Risk factors of hand climbing‐related injuries

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the protective mechanisms or risk factors that can be related to the occurrence of hand climbing-related injuries (CRIH ). CRIH (tendon, pulley, muscle, and joint injuries) were retrospectively screened in 528 adult climbers. The questionnaire contained anthropometric items (e.g., body mass index - BMI), as well as items regarding climbing and basic training activities (warm-up, cool-down and session durations, number of session per week, hydration, practice level, climbing surface, and duration of the cardiovascular training). Higher skilled climbers and climbers with BMI above 21 kg/m(2) were more likely to have experienced CRIH (P < 0.01). Climbers with BMI above 20 kg/m(2) were more likely to have tendon injuries while those with a BMI above 21 kg/m(2) were more likely to have pulley injuries (P < 0.01). Skilled climbers, who climb more difficult routes, may use smaller grip size and a reduced number of fingers. Higher BMI will require a higher force to climb. Both high level and elevated BMI may increase the demands to the hands and fingers leading to CRIH . These risk factors are difficult to address as we cannot recommend the climbers to climb easier routes and decrease their BMI below 20 kg/m(2) .

Lean and mean? Associations of level of performance, chronic injuries and BMI in sport climbing

“…The literature on physiological demands in climbing and the risks for injury is growing 6–11. However, studies reporting BMI and risk for injuries in climbing do not distinguish between acute and chronic injuries.…”

A Finger in the Game: Sport-Specific Finger Strength Training and Onset of Injury

“…24,25 This together with methodological differences may explain why our results seem high compared with those of previous studies. 3,5,23 Injury prevention programs in sports, targeting neuromuscular training and its subsets, such as strength training, have been shown to be effective in various sports. 18,21 Strength training has been hypothesized to prevent injuries by strengthening adjacent tissues and thus reducing critical joint loads in addition to muscle strength improvements.…”

“…24,25 This together with methodological differences may explain why our results seem high compared with those of previous studies. 3,5,23…”

“…The data were analyzed in 3 parts: females only, males only, and combined. Groups of climbers with a longer career (≥6 y of climbing), climbers with a shorter career (<6 y of climbing), climbers with a higher level of performance (≥7a as in Lion et al 5 ), and climbers with a lower level of performance (<7a) were analyzed separately, as well as climbers who only did bouldering.…”

“…[2][3][4] More than 40% of chronic climbing injuries are finger injuries, and 67% of climbers have experienced a finger injury during the past 36 mo. 3,5 To our knowledge, there are no prior studies about the mechanisms of overuse injuries in climbing. In general, overuse injuries are often caused gradually by repetitive microtraumas.…”