Bouldering injury reddit Edit: I can now crimp due to #4 lol. 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 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. The key is to make your body recover that injury. Otherwise it's fine. 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 I gained 4kg when I started taking it. 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. 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. Bouldering has the highest risk for potential to get injured, even a minor injury. 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. I went from light weight-bearing to heavier weights, then climbing with a splint, and im finally down to just tape. Do static climbing slowly add dynamic back in as you feel comfortable. g anything roped) carry much lower injury risk, but if an injury does happen it’s more likely to be a catastrophic one. It sucks but the tissue is extremely slow to heal. Regardless, it took me at least a month of sitting and doing nothing to fully heal, and then 2 months after that to get back to normal climbing strength. ), regular dry needling from my physiotherapist, wearing a compression sleeve while climbing (though I know that’s a 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. 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. 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. 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 Fully dedicated to the most injury intensive discipline (bouldering) for the past 13 years. 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. the major thing is avoiding twisting/turning movements with my wrist - gardening/pulling weeds REALLY aggravates the injury, but crimping is no problem. Towards the end of the week I did harder climbing but I avoided stuff like the moonboard and limit bouldering. 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. I feel them especially on big dynamic reaches. 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). 5) versus 50. When you jump off, it will lower you back down at a safe speed. I was reattempting an overhang V2 I had flashed a week back. I was never diagnosed with a specific injury but my doctor suggested it was either bursitis or tendonitis from repetitive use. My spotter is experienced and we use as many pads as we can, but beyond this, what can be done to prevent knee damage? I slipped off an overhang while down climbing (finished the proj though :) ) and fell flat on my back earlier today. I climb indoors. 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. Which type of climbing do you think is more injury prone? I'm getting older and I like both styles but I despise injuries. Done hundreds of different rehab protocols and still nothing seems to be working properly. 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. I see regular introduction and improvement sessions at my local walls, but it’s so rare that these touch on falling, general gym safety, and etiquette. The rope is under tension and constantly wants to go up, so it will follow you as you climb. Hi there Educational-Ant220. I couldn’t climb for a month. I've worked for multiple climbing gyms over the past 10 years. The things I credit to a solid recovery were eccentric work (mainly down-climbing routes + problems, just the lowering half of pull-ups, etc. I tried climbing through the pain and it just got worse, I tried a month off and the pain was still prohibitive. I don’t know how much this will help but dealing with a shoulder injury while trying to climb is dicey. Over the years, I've accumulated injuries to both shoulders from non-climbing sports. Reddit is an amazing place for info on this sort of thing. Climbing is inherently dangerous, but a vast majority of people don’t get seriously injured - especially when first starting So in a properly structured climbing and training routine, hangboarding is a safe and effective method for increasing finger strength and reducing injury risk. At my rock climbing gym they have a wall to teach new climbers the basics and part of it is learning how to fall. 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. 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. Look into PT you can do for your injury. 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. 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. 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. Light top roping was better, but belaying made it ache the first couple times. . Depends on severity. I'm a physical therapist and a late 30s climber with 4 kids. 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. I would recommend at least 2 months off in my personal experience. I also used to climb V8-10 so V6-7 is moderate for me. (I think I got it doing a gaston move on a slab wall). slopers are out. 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). I’m usually top rope but trying to get into bouldering. I would recommend a thorough warmup with bands before climbing to make sure every little stabilizer muscle is properly warmed up Rehabbing an injury like this is about far more than just resting. 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. Went to the bone and joint doc, he said to take anti inflammatory and stop climbing. Within the first month I started working full-time at the gym, we had two spinal injuries on the bouldering terrain. Bouldering Injury that will not heal Question I have been injured in the wrist now for about a year with no improvement, I am 18 years old and have a TFCC injury (strain and not a tear) in my wrist and it is preventing me from being able to do any day-to-day activity or be as active as I would like to be. Luckily I suffered no major ligament tears and regained full range of motion in about 2 weeks. Thankfully, I seem to have caught mine pretty early so anticipate a pretty quick recovery. 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. Ice the entire time and personally I would recommend glucosamine. 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. Usually I see more old folks sports climbing compared to bouldering. 001). 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. I feel like I’m pretty strong within weightlifting metrics but wanted to improve my bench (possible contributor to TFCC injury!). 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. As bouldering grows increasingly more popular, real efforts from gyms and coaches are needed to make sure people stay safe. 0) in those with no head injury (P < 0. 5 years post injury. Appreciate injury-prevention tips from older [40+] climbers here. 2 months and the pain was mostly gone, still some joint stiffness. I probably couldn't crimp at all because I stopped climbing for so long to try and heal my injury. Initially my climbing ability dropped a little with the added weight but I got it back up without losing the weight. 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 had only been climbing for 5 months at the time and I do not have a physio. 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. 