Description
“An amazing resource for rehabilitating climbing injury. Practical and easy to use. A must have book.”
-Sasha DiGiulian, World Champion Climber
“A go-to resource for any climber who is serious about preventing injury and improving their longevity. In-depth, informative and well researched. It’s already helped me.”
-Jonathan Siegrist, 5.15b Professional Climber
What topics are covered in the book
The book includes climbing specific injury prevention and rehabilitation protocols for the neck, shoulders, biceps, triceps, elbows, wrists and fingers. In addition, it covers topics such as proper warm-up routines, daily prevention exercises, core strength programs, mindful movement patterns, mind/body balance, nerve glides and more.
Should I buy the “Rock Rehab” videos with the book?
If you are a visual learner, the videos can be a helpful supplement to the book. The videos demonstrate the same exercise protocols in the book, but take you through each in greater detail. The “Rock Rehab” videos also have additional dirtbag tips and technique recommendations that are not available in the book. The “Rock Rehab” videos are a separate product but can be purchased at a $10 discount with the book by entering “combo” at checkout when both items are in your cart.
Click here to view the “Rock Rehab” video product page.
Shipping times:
Shipping arrival time throughout the United States is currently 3-7 business days from order purchase.
What is the return policy?
There is a 30-Day Money Back Guarantee. If you are not satisfied with this product for any reason, email returns@theclimbingdoctor.com with your order number to process a refund.
If I purchased the book on Amazon or at a retail location, can I still receive $10 off the Rock Rehab Videos?
Yes, just email your purchase order or receipt along with your request to info@theclimbingdoctor.com and you will be issued a single use coupon to receive the Rock Rehab Videos at the discounted price.
Editorial Reviews
“A deep, thorough and necessary guide. Combining text, photos and illustrations, it highlights science and anatomy backed methods for climbing safely and strengthening the body against common injuries.”
– Climbing Magazine
“An impressive book – very organized, descriptive, practical, and remarkably well designed and illustrated. I certainly recommend it.”
– Eric Hörst, international best-selling author and founder of Training for Climbing
“Climb Injury Free is an incredible resource that belongs on every serious climber’s shelf. Jared Vagy is world renowned for his understanding of climbing injuries and this guide unveils his most effective preventative and rehabilitative treatments for avoiding and fixing those nagging issues that always arise and the more serious ones we hope to avoid. Read this book and climb worry-free!”
– Mike Anderson, author of The Rock Climber’s Training Manual and developer of The Rock Prodigy Training Method
“As a coach of young and developing competition climbers, it is important for me to include an injury prevention program in the yearly training plan. I am continuously referring to Climb Injury-Free for exercises and ideas on how to keep the athletes I work with on the wall instead of on the physio’s table.”
– Chris Neve, Canada Youth Climbing National Team Head Coach
“Jared Vagy is a master of injury prevention and assessment in climbers. Climb Injury-Free is a simple and clear tool to help climbers assess and address injuries on their own.”
– Steve Bechtel, author of Logical Progression and founder of Climb Strong
kevin.allen –
I was constantly injured for my first 10 years of climbing. Since I discovered and started to use Dr. Jared Vagy’s warm up and injury prevention exercises I have been injury free. My climbing level has went up by a full number grade, and I feel stronger than ever. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking to improve their health and climb stronger.
Jeff Morrison –
A comprehensive overview of common and some less common climbing injuries with specific strategies for how to rehab them. I think the best thing about the book is the rehab “pyramid” – but you have to actually follow it. I’m dealing with a pernicious finger injury, and I followed advice from a podcast, and was too aggressive, and prolonged my recovery time. When he says step 1 is dealing with pain, and step 2 is mobility, you really have to actually do it. I didn’t, and things got worse; then I did, and things are getting better. Climbers don’t like steps 1 and 2 and want to skip to step 3. Don’t do it.
The other thing is, though the book is super useful for all kinds of common problems, Dr. Vagy *in this very book* (and the other climbing PT’s like Esther Smith) tell you to go get checked by a doc or specialist, which you should definitely do. The book doesn’t cover every possibile injury, and there are lots of subtleties to climbing injuries, especially in the fingers and shoulders, that an expert needs to help you sort out. That said, this book helps you take control of your own recovery by giving you very detailed info you can bring into discussions with a health care practitioner, and gives you proven and effective exercises to supplement what a PT unfamiliar with climbing might give you. It’s a knowledge is power kind of thing, which is great.
I also really appreciated the breakdown of different kinds of tape for different purposes, and all the various taping techniques. It was very clear and logical, much more so than any other climbing resource on taping that I’ve ever seen.
I think the book is best used in concert with Dr. Vagy’s many podcast appearances on Training Beta and the Power Company Podcast and blog posts on his own website. These interviews and articles give a lot of useful flavor and context to the info in the book. I can’t speak to the videos, but I imagine they could be very useful.
