Climbing injuries

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Injuries in rock climbing may occur due to overuse or falls (see Sports injury). However, injuries due to falls are relatively uncommon; the vast majority of injuries result from overuse, most often occurring in the fingers, elbows, and shoulders. [1] Such injuries are often no worse than torn calluses, cuts, burns and bruises. But overuse symptoms, if ignored, may lead to permanent damage (esp. to tendons, tendon sheaths, ligaments, and joint capsules).

Contents

Risk groups

The climbers most prone to overuse injuries are intermediate to expert within lead climbing or bouldering, since these disciplines are the most athletic in nature. [2]

Overuse injuries in climbing

In terms of overuse injuries a British study found that: [3]

One injury that tend to be very common among climbers is Carpal tunnel syndrome. It is found in about 25% of climbers. [4]

Finger injuries

604 injured rock climbers were prospectively evaluated from January 1998 to December 2001, due to the rapid growth of new complex finger trauma in the mid-1980s. Of the most frequent injuries, three out of four were related to the fingers: pulley injuries accounted for 20%, tendovaginitis for 7%, and joint capsular damage for 6.1%. [5]

Pulleys

Damage to the flexor tendon pulleys that encircle and support the tendons that cross the finger joints is the most common finger injury within the sport (see climber's finger). [4] The main culprit for pulley related injuries is the common crimp grip, especially in the closed position. The crimp grip requires a near ninety-degree flexion of the middle finger joint, which produces a tremendous force load on the A2 pulley. Injuries to the A2 pulley can range from microscopic to partial tears and, in the worst case, complete ruptures. Some climbers report hearing a pop, which might be a sign of a significant tear or complete rupture, during an extremely heavy move (e.g. tiny crimp, one- or two-finger pocket). Small partial tears, or inflammation can occur over the course of several sessions. [6]

  • Grade I – Sprain of the finger ligaments (collateral ligaments), pain locally at the pulley, pain when squeezing or climbing.
  • Grade II – Partial rupture of the pulley tendon. Pain locally at the pulley, pain when squeezing or climbing, possible pain while extending your finger.
  • Grade III – Complete rupture of the pulley, causing bowstringing of the tendon. Symptoms can include: Pain locally at the pulley (usually sharp), may feel/hear a 'pop' or 'crack', swelling and possible bruising, pain when squeezing or climbing, pain when extending your finger, pain with resisted flexion of the finger. [7]

Climbers recovering from pulley injuries rely on the RICE protocol: Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. Sufficient rest, ice to reduce swelling, compression for support, and hand elevation collectively foster an ideal healing environment. [8]

Knuckle

  • Stress fractures
  • Collateral ligament injuries

Shoulder injuries

Shoulder related injuries include rotator cuff tear, strain or tendinitis, biceps tendinitis and SLAP lesion. [9]

Elbow injuries

Tennis elbow (Lateral Epicondylitis) is a common elbow injury among climbers, as is Golfer's elbow (Medial Epicondylitis, which is similar, but occurs on the inside of the elbow).[ citation needed ]

Calluses, dry skin

Climbers often develop calluses on their fingers from regular contact with the rock and the rope. When calluses split open they expose a raw layer of skin that can be very painful. This type of injury is commonly referred to as a flapper.

The use of magnesium carbonate (chalk) for better grip dries out the skin and can often lead to cracked and damaged hands [10]

There are a number of skincare products available for climbers that help to treat calluses, moisturize dry hands, and reduce recovery time.

Young/adolescent climbers

"Any finger injury that is sustained by a young adolescent (12–16) should be seen by a physician and have x-rays performed. These skeletally immature athletes are very susceptible to developing debilitating joint arthritis later in adulthood." [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Repetitive strain injury</span> Muscular, skeletal, or nerve injury due to repetitive actions

A repetitive strain injury (RSI) is an injury to part of the musculoskeletal or nervous system caused by repetitive use, vibrations, compression or long periods in a fixed position. Other common names include repetitive stress injury, repetitive stress disorders, cumulative trauma disorders (CTDs), and overuse syndrome.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tendinopathy</span> Inflammation of the tendon

Tendinopathy is a type of tendon disorder that results in pain, swelling, and impaired function. The pain is typically worse with movement. It most commonly occurs around the shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, knee, or ankle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shoulder problem</span> Medical condition

Shoulder problems including pain, are one of the more common reasons for physician visits for musculoskeletal symptoms. The shoulder is the most movable joint in the body. However, it is an unstable joint because of the range of motion allowed. This instability increases the likelihood of joint injury, often leading to a degenerative process in which tissues break down and no longer function well.