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. fwiw I have been climbing about 17 years; v8-9 before injury, climbing v6-7 with the wrist widget on about 1. Climbing tends to put more stress on shoulders than anything else, and even static climbing can delay healing. At the moment I am recovering from bouldering-induced climbers elbows. Placebo or not it seems to work for me. 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. You can see the rope leading up to it right at hip level. 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, …). 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. 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 Personal background. I was bouldering, had to do a dynamic move, to catch a hold with my hand leaving me only with 2 point of contacts (my hands). A doctor may also help but often climbing injuries are quite niche and specific, so a climbing physio is always my first choice. Coincidence? Personally whenever I boulder it’s never 100%, I’m preserving strength for the downclimb, that’s why I mostly sport climb. In the meantime, core, strength, mobility and cardio would be great things to train. At a climbing gym like this, you would be clipped into an auto belay. Some back ground: I hurt my middle finger when I first started climbing. Agree, visit a doctor. 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. You should be able to do a full upper body workout without using your ankle pretty easily. It’s not going to focus on recovery if you never use it again. 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. 6 (SD 28. Obivously you can't overdo it, but it will not heal from resting alone. 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 Everyone! I am so bummed, I had my first climbing injury yesterday. g broken bones or sprained ankles), whereas other forms of climbing (e. Trying to push V11 this season. 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. You are certainly more scared of falling than you need to be as a result of your previous injury (and that’s OK!). Now, climbing openhand didn't fix it completely, although it really made it so I could climb again. You are falling on a soft mat every time if you are bouldering in the gym. 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 started climbing again around the time I posted that last comment. I'm recovering from a severe injury and I am guessing it will be another month or more before I can climb again, but I'm thinking through ankle braces and how incompatible most are with climbing shoes. The mats at a gym wont prevent injury, but they do a damn good job of absorbing a LOT of impact. Rest can be a key part injury rehab. My leg is in a cast at the moment. The “issue” I see with the rock climbing training manual isn’t that the plans don’t work, they work well if followed precisely. A 6 week strength and mobility program can make a huge positive impact in your climbing. UPDATE: Injury occurred in December just before Christmas break. 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. 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. I reckon the ratio is AT LEAST 15 bouldering injuries for every roped climbing injury. 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. It´s common for me to climb/train 6 times per week. 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 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. Max grade V13, achieved around 10 years ago, however I will "clickbait" you by stating that I have reassured that grade today even at this age, whilst dealing with a TFCC injury (acquired 1 year ago Longevity, according to some people I trust, includes muscle mass and mobility, hence the rock climbing. I have a self-diagnosed TFCC injury in my dominant (Right) hand. First time I twisted my ankle on my first route when I dropped, didn’t last ten minutes. +1 on what u/justcrimp said. I used to get really bad tendinitis in my biceps, brachialis and brachioradialis, and pretty much have zero issues with those areas now. We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. 3 months I’m feeling way better and can boulder. I broke my leg 2 weeks ago while climbing a relatively easy route. That gives your finger an excuse to be weak. I didnt quite reach the hold, it was like a 30 mill edge but that doesnt matter. I pulled my finger on a v6 project and am now climbing v7's since the injury 4 months ago. With lead climbing you’re still less likely to be injured, but you have a higher potential for a more life threatening injury. 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. I'm planning to start open handing as much as possible when I start climbing again. And the only climbing related injury I had was strained pulleys while bouldering. Biking and Crossfit are probably more dangerous than indoor rock climbing though, thanks to cars and dynamic movement with weights, respectively. I never crimped because it always felt like my PIP joints on my middle fingers were tight and explodey. This sport is… dangerous, no matter how many precautions are taken. Climbing on jugs probably isn't going to reinjure for most people unless it's a pretty big moderate or major injury. 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 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. Flash forward today nearly 3 months after injury I am climbing harder and better than ever. I’ve been climbing for 6 months and climb about twice a week plus one gym session (strength training) per week. I have loads of detailed thoughts about combining bodybuilding and rock climbing, but I will spare you all of the rather tedious details and just tell you what I'm doing, and if you like it, feel free to try it out. " Many climbers struggle with elbow pain - usually medial or lateral epicondylosis, but not only. Reddit is not a diagnosis tool, and using the wrong rehab for an injury could make it worse. 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. Jun 23, 2024 ยท Are you an avid boulderer looking to stay injury-free while pursuing your passion? In this article, we will explore the most common bouldering injuries that climbers face and provide you with practical tips on how to prevent them. 2 months after injury I was back to my old self. Just wondering if sport climbing would be less intense on my body. 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. basically I avoid anything wrist heavy or dynamic. 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. After a month from injury I was able to start flashing my previous flash grade but no projecting harder grades. aim of the game is to land both feet down, knees bent and then further fall back. I am currently dealing with a similar injury - grade 3 tear of the calcaneofibular ligament. I also don't want to lose all my strength in… Bouldering carries a higher risk of injury, but these are low consequence injuries (e. Does anyone have any tips on what to do when injured? I just broke my ankle and already miss bouldering. Third week I climbed without tape but I still avoided the moonboard, limit bouldering, and pockets. 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 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. Go and see a climbing specific physio and they can tell you what to do. Bit of a rant from a climbing gym instructor here. jdkbkkv puuull dwiusu ewqvo ghfpyl jlugf uxra mqlbvw mtjyvo xxmamm