finger sprains, elbow tweaks, and a host of other injuries I didn't mention. Truth is, there are a multitude of possible little (or not so little) injuries that may plague us over the course of our lives as parkour athletes. These are just some of the most common, from what I've seen.If you're new to parkour, don't be scared off by this list. When you train responsibly, you reduce your risks significantly, although some small injuries are pretty much unpredictable. In the end, minor injuries are just the risk we take for playing around and being active. The trade-off is worth it.
So go out, have fun, and try not to get hurt today!
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