Training for Climbing, 2nd: The Definitive Guide to Improving Your Performance (How To Climb Series)

overhanging terrain at indoor climbing facilities is a contributing factor to the increase in upper-body injuries (Rooks 1997). At the least, indoor walls do enable year-round climbing and make it oh-so-easy to test your absolute limit, thanks to toprope belays and well-bolted leads. Clearly, this is an environment that can lend itself to overtraining and a general lack of rest time away from the stresses and strains of climbing. I know of a few individuals who climbed indoors five or six days per week—and all, sooner or later, suffered significant finger, elbow, or shoulder injuries.
    Training practices have also been implicated as a contributing factor in overuse injuries of climbers at all ability levels. One study found that 37 percent of individuals engaging in sport-specific training used a fingerboard or some other similar setup to perform one- and two-finger pull-ups. Of this group of low-and high-end climbers, 72 percent reported at least one injury of the hands or arms (Bannister 1986).
    Doran (1996) reports that most of the climbers in his study performed some form of supplementary training; in particular, fingerboards and dynamic double-handed campus training were popular among the injured climbers. The obvious implication is that these high-stress, ultraspecific forms of training may be injurious or at least exacerbate low-grade preexisting injuries. These conclusions all make good sense and, therefore, underscore the importance of a prudent, mature approach to sport-specific training that knows when to say enough and errs on the side of over-resting rather than overtraining.
    One puzzling part of the Doran (1996) study is the finding that climbers who conducted a regular warm-up had an increased frequency of injury in comparison with those who did not warm up. Not only is this idea counterintuitive, but it is contradictory to a large body of literature claiming that a proper warm-up is vital for preventing injury. Toward this end, another British researcher had previously found that increased frequency of injury was partially attributable to an absence of (or too brief) a warm-up regimen (Bollen 1988).
    It’s my sense that it would not be best to abandon your warm-up activities based on a single study. There are several possible explanations for the unlikely findings of the Doran study. First, one of the hallmark findings of this study was that ability level was proportionate to frequency of overuse injury. Therefore, high-end climbers were far more likely to experience overuse injuries than low-end climbers. I wonder, however, if high-end climbers are more likely to engage in warm-up activities (since they take climbing and training so seriously), while low-end climbers are more likely to “just go climbing” and skip the warm-up regimen. Could this explain the unusual findings that warm-up activities increase the risk of injury?
    Another possible explanation of this finding could be that climbers who regularly warm up before training and climbing do so too quickly, severely, or excessively. For instance, it’s widely accepted that stretching cold can injure connective tissues and muscles. Furthermore, excessive amounts of stretching can lead to loose joints and aggravate existing injuries. In the final analysis, I suspect we will find that a slow, incremental warm-up (comprising general activity and mild stretching) does not increase injury risk and is, in fact, a worthwhile and beneficial process prior to hard training or climbing.

     
    Figure 11.3 Finger Anatomy
     

Common Injuries and Treatment
     
    Based on the research outlined above, we know that about 75 percent of all climbers have had or will experience an overuse injury. Furthermore, it’s well documented that the four most common sites of injury are the fingers, elbows, shoulders, and knees. In this section we’ll take a closer look at each of these problem spots. Hopefully, this information will empower you to recognize symptoms early on and thus modify your activity or seek medical attention before the injury becomes more severe or chronic. One caveat that all climbers should recognize straight up is that you must seek medical attention for any condition that gets worse after withdrawal from climbing and training. This could indicate a tumor, infection, or other disease that needs immediate medical attention.

Finger Injuries
     
    Considering the incredible mechanical loading we place on our fingers when climbing, it’s no