Bouldering injury reddit You should be able to do a full upper body workout without using your ankle pretty easily. It's hard to know what someone else is feeling. Here's my timeline: Immediately after injury: bouldering was very hard on my shoulder, especially Gastons, I took several 4-5 day breaks when it would feel strained. Coincidence? Personally whenever I boulder it’s never 100%, I’m preserving strength for the downclimb, that’s why I mostly sport climb. At the moment I am recovering from bouldering-induced climbers elbows. Usually I see more old folks sports climbing compared to bouldering. But for newer climbers without the supervision of a coach, there is a real risk of overloading the total strain your fingers can take, so it should be done with care. You are falling on a soft mat every time if you are bouldering in the gym. On the grading scale these were clearly grades 1 and 2 (minor and major sprain), and I have never had a grade 3 (full tear accompanied by awful Hi Everyone! I am so bummed, I had my first climbing injury yesterday. basically I avoid anything wrist heavy or dynamic. Deff will need to reduce your volume a little, but it's more about recognising when your session has peaked and calling it a day rather than cutting out a specific amount of climbing. There’s no reason kids shouldn’t be climbing, but the parents need to be accountable for their kids. (I think I got it doing a gaston move on a slab wall). In the meantime, core, strength, mobility and cardio would be great things to train. The issue for at least me is they want you to basically train separate things each “block” or month, then after multiple months you’re in a performance phase where you’ll feel the best. I feel them especially on big dynamic reaches. It's an annoying injury in that fully rehabbing to be able to pull on pockets again takes like 3+ months, but it doesn't really prevent hard climbing or training at all. Luckily I suffered no major ligament tears and regained full range of motion in about 2 weeks. My GP would not have the first clue how to treat an FDP injury, and neither I suspect would the average physio in a lot of places. It's February now, and after a lot of healing and recovery exercises leading into soft bouldering, my finger is finally starting to feel somewhat normal. And the only climbing related injury I had was strained pulleys while bouldering. After a month from injury I was able to start flashing my previous flash grade but no projecting harder grades. I’ve also had some lousy experiences with standard physical therapists who told me to quit climbing/lifting and get surgery to solve an elbow injury. Biking and Crossfit are probably more dangerous than indoor rock climbing though, thanks to cars and dynamic movement with weights, respectively. The key is to make your body recover that injury. I primarily boulder and was hoping to really increase my climbing volume and skill building but fate seems to point me otherwise for the time being. Depends on severity. +1 on what u/justcrimp said. Just wondering if sport climbing would be less intense on my body. A 6 week strength and mobility program can make a huge positive impact in your climbing. On the web and in climbing books, you can find countless resources on how to recover from elbow injuries, but the advice is often hard to implement without knowing what outcome to expect. I used to get really bad tendinitis in my biceps, brachialis and brachioradialis, and pretty much have zero issues with those areas now. I have wrist issues that really present itself with slopers, especially in gym volumes that I try to avoid once I feel tweaky. I could pull hard on 4 finger crimps after like 6 days, and the day of the injury it hurt to even open my hand fully. First up let’s describe the injury: A2 and A4 pulley sprains/tears Over the course of my climbing career I have had my fair share of pulley sprains in different A2 and A4 pulleys in different fingers. I thought I did everything right to land okay but my right foot landed slightly before my left and I heard a big crunch. Sports climbing is the 2nd least injury prone. My leg is in a cast at the moment. It takes years of rock climbing to become one with the rock. With lead climbing you’re still less likely to be injured, but you have a higher potential for a more life threatening injury. You are certainly more scared of falling than you need to be as a result of your previous injury (and that’s OK!). I gained 4kg when I started taking it. Obivously you can't overdo it, but it will not heal from resting alone. Had to back off the difficulty some and there was obviously some risk of added injury which I was ok with but not everyone might be. Do static climbing slowly add dynamic back in as you feel comfortable. One thing I overlooked was the strain negative walls put on the fingers: climbing should start with slab and straight walls even if not crimping. I also try to avoid really weird movments in general. Climbing is inherently dangerous, but a vast majority of people don’t get seriously injured - especially when first starting The “issue” I see with the rock climbing training manual isn’t that the plans don’t work, they work well if followed precisely. Otherwise it's fine. I'm planning to start open handing as much as possible when I start climbing again. I agree I dont think it helps climbing and crimping much, but for something like a weighted pullup regimine over 6 months I think it helps. Within the first month I started working full-time at the gym, we had two spinal injuries on the bouldering terrain. 