DIP Joint Pain
Joint pain is part of life as a rock climber, and so much emphasis is placed on finger pulley and flexor tendon injuries, but what about the other side of the finger? Our fingertips are our initial and primary link to the rock and the distal interphalangeal joint (DIP) gets the brunt of the [...]
Climb On after a Concussion
By Stacey Castaldo, SPT, CSCS It was just another day at the climbing gym, I’d done a couple warm-up routes, and now I was just starting up a new 5.12 in a shallow corner. I high-clipped the second bolt, and began reading my next move; it wasn’t immediately intuitive. The next hand was quite a [...]
Foot Pain Climbing: Choose the Right Shoe
You’re at your local sports store eyeing all the beautiful climbing shoes you probably don’t need (but definitely want). You quickly envision yourself climbing in new shoes – climbing better than you’ve ever climbed before and perhaps, even sending your long-term project. You try on an aggressive shoe, down-turned and stiff with [...]
Capsulitis and Synovitis Climbing – Swelling of the Fingers
Saturday morning—finally time to get back on your project. You stretch out in bed and slowly open your hands. They feel stiff and sore, you look at your swollen finger joints wondering what's going on. For the last couple of months, you’ve ramped up your training to be ready for your project. You’ve noticed [...]
Optimal Training and Injury Prevention Techniques for Climbers with a Full-time Schedule
By Andrew McClure PT, DPT We all wish we could climb as much and as hard as the pros. However, most of us have to maintain a full-time schedule with jobs, family, school, and the other challenges of life. It can be tough to stay in shape, let alone see improvements. Knowing optimal strategies for [...]
Stronger Hips for Injury Prevention and Climbing Performance
When we think about climbing and training, most of the time, you’ll hear “go hangboard and get those fingers strong” or “do some weighted pull ups.” Yet we don’t really hear anything about training our hips, except maybe some stretching. Have you experienced difficulty maintaining tension with your feet constantly slipping during a climb? It [...]