Finally, my specific finger injury was not covered in the book. I contacted Dr. Vagy and I actually heard back from him with some recommendations and a promise that info about that injury would be forthcoming. So great! The author is involved, responsive, continues to innovate, and really cares about his subject – and also his subjectS – which is to say, us.
Remy Franklin (verified owner) –
Whether you’re injured or being smart about prevention, this is a great resource that every climber should have. Jared is one of the most knowledgeable climbing injury specialists out there and this book is a synthesis of the must-know rehab/prevention exercises for the most common injuries. It’s well organized and very clear. A great intro to common climbing injuries or a useful synthesis for those who already know a lot. [Remy Franklin – 5.14 climber of 10 yrs]
Giorgos Aliferis (verified owner) –
I believe this is an absolute-must-have handbook for every climber who wants learn how to treat and avoid climbing injuries. I have been an avid multi-discipline rock climber for 24 years and a certified rock climbing instructor for 15 years. For the last 3 years I have been working at an indoor bouldering wall and quite often I come across the all-too-common ignorant climber with sore shoulder, elbow or finger. Unfortunately “ignorant” does not translate to “beginner”.
Dr. Vagy’s book deals exactly with this subject. How to treat and most importantlty AVOID the injuries that literally plague our sport. First of all, it is quite specific and “to the point”. Apart from that, the Rock-Rehab pyramid section is really well-put and applied on every injury, However, what stands out is Chapter 2, which presents a highly-customizeable method for injury prevention that everybody can tailor to their needs. I also higly recommend purchasing the videos with the book. The two complement each other.
All in all, Dr. Vagy’s “Climb Injury-Free” is a go-to resource for both the amateur who actually cares for his/her longevity as a climber and the professional. The doctor, himself, is responsive and really polite. There was a serious delay with the delivery of the copy I had ordered. When I informed him about the incident, he immediately expedited another one. From all point of view, 5/5 stars!
Joshua Waldrep –
One of the best investments I ever made. I luckily purchased the book in the 2nd year of my climbing.
Matt Desenberg –
Overall, the book is terrific. Well-written, concise when needed but also detailed. The volume is broken down into easy-to-navigate sections that are injury/ailment specific and information is presented in the prescribed treatment order. One of the best features is that each exercise, stretch, etc. has a “What it Does” section where it clearly outlines exactly what you are treating, how and why. A central theme of the book is also the importance of movement and technique as not only the method to achieve the best results as a climber, but also it’s importance of staying healthy. One of the best parts of the overall resource are the videos available on Dr. Vagy’s website and the ability to reach out to him for possible clarification.
The one improvement I would say would be that some of the seemingly more complicated injuries/body parts are given equal space to the more minor ones. While not to belittle the many possible injuries and impingements that can occur, I would have liked to have seen more information, depth, and resources concerning the shoulder versus something like the neck. I recently had surgery to repair my labrum, a relatively common climbing injury, and this aspect of the shoulder isn’t specifically addressed. The book does, however, give detailed information on shoulder impingement and rotator cuff issues, both of which can be related to labrum issues.
Josh Chang –
It took getting injured for me to look into rehab and proper techniques to prevent further injury. The techniques in this book make sense, and seem to be working thus far. Buy it, read it, practice it, and don’t get injured. Happy sending!
Olaf Panozzo –
Great work! This book is really thorough in explaining simple-yet-effective self-treating protocols for the most common climbing injuries. It helps you to self-diagnose the problem, and then take you on a step by step approach to all the stages of rehabilitation. A plus is the fact that it gives you all the dirtbag substitutes to the main rehab tools you may need.
Definitely worth the money.
Fabian (verified owner) –
I am very grateful I found this masterpiece of a book. It really helped me to recover from my issues with my fingers hurting and getting injured at least one time a year. I managed to integrate the daily antagonist routine into my regular morning routine. All the exercises are well-explained, togethter with the pictures and videos it fits the need of every level of climbing experience. The newsletter and additional exercides are a very nice bonus :)
Would totally buy it again and also recommended it to my friends
Greetings from Germany
Frank Lee –
“Climbing Injury-Free” by Dr, Jared Vagy was a game changer for me.
My shoulder injuries occurred while I was indoor climbing. After taking 4 weeks off from all exercise except for walking, my shoulder pain and limited range of motion were still there. I researched on the internet till I found and purchased Dr. Vagy’s book and videos. The book allowed me to self-diagnose the problem, shoulder impingement. I followed the stretches outlined for this injury and progressed to doing the strengthening exercises listed for this particular injury. I am now pain-free and have my range in motion back.
The book not only helps to diagnose the different climbing injuries and how to rehabilitate them but also offers a chapter on Injury Prevention to help prevent their reoccurrence.
