Climbing-Specific Body Tension: A Systematic Approach for Assessment & Progression Kevin Cowell, PT, DPT, OCS The crux move is steep, you’re toeing in on a small foot chip, and holding your breath as you go for the next hold. You stick the pinch move and use every ounce of effort to maintain body [...]
Are Adolescent Climbers Aware of the Most Common Youth Climbing Injury and Safe Training Practices: A Summary Kids are not just small adults. Their bodies differ in anatomy, psychology, and skeletal maturity. Due to these differences, it is essential to understand youth athletes’ perceptions on injury and safe training practices in order to [...]
Thumb-Sided Wrist Pain in Climbers: A Case for De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis Jennifer Sauers, PT, DPT Finally, a sunny day is in the forecast with pristine conditions. You make the trek out to work your bouldering project: the one involving a lot of funky pinch grips and thumb catches. After attempting this problem for several [...]
Balance and Stability for Climbers Most climbers would agree that improving their footwork is necessary to send more. The moment your feet leave the wall generally indicates you are either: dyno-ing, your feet have cut and your climb has now turned into a campus, or you are falling. In regards to your feet, [...]
Fall From Grace You’re up in the mountains, climbing mixed alpine routes and having a day. The kind of day that feels like nothing could go wrong. You are climbing with a new climbing partner, who mostly is a gym rat, yet strong and you’ve been able to share some knowledge of outdoor climbing. [...]
Three Common Errors Made by New Climbers By: Joe Derian, PT, DPT, OCS Rock climbing is a sport that requires precise technique. Being able to stay on the wall and not “barn-door” or fall off may be due to shifting your hips just a little bit to the right or swinging one foot [...]
This article will take you through a step-by-step process of how to fabricate a pulley protection splint for a rock climber with a grade II or III pulley sprain. The purpose of the article is to educate the climber as well as the medical practitioner on the details of constructing the splint. Special [...]
Rock Climbing Injury: Self-assessment and rehabilitation program for a hamstring strain Introduction As you’re sending the first climb of the day or continuing to battle with that tricky bouldering problem, you inevitably find yourself at the crux of the climb. As you begin to assess your options you notice a crimp just out [...]
“Keep your arms straight and stay low!” This classic line is heard the world over for beginning climbers. Even if preventing the T-Rex arm is a quality way to fight off pump, this doesn’t tell the whole story of how we should be moving on the wall. In fact, the way that a lot [...]
Do you have pain in the front of your hip or groin? Is sitting cross-legged or in low chairs uncomfortable? Is your hip pain worse following a climbing session? Have you noticed high-stepping or cross-over moves cause you pain? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may have Femoroacetabular Impingement [...]