How can climbers avoid poison ivy?
June 28, 2007
The scourge of many climbers, poison ivy is often a mystery to us. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve witnessed several climbers arguing amongst themselves at the crag over what is or what is not poison ivy. Three leaves someone says. Well, look around, every damn plant here has three leaves! To add fuel to the fire, I often like to interject “um, just what does poison oak look like?”
After the latest round of this confusion, I did some research and found this site simply titled Poison Ivy. Apparently, poison ivy can be different colors, have shiny or dull leaves, and grows in very different ways.
So, to answer the question posed in the title of this post, I have no idea now how to avoid this stuff. Suggestions?
Popularity: 13% [?]
Rock climbing not linked to arthritis
November 13, 2006
A University of Tennessee study has shown that rock climbing does not increase the risk of osteoarthritis in the hands and fingers (Forbes). This is good news for climbers because even if the reverse were true and climbing did cause arthritis, we wouldn’t stop climbing anyway…
The researchers compared 27 rock climbers and 35 non-climbers to determine if the long-term stress placed on the hand and finger bones of climbers caused changes associated with osteoarthritis.
The study also examined whether climbing intensity and frequency of different styles of climbing might influence changes in hand and finger bones.
“Radiographs of both hands were taken for each participant and were scored for radiographic signs of osteoarthritis using an atlas method,” researcher Adam Sylvester, of the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering at the university, said in a prepared statement.
“We compared 27 recreational rock climbers and 35 non-climbers for four measures of bone strength and dimensions and osteoarthritis. The results suggest that climbers are not at an increased risk of developing osteoarthritis compared with non-climbers,” Sylvester said.
He continued: “Climber’s finger and hand bones are, however, greater in cross-sectional area and total width, indicating that additional bone is being deposited on the external surface, not usually seen in adults. The strength of the finger and hand bones are correlated with styles of climbing that emphasize athletic difficulty. Significant predictors include the highest levels achieved in bouldering and sport climbing.”
The study was published in the November issue of the Journal of Anatomy.
Popularity: 4% [?]
Indoor climbing considered safer than soccer
October 8, 2006
A recent study found that indoor rock climbing has a low risk of injury and is 10 times safer than soccer. The study was published by the quarterly medical journal Wilderness and Environmental Medicine (PDF) by the Wilderness Medical Society.
From the scotsman.com,
The study by German researchers was based on the rates and types of injury at the 2005 World Championships in rock climbing in Munich, Germany, which involved almost 500 climbers from 55 countries.
The championships had an injury rate of 3.1 per 1,000 hours compared to adult male national soccer competitions where players face an injury rate of 30.3 per 1,000 hours.
Over the course of the competition’s events that totaled 520 climbing days, only three of 18 medical problems were treated as significant injuries, including a broken ankle, back sprain and knee sprain, while the majority of the problems were just bruises.
An interesting study for the average person who thinks climbing is more risky than other sports, but what I would be more interested in reading is a study that compares the injury rate within the various climbing disciplines. Personally, I find I get more injuries when climbing indoors (especially bouldering) compared to climbing outside. With bouldering, I think the reason is obvious. If you’re bouldering outside, all the problems are spread out across more time, usually the whole day. When bouldering indoors, a climber typically compress the same amount of problems (or more) into a 2 hour session. This simply stresses the body much more.
joost.climbing.nl also has some additional reporting on this study.
Popularity: 14% [?]
More on finger injuries in climbing
January 24, 2005
As a chronic sufferer of finger injuries, I’ve sought out the most effective ways of preventing injury while climbing. While I’ve read in numerous books about stretching the fingers and forearms, not much discussion has gone into the stretching of individual fingers. Most climbing training books advise to stretch the fingers as a group.
From my own personal, non-scientific studies over the past six months or so, I’ve found that stretching each finger individually has demonstrated noticeable gains. By gains I’m referring to faster recovery from aches and pains and lack of new injuries.
My actual routine (in addition to all other warm-up and training for climbing) involves stretching each individual finger on both hands three times a day. Every day. I take each finger, pull it back, and hold for approximately ten seconds. I then do three sets of these three times a day. Most climbers will probably not have to go to this much effort. But for those of us who have been hampered by finger injuries, this type of prevention may just be the ticket.
I’d be interested in hearing about anyone else’s struggles with finger injuries and its prevention. Please send me an email or preferably, comment below.
Popularity: 20% [?]
Hand Injuries in Rock Climbing
January 23, 2005
As a climber who has repeatedly suffered from finger and shoulder injuries, I’m always on the lookout for informative articles that allow me to understand the physiology of the body systems climbers are always pushing to the limits. It’s rare to find sport-specific information on hand and finger injuries. So, I was especially pleased when I stumbled across an article on Hand Injuries in Rock Climbing: Reaching the Right Treatment.
Published in The Physician and Sportsmedicine in May of 1997, doctors Jebson and Steyers take a detailed yet very understandable approach to hand injuries in climbing. Beginning with hand anatomy and the types of grip techniques climbers employ, the authors proceed to cover the full range of hand injuries. Of particular interest are the details on flexor tendon injuries and rupture of the A2 pulley. Judging from my experiences, these tend to be some of the more common climber injuries.
While this is a comprehensive article on the types and causes of hand and finger injuries, it’s disappointing to read only a single paragraph on prevention. Understandably, this was a paper on injuries; but with such a lack of medical information out there for climbing specific injuries, additional details on prevention would be greatly appreciated by the climbing community.
Popularity: 9% [?]
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