Climbing injuries
Injuries in rock climbing may occur due to falls, or due to overuse (see Sports injury). Injuries due to falls are relatively uncommon; the vast majority of injuries result from overuse, most often occurring in the fingers, elbows, and shoulders. Such injuries are often no worse than torn calluses, cuts, burns and bruises. However, overuse symptoms, if ignored, may lead to permanent damage (esp. to tendons, tendon sheaths, ligaments, and joint capsules). Risk groups The climbers most prone to overuse injuries are intermediate to expert within lead climbing or bouldering, since these disciplines are the most athletic in nature. Overuse injuries in climbing In terms of overuse injuries a British study found that: 40% occurred in the fingers 16% in the shoulders 12% in the elbows 5% in the knees 5% in the back 4% in the wrists One injury that tend to be very common among climbers is Carpal tunnel syndrome. It is found in about 25% of climbers. Finger injuries 604 injured rock climbers were prospectively evaluated from January 1998 to December 2001, due to the rapid growth of new complex finger trauma in the mid-1980s. Of the most frequent injuries, three out of four were related to