Bicep curls are a group of weight training exercises in which a person bends their arm towards their body at the elbow in order to make their biceps stronger.

A soft tissue injury is the damage of muscles, ligaments and tendons throughout the body. Common soft tissue injuries usually occur from a sprain, strain, a one-off blow resulting in a contusion or overuse of a particular part of the body. Soft tissue injuries can result in pain, swelling, bruising and loss of function.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rotator cuff tear</span> Shoulder injury

Rotator cuff tendinopathy is a process of senescence. The pathophysiology is mucoid degeneration. Most people develop rotator cuff tendinopathy within their lifetime.

Epicondylitis is the inflammation of an epicondyle or of adjacent tissues. Epicondyles are on the medial and lateral aspects of the elbow, consisting of the two bony prominences at the distal end of the humerus. These bony projections serve as the attachment point for the forearm musculature. Inflammation to the tendons and muscles at these attachment points can lead to medial and/or lateral epicondylitis. This can occur through a range of factors that overuse the muscles that attach to the epicondyles, such as sports or job-related duties that increase the workload of the forearm musculature and place stress on the elbow. Lateral epicondylitis is also known as “Tennis Elbow” due to its sports related association to tennis athletes, while medial epicondylitis is often referred to as “golfer's elbow.”

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nintendo thumb</span> Injury caused by video games

Nintendo thumb, also known as gamer's thumb and similar names, is a form of repetitive strain injury (RSI) caused by excessive playing of video games with the traditional Nintendo controller. This injury mainly occurs due to repeated thumb movements while playing video games. The symptoms can include blistering, paraesthesia, as well as swelling of the thumbs, though any finger can be affected. This can lead to stress on tendons, nerves, and ligaments in the hands, and further onto lateral epicondylitis, tendinitis, bursitis, and carpal tunnel syndrome. Similar injuries can occur with other gaming systems, such as PlayStation thumb from playing Sony PlayStation. The general recommendation for the treatment is to rest and stop the repetitive motion of the affected finger. In more severe and painful cases, using NSAIDs is also recommended.

The knee examination, in medicine and physiotherapy, is performed as part of a physical examination, or when a patient presents with knee pain or a history that suggests a pathology of the knee joint.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golfer's elbow</span> Tendon inflammation disease of the elbow

Golfer's elbow, or medial epicondylitis, is tendinosis of the medial common flexor tendon on the inside of the elbow. It is similar to tennis elbow, which affects the outside of the elbow at the lateral epicondyle. The tendinopathy results from overload or repetitive use of the arm, causing an injury similar to ulnar collateral ligament injury of the elbow in "pitcher's elbow".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Musculoskeletal injury</span> Damage of muscular or skeletal systems

Musculoskeletal injury refers to damage of muscular or skeletal systems, which is usually due to a strenuous activity and includes damage to skeletal muscles, bones, tendons, joints, ligaments, and other affected soft tissues. In one study, roughly 25% of approximately 6300 adults received a musculoskeletal injury of some sort within 12 months—of which 83% were activity-related. Musculoskeletal injury spans into a large variety of medical specialties including orthopedic surgery, sports medicine, emergency medicine and rheumatology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elbow</span> Joint between the upper and lower parts of the arm

The elbow is the region between the upper arm and the forearm that surrounds the elbow joint. The elbow includes prominent landmarks such as the olecranon, the cubital fossa, and the lateral and the medial epicondyles of the humerus. The elbow joint is a hinge joint between the arm and the forearm; more specifically between the humerus in the upper arm and the radius and ulna in the forearm which allows the forearm and hand to be moved towards and away from the body. The term elbow is specifically used for humans and other primates, and in other vertebrates it is not used. In those cases, forelimb plus joint is used.

The hand is a very complex organ with multiple joints, different types of ligament, tendons and nerves. Hand disease injuries are common in society and can result from excessive use, degenerative disorders or trauma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Median nerve palsy</span> Medical condition

Injuries to the arm, forearm or wrist area can lead to various nerve disorders. One such disorder is median nerve palsy. The median nerve controls the majority of the muscles in the forearm. It controls abduction of the thumb, flexion of hand at wrist, flexion of digital phalanx of the fingers, is the sensory nerve for the first three fingers, etc. Because of this major role of the median nerve, it is also called the eye of the hand. If the median nerve is damaged, the ability to abduct and oppose the thumb may be lost due to paralysis of the thenar muscles. Various other symptoms can occur which may be repaired through surgery and tendon transfers. Tendon transfers have been very successful in restoring motor function and improving functional outcomes in patients with median nerve palsy.

