[An analysis of overstrain injuries in rock climbing].

Abstract

Between spring and autumn 1990 a study was performed with the goal of recording and classifying overstrain injuries due to rock-climbing and to define their causes. Of the 332 climbers participating in the study, 114 (34.4%) had suffered from at least one overstrain injury. The degree of climbing skill proved to be the main risk factor; with increasing climbing skills of the observed persons the percentage of injuries increased very substantially. The degree of climbing skill also was the only significant difference between injured and non-injured persons--injured persons had a climbing skill which was 1.3 degrees (UIAA) higher. Warming up was unable to prevent most overstrain injuries. A total of 237 injuries were described. 34.6% of these were long-term defects such as foot deformations and nail dystrophies of the toes. 65.4% were overstrain injuries; 90.3% of these cases concerned the upper part of the body and the upper extremities including the thoracic girdle, areas which are particularly strained in climbs of high degrees of difficulty. The areas affected were almost exclusively tendons, joint capsules and ligaments. By far the most frequent injury of the upper extremity was the proximal interphalangeal joint injury, followed by injuries to the proximal phalanx, the flexor tendons of the forearm and the distal interphalangeal joint. With regard to training injuries, finger injuries occurred most frequently in addition to elbow injuries. 51% of the overstrain injuries were severe, with healing times of months to years. Only 30% of the injured persons consulted a physician.