Treating tennis elbow (outside elbow pain) in rock climbers can be tricky. That is why it is important to be systematic in process. The best way is to utilize a rehabilitation framework, such as the rock rehab pyramid that is the book Climb Injury-Free. Starting with unloading the tendons that insert on [...]
Do you ever wonder why it is so hard to keep your fingers warm when climbing? Are you interested in strategies to keep the circulation flowing while you climb? Well, this article will go in-depth into several ways how to keep the blood flowing and will use a case study of a [...]
I was seeing a rock climber, she was a 22-year-old female, and she reported after a long session of bouldering that she would have wrist instability, as well as pain. I assessed her wrist mobility, and it was hypermobile, meaning it moved too much. In addition, I assessed her joint position error [...]
If a climber presents with palmar nodules in their hand—mostly the ring finger, followed potentially by the little and middle fingers—they may have something called Dupuytren’s disease, also known as Dupuytren’s contracture. This is typically not painful, and it may potentially be genetic. See below for a description of the symptoms Location [...]
If a patient presents with lateral elbow pain, it's possible they have lateral epicondylitis, lateral epicondylosis, or lateral epicondylalgia. In order to differentiate these symptoms and diagnoses, it's important for the clinician to take the climber through various sets of movements and screens. Pain Location Lateral Epicondyle, the bony prominence on the [...]
Finger pulley injuries are the most common injury with rock climbers. In order to understand pulley sprains, we need to understand the anatomy first. So, let’s discuss the pulleys in the fingers. Five of them are annular Three of them are cruciate The flexor digitorum superficialis and flexor digitorum profundus both pass under [...]
In this article, we will take a closer look at train climbing route speed, movement cadence, and technique. When analyzing climbing movement, there are five key components to look at: speed, hold contact, intensity, style, and alignment. Let's begin by first looking at speed. Static Climbing Movement The below video displays a [...]
In this post, we’ll review the rehabilitation guidelines for a pulley sprain. Based on the research by Lutter and colleagues as well as Cooper and colleagues. First, lets review the grading of an injury with ultrasound from a study by Lutter and colleagues. As you can see in the table below, pulley [...]
When assessing climbing performance, we look at strength, power, endurance, mobility, and control. In this article, we’ll discuss mobility. Look at the two different movements in the photos below, both of which are high steps. On the left, Jon Cardwell performs a high step rock-up, rocking his weight over his foot. The photo [...]
The Climbing Doctor connected with Dr. Tom Hackett MD to discuss various topics related to the shoulder, labral tears, and rock climbing. See below for a recording of the video and the complete transcript. 0:00 Start 1:41 Advanced Training of Fellowship Surgeons 4:18 Understanding the Anatomy of the Shoulder and Labrum [...]