36M I've been climbing since 2017, mostly indoors, and took some time off from early 2020 into 2021 I restarted climbing mid-2021 around V3/V4 and recently broke thru to climb V5 about six weeks ago I am speaking more generally here, but it's climbing physios and climbers that have come up with protocols for treating a lot of these obscure injuries. I've been climbing for a long time, work as a setter and coach, and like to think I'm rather versed in training/rehab, but this latest "injury" has me absolutely stumped, so here I am. In every single gym the accident log binder is overflowing with injuries due to bouldering (mostly bad landings), while injuries from roped climbing (top rope or lead) are scarce. Initially my climbing ability dropped a little with the added weight but I got it back up without losing the weight. I broke my leg 2 weeks ago while climbing a relatively easy route. My spotter is experienced and we use as many pads as we can, but beyond this, what can be done to prevent knee damage? Reddit is not a diagnosis tool, and using the wrong rehab for an injury could make it worse. Done hundreds of different rehab protocols and still nothing seems to be working properly. Watching climbing specific physical therapy videos on YouTube and modifying my climbing schedule for a bit made more improvements to my elbow than any of the previous physical therapy experience There's a problem in CT that starts with a big move to a reallllyyy tiny crimp and the only thing that makes it usable is the fact that it's made of really sharp quartz spikes lol. UPDATE: Injury occurred in December just before Christmas break. Light top roping was better, but belaying made it ache the first couple times. The only advice I gave to them for injury prevention was starting to do more strength training, especially in the legs. Keep it up, but don't bite off more than you can chew when rock climbing. You could be jarring your body by trying to stay standing (something I've seen a few rope climbing friends do - so you wouldn't be the only person) by being too stiff. Rest can be a key part injury rehab. Bouldering has the highest risk for potential to get injured, even a minor injury. Thankfully, I seem to have caught mine pretty early so anticipate a pretty quick recovery. Reddit is an amazing place for info on this sort of thing. That gives your finger an excuse to be weak. Climbing on jugs probably isn't going to reinjure for most people unless it's a pretty big moderate or major injury. The things I credit to a solid recovery were eccentric work (mainly down-climbing routes + problems, just the lowering half of pull-ups, etc. The mats at a gym wont prevent injury, but they do a damn good job of absorbing a LOT of impact. Hi all, So I've found with bouldering (particularly outside), that the most common injury I get is from the impact when landing on pads. I would recommend a thorough warmup with bands before climbing to make sure every little stabilizer muscle is properly warmed up I think climbing will develop strong back and biceps/forearms on its own, so it might be efficient to focus on "push" muscles like pushups, bench, and shoulder presses to both balance physique (prevent hunched climbers back and build chest that climbing doesn't) and build accessory strength that pairs well with climbing / prevents injury. Then progressed to one climbing shoe and the other in a street shoe with a brace inside. Third week I climbed without tape but I still avoided the moonboard, limit bouldering, and pockets. However, just as any sport climbing venue requires you to show a basic degree of competency, maybe bouldering walls need to adopt similar measures, and respond more appropriately when people behave in dangerous ways. Agree, visit a doctor. aim of the game is to land both feet down, knees bent and then further fall back. Have worn a wrist widget, have taken time off climbing, been to various physical therapists who have told me it was a pinky finger injury, an overuse injury in the forearm, and even a palm injury. I had a disc that was so herniated I couldn't walk for a few months, and after I took 5 months off from climbing (as told by my doc and physio), my back injury, mobility, and pain got so much better to the point I'm as good as I was pre-injury, all because of climbing. But thats because I do it the