Francesco Sonni –
The book Climb Injury-free is a great and very helpful work by Dr Vagy that every climber should read! It’s very clear and simple to read, with many illustrations and clear explanations of exercises. With few euros more, you can see the correct tecnique with many videos of the exercises.
I’m a PT and climbing coach, and in my experience this work is a very important complementary tool for me, that support me continuosly during the climbing teaching and PT activity, as well as during my personal climbing injuries. I’ve experimented that the directions and guide lines of the book work very well in treatment and prevention of climbing injuries.
mark deanda –
Im a physical therapist, and I have found this book as an excellent resource and guide to heal your body from rock climbing injuries. Dr Vagy has do an excellent job with breaking down each possible climbing injury and explaining an excellent proven process to get you out of pain and on the wall again. Thank you Dr Vagy.
Mattia –
I have almost every book on the market for rehab, but this is the most important one in my collection. It’s the most complete and clear book to understand. Dr. Vagy does a perfect job of making an easy to read guide for any person that wants to listen to their body and try to react with consciousness. But the most beautiful thing is that it’s not just about healing the injury, but the book explains how you can improve the body so that the injury does not come back. I wish one day to have a chat face to face with Dr. Vagy because he knows better than anyone about the body and rock climbing injuries.
Robert Koski –
Thank you Dr Jared.
Picking up climbing and getting pulled in i did to much to hard and to early. As a result i got problems with my fingers and weaker shoulder. Training other upper body taxing sports and cause of my nursing background i understood something had to be done sooner rather than later before serious injuries start to occur.
After some searching for a solution i found Dr Jared Vagys articles and the book Climb Injury-Free. I am very gratefull Dr Jared for you mailing me the book so quickly to Finland.
Now after two months of doing daily exercises and following climbing instructions according to the book, intergrating them to my other training i am able to train in a satisfying amount again. I feel a great deal of gratitude.
Concerning my personal physical issues i can honestly say that the easy to follow systematical approach in the book made me able to evaluate the problem, implement a working solution and continue to train according to my recovery. Now i am building a routine according to other exercises in the book to prevent injuries and slowly moving forward with my climbs.
Allison (verified owner) –
An incredible and essential resource for climbers of any level. I have spent most of my climbing career being injured at least once per year, usually finger injuries. Dr. Vagy’s approach is detailed, practical, and easy to understand. I am incredibly grateful for such a comprehensive resource tailored to climbers. It’s difficult to find a medical professional with a climbing-specific expertise and this book is a true gift to the climbing community. Thank you, Dr. Vagy.
Hannah (verified owner) –
As a PT and climber this book has been an excellent resource for both myself and my patients. Climb Injury Free is thorough without having too much jargon making it easy to follow. I really appreciate the climbing specific exercises and the systematic approach to addressing common climbing injuries. This book will permanently stay on my book shelf as I am frequently referring back to it!
Will –
Dr. Vagy’s Climb Injury Free is an amazing resource that I’ve referred back to again and again. It’s clear and concise with great explanations not just of the “hows” but the “whys” of rehab too. The exercises and protocols are also supported by resources on his website that he continually refines and updates as the science evolves. I’ve been using the Dynamic Climbing Warm-Up before every training session for over a year now and I know it’s helped me. As a climber approaching 40 and training hard, some injuries are unfortunately just part of the process. Having the recommendations of a PT with an eye towards climbing is a huge benefit. Having them organized into sensible timelines and progressions are invaluable. This book addresses a special niche need for climbers.
David Marin –
This is a great book for anyone that climbs regularly, but it becomes indispensable if you’re an older climber (say 40 and older), as injuries seem to come more often and stay with you for longer. A few years back, what was a very mild case of lateral epicondylosis turned into an 18 months nightmare of three different orthopedic doctors and two different physiologists. With every passing “specialist”, the injury got worst and I ended up needing invasive treatments. All in all, the year and a half of “rest” left me, at 42, not only with an elbow that still hurt, but also miles away from even base performance fitness for climbing. It became painfully evident that very few physicians are trained in the intricacies of such a highly specialized sporting activity. That’s when I decided to try and learn everything related to the condition, more specifically on climbers. Not long after, I found out about Dr Vagy and this book. What followed was not only a quick journey to recovery, but also and even more satisfying, a learning experience about the biomechanics involved in the sport and the specific routines that can prevent future conditions. Gladly, I now only use the book to help my friends when they get injured, or even better when they’re interested in not getting to that point. Of course, should another injury come to try and stop me from climbing again, I’ll be consulting this book first and then, if it becomes necessary, assessing whatever medical recommendations through the protocols described in it. Definitively, a must have for any climber: the day when you’ll be needing it will come sooner rather than later.
randall.foote (verified owner) –
I have used this book multiple times over the last 5 years. Great pictures and the videos help complement so you know what path to take. I have loaned the book out 3 times to climbing friends and each one has purchased their own copy after. It is just a great resource to have around.