Climber's finger is one of the most common climbing injuries within the sport of rock climbing, accounting for about 30% of finger injuries seen in climbers. It is an overuse injury that usually manifests in a swollen middle or ring finger due to a damaged flexor tendon pulley, normally the A2 or A4 pulley. It is particularly common after a repeated utilization of small holds. Continued climbing on an injured finger may result in increased downtime in order to recover. The injury was first described in 1988 by Dr. S.R. Bollen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ulnar collateral ligament injury of the elbow</span> Medical condition

Ulnar collateral ligament injuries can occur during certain activities such as overhead baseball pitching. Acute or chronic disruption of the ulnar collateral ligament result in medial elbow pain, valgus instability, and impaired throwing performance. There are both non-surgical and surgical treatment options.

Yergason's test is a special test used for orthopedic examination of the shoulder and upper arm region, specifically the biceps tendon.

The most common injuries in the sport of cricket occur in the lower back, thighs, shoulders, and hands. They can be classified as direct injuries or indirect injuries. Direct injuries are due to impact with the cricket ball, bat, or ground. Indirect injuries occur mostly due to repetitive movement causing overuse of muscles. Fast bowlers have the highest injury prevalence rate followed by batsmen.

Muscle strain is one of the most common injuries in tennis. When an isolated large-energy appears during the muscle contraction and at the same time, bodyweight applies huge amounts of pressure to the lengthened muscle, which can result in the occurrence of muscle strain. Inflammation and bleeding are triggered when muscle strain occur which resulted in redness, pain and swelling. Overuse is also common in tennis players from all levels. Muscle, cartilage, nerves, bursae, ligaments and tendons may be damaged from overuse. The repetitive use of a particular muscle without time for repair and recover in the most common case among the injury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biceps tendon rupture</span> Complete or partial rupture of a tendon of the biceps brachii muscle

A biceps tendon rupture or bicep tear is a complete or partial rupture of a tendon of the biceps brachii muscle. It can affect any of the three biceps brachii tendons - the proximal tendon of the short head of the muscle belly, the proximal tendon of the long head of the muscle belly, or the distal tendon. The characteristic finding of a biceps tendon rupture is the Popeye sign. Patients often report an audible pop at the time of injury as well as pain, bruising, and swelling. Provocative physical exam maneuvers to assess for a rupture include Ludington's test, Hook test, and the Ruland biceps squeeze test. Treatment and prognosis are highly dependent on the site of the injury described in further detail below.

References

  1. ↑ Hörst, Eric J. (2003). Training for Climbing: The Definitive Guide to Improving Your Climbing. Guilford, Connecticut, Helena, Montana: Falcon Publishing. p. 151. ISBN   0-7627-2313-0.
  2. ↑ Wright, D. M.; Royle, T. J.; Marshall, T (2001). "Indoor rock climbing: who gets injured?" (PDF). British Journal of Sports Medicine. 35 (3). Br J Sports Med: 181–5. doi:10.1136/bjsm.35.3.181. PMC   1724320 . PMID   11375878. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2011. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
  3. ↑ article by: Doran, D. A.; Reay, M. (2000). "Injuries and associated training and performance characteristics in recreational rock climbers". The Science of Rock Climbing and Mountaineering (A collection of scientific articles). Human Kinetics Publishing. ISBN   0-7360-3106-5.
  4. 1 2 Preston, Dayton. "Rock Climbing Reaching New Heights". Hughston health alert. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
  5. ↑ Schöffl, V.; Hochholzer, T.; Winkelmann, H.P.; Strecker, W. (Summer 2003). "Pulley injuries in rock climbers". Wilderness Environ Med. 14 (2). Wilderness & environmental medicine: 94–100. doi: 10.1580/1080-6032(2003)014[0094:piirc]2.0.co;2 . PMID   12825883.
  6. ↑ Hörst, Eric J (2008). "Finger Tendon Pulley Injury". Nicros. Archived from the original on 16 March 2009. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
  7. ↑ Roseborrough, Aimee; Roseborrough, Kyle (2009). "DIAGNOSIS: Pulleys" . Retrieved 11 January 2011.
  8. ↑ "Decoding Climbing Pulley Injury: Causes, Symptoms, and Solutions". 2023-11-15. Retrieved 2023-12-04.
  9. ↑ Roseborrough, Aimee; Roseborrough, Kyle (2009). "Climbing Injuries: Shoulders" . Retrieved 11 January 2011.
  10. ↑ "Hand cream for rock climbers". Kletter Retter. Archived from the original on February 6, 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  11. ↑ Edell, David (24 October 2009). "Finger Injuries" . Retrieved 11 January 2011.
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