Climbing injuries and acupuncture
April 4, 2006
I stumbled across a provocative set of articles discussing the treatment of climbing injuries from an Eastern medical perspective (primarily using acupuncture). From Acupuncture Today, here are the links to these articles:
Treating Common Wrist and Finger Injuries and Integrating Medical Philosophies, Part One
Treating Common Wrist and Finger Injuries and Integrating Medical Philosophies, Part Two
I’m interested in hearing if anyone has tried using acupuncture to treat a climbing injury. Several years ago I tried acupuncture for a lingering finger injury and I did not have much success. I’ve been told, though, that acupuncture is highly dependent on the skills of the practitioner.
Popularity: 4% [?]
Back to writing
November 25, 2005
I’ve been missing in action for the past month or so primarily due to work demands. I also unfortunately injured my thumb bouldering and it still hasn’t quite healed yet. So, having not really been able to climb for over a month now has been driving me nuts. The worst part is that I missed some beautiful weather in late October at the New. The rest of my body definitely needed the rest though, so I should probably stop complaining and just be happy it wasn’t a worse injury. More frequent posting will start again!
Popularity: 12% [?]
Lactic Acid and Pumped Forearms
February 23, 2005
The forearm pump. Is there a climber who is not familiar with these awful words? Every climber has their own methods of attempting to reduce the lactic acid burn and pumped forearms. The 8a.nu site has an article putting a little science behind the madness.
Popularity: 3% [?]
More climbing finger injury information
February 1, 2005
Judging from the number of hits I’m seeing on my previous finger injury posts, it looks like this is a popular topic. Unfortunately, this likely mirrors how common finger injuries are with climbers. I recently found a site dedicated just to climbing injuries of the shoulders, elbows, and fingers called ClimbingInjuries.com. An informative site, what’s unique is that there’s no fluff. Climbing injuries and that’s all. Check the site out, especially if you’re not suffering from any ailments. Prevention is definitely the key.
Popularity: 8% [?]
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% [?]
Sign up to receive the latest breaking news and headlines!
Advertisement