least and don't push myself as hard. I slipped off an overhang while down climbing (finished the proj though :) ) and fell flat on my back earlier today. I'm also a new-ish climber (climbing about 15 months) currently recovering from an A2 injury, and your post and plan is pretty consistent with everything I've read. I rested mine for a year (thinking that would help) but still had a lot of pain climbing on it before I actually started rehabbing it properly. I have been climbing for 15 years and was taught these techniques at a young age. I feel like I’m pretty strong within weightlifting metrics but wanted to improve my bench (possible contributor to TFCC injury!). Trying to push V11 this season. I'm a physical therapist and a late 30s climber with 4 kids. I am now about 7 months back into climbing, still wearing the wrist widget and avoiding dynamic/wristy moves (mantels, big slopers, pressing, above head underclings, etc). Towards the end of the week I did harder climbing but I avoided stuff like the moonboard and limit bouldering. I am currently dealing with a similar injury - grade 3 tear of the calcaneofibular ligament. I was never diagnosed with a specific injury but my doctor suggested it was either bursitis or tendonitis from repetitive use. fwiw at ~14 months post injury I am bouldering around v3 Very very rarely are bouldering injuries caused by falls compared to finger/connective tissue injuries. I started climbing again around the time I posted that last comment. 2 months after injury I was back to my old self. 001). I have lots of finger pain when climbing but I don't have much toe pain but I would be surprised if standing on small holds lead to an injury. Went to the bone and joint doc, he said to take anti inflammatory and stop climbing. Bit of a rant from a climbing gym instructor here. . Appreciate injury-prevention tips from older [40+] climbers here. We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. the major thing is avoiding twisting/turning movements with my wrist - gardening/pulling weeds REALLY aggravates the injury, but crimping is no problem. I had a pretty heavy climbing load last week- set for 2 12 hour days, went outdoors for a full day, and also trained. Hi there Educational-Ant220. So in a properly structured climbing and training routine, hangboarding is a safe and effective method for increasing finger strength and reducing injury risk. fwiw I have been climbing about 17 years; v8-9 before injury, climbing v6-7 with the wrist widget on about 1. This sport is… dangerous, no matter how many precautions are taken. Rehabbing an injury like this is about far more than just resting. 6 (SD 28. During the second week I climbed, but I buddy taped my ring finger to the pinky finger and I started off with some easier climbing. Try doing wrist flexion & extension, pronation, supination, and ulnar deviation (search each of these up, it’s not as complicated as the names make it sound lol). You may want to explore climbing with a rope, the injury rate is much lower than in bouldering (provided that you’ve got a decent The harder part is self-diagnosing what counts as a light injury, I'd definitely recommend seeing a climbing doctor or physiotherapist to get the most effective program for you. Then progressed to 2 climbing shoes and no brace. 5 years post injury. 0) in those with no head injury (P < 0. Climbing tends to put more stress on shoulders than anything else, and even static climbing can delay healing. Start open handing immediately is my advice, crimp only when you absolutely have to, I fell into the trap of crimping my way through things my first 3 years of climbing and my open hand was absolute garbage, this lead me into a lot of DIP and some PIP issues. that first move isn't bad but moving off that crimp is heinousI only try it at the end of the day because after ~4 tries my tips are screaming for mercy Hey everyone, this is my first time on a Reddit page as I am desperate to seek advice for a shoulder injury that has kept me out of climbing for the past 7 months. My friend encouraged me to post my injury to this sub! On 2/4 I was bouldering at the climbing gym, finished the climb I was working on and slipped while climbing back down. I was reattempting an overhang V2 I had flashed a week back. Also, 15 Gs for a car crash seems pretty misleading, this random study I found on car crashes says "The mean peak G for those with head injury was 79. Go and see a climbing specific physio and they can tell you what to do. 5) versus 50. Obviously pain is part of climbing but figuring when it's dangerous is pretty individual, especially with a condition such as yours. I had only been climbing for 5 months at the time and I do not have a physio. Look into PT you can do for your injury. Some back ground: I hurt my middle finger when I first started climbing. Over the years, I've accumulated injuries to both shoulders from non-climbing sports. It was always so frustrating to take a