Trying hanging comfortably from a hangboard or pull-up bar, and performing leg lifts as if you were carefully placing your feet on the wall. Your legs and feet carry your body around all day long. Try supporting your body weight on your arms and hands, and most people last a few minutes at most. Get more out of your legs by allowing them to carry more of the load. Crouching and frogging positions are a great way to rest. On those overhanging routes, use your toes to “pull in” to the wall and create upward motion.
As climbing stresses the flexor tendons, inflammation is a normal biological response that promotes healing, growth, and progression, something all climbers desire. Tenosynovitis occurs with repetitive use from a significant increase in training volume or intensity. This is a sign that your body needs more rest and time to heal in order to adapt to the increased demand.
Table of Contents
Shoulder Injuries In Climbing
A further technique is Muscle Tension Release Therapy, (the use of a hard object such as a lacrosse ball to release trigger-points within the muscles). It makes sense to combine these effective techniques with static flexibility work on rest days as part of a wholistic routine. Ice and rest are the best treatments for minor tears. More serious tears could require medical attention, so after any injury it’s important to consult a doctor.
Don’t try to go fast or push through the injury to get back. What I mean by “do not stop working out” is that you should continue with your non-climbing activities if at all possible. Getting out of the habit of working out and taking a long time off of rest is a bad idea because it leads to quick deconditioning which will negatively affect you when coming back.
In both cases, the long-term treatment is to build balanced tendon strength. If you’re a dedicated climber, you need specialistrock climbing insurance. This protects you if you suffer an injury while climbing and require compensation, or if theequipmentyou use is lost, damaged or stolen. Although not targeted at rock climbers specifically, the below video from Overtime Athletes is also worth watching. Chris Barnard talks you through how to achieve ankle stability and demonstrates some simple movements which will help you do that. As for static stretches, there are a range that you can perform at home without equipment.
H-taping recommended for all climbing or progressive loading exercises. Since falling in bouldering is inevitable, try falling with both feet down at the same time. This can be difficult at certain angles, but you can have a spotter assist you if needed. Landing on both your feet at once allows the weight to be distributed throughout both ankles instead of all of your weight on one ankle. If you want to learn more about the three main types of crimp grips and how to train for them, check out this post .
Since then all I’ve pretty much done is research about climbing and climb whenever possible. When using a hold as a mantle, injuries can occur in the wrist. This is due to the wrist rotating while also being compressed on the hold. Climb with proper technique without digging your toes unnecessarily into the wall or onto a hold – this can cause damage to your toes/feet. If you jump down from the top of a climb regularly, or you just land wrong on your foot as you come down, there is a chance you can sprain or even break your ankle.
It was all going so well, you were making great progress on that next-level boulder project at the gym. You flowed through the lower moves, took the crucial left-hand crimp, built your feet, extended for the finishing jug and then …. A searing pain shot up your forearm, your finger felt limp and lifeless. You didn’t see the injury coming and left the gym clutching an ice pack, wondering what you could have done to avoid the catastrophe. A rotator cuff tear is another serious shoulder injury. As opposed to dislocation, it’s also possible to tear the muscles in your shoulder.
Its very difficult to judge when this is, but with some guidelines and experience , knowing when to get moving doesn’t have to be total guesswork. If there’s swelling, compression works better than ice for swelling. If there is pain, analgesics tend to work better than ice for pain. Justin Marsan has some good tips here on how to apply this for pulleys specifically.
How To Prevent A Climbing Injury In The Fingers
You’re going to need to take time off climbing until your fingers have healed. When easing back into climbing, stick to big jugs and other holds that avoid putting direct pressure on the injured finger. Taping these fingers while climbing during the healing process is an effective way to prevent worsening the injury. Using a flat edge such as the side of the table or counter edge, or use a no-hang device . Using all four fingers, gently pull on the edge just to the point of feeling pain over the pulley.
Unfortunately, surgery may be required if the tear is severe or if your body is not responding well to other treatment options. Even if you have spent the winter at an indoor climbing wall, if you are a serious rock climber, you are likely antsy to get out and start rock climbing. Whether the weather in your area allows for great rock climbing now or you still have a few weeks until it is warm enough to start climbing, now is a great time to begin preparing.
This allows for relative passive motion of the finger flexors. Flex the wrist, which will naturally allow the fingers to extend, and then extend the wrist, allow the fingers to naturally bend. This motion gently mobilizes your flexor tendons by putting them on slack and then tensioning them. When you land on your feet, keep your knees bent and if it is a high fall, let your weight roll onto your shoulders so that the impact on your ankles is minimized. As if controlling a roll on your fall isn’t hard enough, here is one more thing – don’t use your hands to catch yourself.
With all three injuries, you should stop climbing right away. The sooner you rest the injury, the less likely you will injure it more. If there is bruising or if the joint is unstable, see a doctor right away. If there is no bruising and the joint appears stable, you may be able to treat your injury at home.
Tendonitis is one of the most common rock climbing injuries. It occurs when you keep overexerting yourself without a proper warmup, rest, and care. Impact injuries occur when the climber falls onto another surface / ground or if an object falls on the climber. Non-impact climbing injuries stem from acute trauma, while chronic overuse injuries occur due to repetitive climbing. Finally, many climbing injuries occur when climbers go too-fast-too soon, and fail to build up the load-level gradually, or they train hard too much without sufficient recovery. Hang boarding is a great way to build finger strength, but start slow, and take it easy.
Strains, sprains and other injuriesare common among climbers, but they don’t have to be. Sign up forStrength Training For Injury Preventionwith Dr. Jared Vagy and you’ll learn the proper way to train, and be on your way to injury-free climbing. Surgical repair is recommended due to the increased risk of fixed flexion contractures, an inability to fully straighten the finger. You’ve done all this hard work over the past few days and weeks, and are itching to get back on the wall. The last time you tried hard seems like a distant memory. Before you throw yourself back into full training mode, emphasize these last steps to solidify your recovery.
English 
Romanian