Lower extremity injuries - common?
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How common are acute lower extremity injuries in sport climbing? Specifically broken bones? I've read some official research on Google scholar, and generally lower extremity injuries from bouldering are lumped in with sport and trad climbing injuries. |
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In my opinion, you're over-analyzing things. But that's all this is, is my opinion. If you're worried about falling and getting hurt while you're climbing, then you may be more likely to pop off. Just get out there, have fun, and make it worth the pain. |
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I don't have any data, but yeah, I'd imagine they can be pretty common. Probably even more so in alpine climbing, where rock quality is worse and the probability of falling on non-vertical / ledgey (is that even a word?) terrain is higher? |
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Well, if you want to look at statistics, you are more likely to be injured while driving to the crag rather than injured while climbing. |
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And for what it's worth, the only time I've been hurt climbing over the last 6 years was climbing in a gym. |
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Louis Eubank wrote:Well, if you want to look at statistics, you are more likely to be injured while driving to the crag rather than injured while climbing.I've heard this argument before, but have never been able to find good data on this. Do you have any sources? It would make those "but climbing is dangerous" conversations much easier. I've definitely had more climbing partners be sidelined due to non-climbing related injuries than due to anything that happened climbing. |
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So much fear. |
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Dun fall |
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Shepido wrote:I know that falls on harder grades are typically in steeper terrain and therefore safer, but I've got to get through all the "easy" grades first.What's this "got to"? It's your choice to try to climb a sequence where there's a significant chance you might fall and have your lower extremities hit something. The danger is real. I took a short fall on a less-than-vertical bolted route, my toe struck a small slopy ledge, and the result was a badly strained my calf muscle. Took me like six weeks to feel mostly recovered. Almost messed up a big climbing trip. Made my decide that risking even minor injuries is usually not worth it for me. To avoid injuries to lower extremities ... one approach is to only lead stuff well within your limits. Of course you're not going to improve very fast that way. Practicing down-climbing helps, because then if you unexpectedly run into something risky where you didn't plan for it, you could get down to the safety of the previous bolt. Another thing that helps is to find a crag where the bolts are closer together, so you don't hit things so hard if you fall. Or you could create routes where the bolts are closer together and more carefully positioned for safety. That's what they've been doing at some crags in Europe. I know some people who often carry several pieces of Trad gear when they climb a "sport" route which they are worried might be risky for them. Then there's several methods for getting the rope running through some protection _above_ you while you're trying a sequence with some risk. Most of these methods take more time, or more equipment. More importantly they will expose you to the criticism that you're scared and you're giving into your fear. It's your choice. Ken |
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By got to I meant, I have to be able to climb the lower grades before progressing to higher grades. I.e. I cannot climb that overhanging 11 because I am not that skilled yet. |
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i know quite a few people who have broken or jacked up their feet/ankles/knees/legs in climbing falls. i think your concern is very valid. also, having a belayer that knows what type of catch to provide for different scenarios is pretty important if you know you have a good chance of falling on a route. |
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Louis Eubank wrote:Well, if you want to look at statistics, you are more likely to be injured while driving to the crag rather than injured while climbing.Where is this "statistics" that you want us to look at? This is one of the most repeated cliché in the outdoor world without any actual data to back it up. It is probably true that more people get injured car accidents than in climbing. But at the same time, there are many times more drivers than climbers. In order to say one thing is riskier than the other, you need to look at the ratio between the number of injuries and the total number of people engaged in that activity. I'll give you some actual statistics to look at. Source: utahavalanchecenter.org/blo… Unfortunately they don't have any numbers for rock climbing. But if we assume rock climbing is as dangerous as running a marathon (sarcasm of course), rock climbing is still more dangerous than if you drive 1 hour a day, which is just about my daily commute to work. I basically have to be a trucker or a cab driver (drive 8 hours per day) to make driving more dangerous than running a marathon. You would have to ride a motorcycle 8 hours per day to get close to the risk of "alpine mountaineering". It is also worth noting that if you're 20, there's a one-in-a-million chance that you will die if you get out of bed. So my suggestion is to stay in bed for the whole year. |
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A good friend once told me that if you're a climber and you don't accept the fact that you could get hurt doing what you love then you are not being honest with yourself. |
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I don't think statistics are going to help. There are too many variables for them to meaningfully represent you. For example: where does one fall on a scale from 1 to 10 as a risk taker? As having good protection judgment? Etc.. |
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aikibujin wrote: In order to say one thing is riskier than the other, you need to look at the ratio between the number of injuries and the total number of people engaged in that activity.This is close, but not quite accurate. You look at the number of person-hours of the activity performed. This is how you then look at driving for 8 hours versus climbing for 8 hours. Bill's point is a good one. In general, you hope that both populations that you are getting from are big enough that you can assume that the distribution of risk is fairly equal between the 2 populations. This gets kind of interesting because most people (non-climbers) probably think rock climbing is risky but driving isn't. IIRC, the data that I have seen (I think there are 2 studies on this?) seemed to indicate that the number of injuries per person-hour and number of deaths per person-hour were somewhat comparable between climbing and driving. |
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Seems like you should be worrying more about your hands, arms and shoulders. |
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Shepido wrote:By got to I meant, I have to be able to climb the lower grades before progressing to higher grades. I.e. I cannot climb that overhanging 11 because I am not that skilled yet.Just because you don't think you can lead higher grades doesn't mean you can't climb them. Climb second, or on top rope with "better" climbers, and flail away! If you aren't totally focused on ticks, or even completing a climb, you can have a lot of fun, learn a lot, and, once in a while, pull off a complete miracle. Consider asking folks about beginner climbs in your area. There is a big difference between lower ratings and good for beginners. Last, let your partner help you with whatever the nemesis de jour is. A good butt kicker that you totally trust will boost your climbing pretty quick! : ) |
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slim wrote: This is close, but not quite accurate. You look at the number of person-hours of the activity performed. This is how you then look at driving for 8 hours versus climbing for 8 hours.Yes, you're correct. I was a little sloppy with my wording. I realized it later and was going to come back and change it. But then I got too busy doing other stuff. |
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Old lady H wrote: Climb second, or on top rope with "better" climbers, and flail away!Flail to train is training to flail. Seriously, you want to become a climber or a flailer? |
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Mark E Dixon wrote: Flail to train is training to flail. Seriously, you want to become a climber or a flailer?I also said find good beginner climbs and partners who will help with whatever it is you are working on. Putting yourself on something you think is "way too hard" can be really enlightening. And yes, flailing away. Right now, for me, I mantle stuff tucked up under my chin like a violently spasming beached whale. I am well aware of the inglorious technique, but I get there, and try everything I could possibly push myself to try, to do so. Work hard, practice, practice, practice, learn all you can, but don't be afraid to just flat out go for it anyway. : ) |
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Old lady H wrote: I also said find good beginner climbs and partners who will help with whatever it is you are working on. Putting yourself on something you think is "way too hard" can be really enlightening. And yes, flailing away. Right now, for me, I mantle stuff tucked up under my chin like a violently spasming beached whale. I am well aware of the inglorious technique, but I get there, and try everything I could possibly push myself to try, to do so. Work hard, practice, practice, practice, learn all you can, but don't be afraid to just flat out go for it anyway. : )You will get good at what you practice. If you choose to practice flailing and spasming that's fine by me. |