few months off only to come back to the gym and realize I was right where I left off with the injury. My body was pretty tired yesterday and I should have just listened to it but I wanted to get that V2 again on my way out. I've worked for multiple climbing gyms over the past 10 years. I occasionally climb up to just to practice falling to get comfortable with falling and learn my timing on adjusting my body mid-fall as needed. It’s not going to focus on recovery if you never use it again. At my rock climbing gym they have a wall to teach new climbers the basics and part of it is learning how to fall. After years of climbing and various 6-12 month DIP/PIP injuries, the only thing I can say for sure is that extended time off does NOT rehab the injury. The wind was knocked out of me for a few minutes and my back was sore but I shrugged it off and did a few more climbs, nothing serious and fully down climbed all of them. If mom or I want a good session kid free, we plan ahead and don’t bring them. Once you’ve taken an ample amount of time off of climbing (I’d say 2 weeks should be a safe start under your predicament), start using a flexbar to help injury proof your wrists. I’ve never had a climbing injury of any kind (knock on wood!!) My friend is on the verge of not climbing anymore due to constant injury and it just makes me really sad to see them stop something that they really love. slopers are out. Personal background. I also used to climb V8-10 so V6-7 is moderate for me. I've seen a some discussion on here about how having warmed up fingers and climbing seems to either negate or just mask the pain of a finger injury, and the general consensus seems to be that climbing is okay (and even beneficial to rehab) as long as you don't start to feel significant pain while climbing. Flash forward today nearly 3 months after injury I am climbing harder and better than ever. Climbing above my grade level is keeping me closer to the ground but has me working on harder moves than I had been encountering in my previous comfort zone (but I was also climbing low grades before my injury). Getting back on the horse is not possible for me right now, but there is plenty of staff you can still do for climbing (finger, core, arms, shoulder, visualization, mindset, …). I have a self-diagnosed TFCC injury in my dominant (Right) hand. All in all I’m almost two months back to bouldering and I’m finally getting over my falling/reinjuring fear. I reckon the ratio is AT LEAST 15 bouldering injuries for every roped climbing injury. I don’t know how much this will help but dealing with a shoulder injury while trying to climb is dicey. It's extremely rare to get a serious acute injury while running, those are typically chronic and more comparable with people straining a pulley or tennis elbow. It's either 6 weeks off now or even more weeks of later or a more permanent, painful or harder to recover from injury later. Not op but every resource I've looked into recommends doing hang board training before climbing, to ensure your aren't already fatigued and thus an injury risk. It’s great that bouldering is so accessible, and I hate the idea of placing obstacles in the way of that. The least injury style is trad climbing for me. I went from light weight-bearing to heavier weights, then climbing with a splint, and im finally down to just tape. Because we have a lot of deleted posts on this subreddit, here is a backup of the body of this post: So I’m very confident I got a TFCC injury so I have been taking it easy and taping my wrist for the last couple days. Which type of climbing do you think is more injury prone? I'm getting older and I like both styles but I despise injuries. I’ve had a gazillion bouldering falls, many crazy ones, but I do what is in this video instinctually after just practicing it in my daily climbing, even on easy climbs and climbs close to the ground. I climb indoors. Edit: almost every time we go bouldering I show my five year old a video of a kid running across mats and getting kicked in the face. ), regular dry needling from my physiotherapist, wearing a compression sleeve while climbing (though I know that’s a Rock climbing is a dangerous way of life and can lead to serious rock climbing injuries like this. I’ve noticed that my main limitation has been bicep soreness, both as it arises over the course of a session and how I still feel sore climbing two days or less after another climbing/gym session. I’ve been climbing for 6 months and climb about twice a week plus one gym session (strength training) per week. I don't need anywhere close to full grip strength for that, but it can be risky for re-injury if you don't do it right. " Many climbers struggle with elbow pain - usually medial or lateral epicondylosis, but not only. A doctor may also help but often climbing injuries are quite niche and specific, so a climbing physio is always my first choice. tniqtkkiu njcuva sjwj ltysjd povbeig hhxcrmd gqx wii znaw zuxnb