I’D BE INTERESTED IN HEARING MARK RIPPETOE’S TAKE ON THIS: Weightlifting Injuries Common for Deployed U.S. Troops.

UPDATE: Mark Rippetoe emails:

I looked at the full text of the paper. As you might guess, with the paper titled “Acute Pectoralis Major Tears in Forward Deployed Active Duty U.S. Military Personnel: A Population at Risk?” it is not about the larger topic of strength training but rather it’s a small review article that primarily deals with the surgical interventions. This, of course, does not prevent the authors from pondering the overwhelming threat posed by the most popular exercise in any gym in the United States except for mine, on the basis of 9 reported injuries. I strongly suspect that since 80% of these injuries were pec tendon avulsions at the humerus (not really pec tears at all), and since one of them occurred at 135 pounds (!), what you’re seeing here is a bunch of pre-inflamed tendon insertions — courtesy of the now-popular CrossFit training these military guys do — which decided to rupture on deployment.

1. How many pec tendon avulsions were treated in non-deployed troops? Statistics?

2. This injury is in fact uncommon, and I’d never seen one prior to CrossFit. An occasional pec belly rupture or partial rupture, like Bill Kazmeier’s back in the 80s, but not a tendon avulsion. How many of these guys had a history of CF or other high-rep ballistic shoulder work?

3. Look at this bizarre statement: “Due to the alarming frequency with which pectoralis major ruptures were diagnosed and treated at one expeditionary military treatment facility over a short four-month deployment cycle; combat deployed active duty US military personnel likely represent a high-risk population for this injury.”

Is an illogical conclusion now required for publication in medical journals?

It doesn’t hurt.