mountaineering rock climbing

BACKGROUND: Acute and chronic injuries to the wrist are among the most common sport-related complaints of climbing athletes but have not been extensively evaluated in this population. Therefore, it is important to categorize climbing injuries to the wrist, analyze risk factors, and assess treatment outcomes. PURPOSE: To evaluate the distribution, outcomes, and influencing factors of wrist injuries in climbers. STUDY DESIGN: Case series; Level of evidence, 4...

Adventure participants have traditionally been viewed as having thrill or risk-seeking motives, and this perception remains despite empirical research suggesting that other motives may drive participation. This study was conducted to extend understanding of participation motives of adventure recreation participants in relation to Csiksentmihalyi's nine-dimension model of flow and other proposed motivational constructs. Participants (n = 199) who had typically engaged in their adventure recreation activity (i...

Rock climbing has evolved from a method for alpine mountaineering into a popular recreational activity and competitive sport. Advances in safety equipment and the rapid growth of indoor climbing facilities has enabled climbers to focus on the physical and technical movements needed to elevate performance. Through improved training methods, climbers can now achieve ascents of extreme difficulty. A critical aspect to further improve performance is the ability to continuously measure body movement and physiologic responses while ascending the climbing wall...

Recreational and professional climbing is gaining popularity. Thus, valid and reliable infield strength monitoring and testing devices are required. This study aims at assessing the validity as well as within- and between-day reliability of two climbing-specific hanging positions for assessing the maximum force with a new force measurement device. Therefore, 25 experienced male ( n = 16) and female ( n = 9) climbers (age: 25.5 ± 4.2 years, height: 176.0 ± 9.9 cm, weight: 69.7 ± 14.5 kg, body composition: 11...

OBJECTIVES: Research conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic underscores the value of physical activity and nature for psychological well-being in the general population when people's mobility and activities are restricted due to government mandates. Since restrictions may thwart the psychological benefits reported from participation in adventure recreation (e.g., rock-climbing, white-water kayaking), it is important to understand the psychological well-being of people who previously benefited from adventure opportunities...

INTRODUCTION: Sport specialization has been shown to have negative effects on athletes but has not been studied within rock climbing. This study seeks to evaluate the proportion and impact of specialization in pediatric climbers. METHODS: Climbers (ages 8-18 y) were recruited from throughout the United States to complete a 1-time survey regarding climbing experience, training patterns, and injury history. The main outcome of proportion of climbers suffering an injury was assessed within the last 12 mo and within their entire climbing experience (defined as "lifetime" injury)...

BACKGROUND: Climbing is a multidisciplinary sport, where the main objective is to reach the highest point of a rock wall or to reach the end of an established route. There are different types of modalities: sport climbing and traditional climbing. The risks and precautions taken with respect to this sport will directly affect the epidemiology of injuries related to its practice. The present study was designed to identify and characterize the most frequent injuries in the feet of climbers and to determine if there is a relationship between the injuries that appear and the time spent practicing the sport...

Suction is widely used by animals for strong controllable underwater adhesion but is less well understood than adhesion of terrestrial climbing animals. Here we investigate the attachment of aquatic insect larvae (Blephariceridae), which cling to rocks in torrential streams using the only known muscle-actuated suction organs in insects. We measured their attachment forces on well-defined rough substrates and found that their adhesion was less reduced by micro-roughness than that of terrestrial climbing insects...

PURPOSE: Injury prevalence patterns for climbers have been presented in several papers but results are heterogenous largely due to a mix of included climbing disciplines and injury mechanisms. This study describes the distribution and pattern of acute traumatic climbing injuries sustained during outdoor climbing in Sweden. METHODS: Patients that experienced a climbing related traumatic injury during outdoor climbing between 2008 and 2019 and who submitted a self-reported questionnaire to the Swedish Climbing Association were included in the study...

INTRODUCTION: As a close relative to the sports of mountaineering and rock climbing, water ice climbing has been traditionally considered "high risk." There is little data to support or refute this assertion. Prior estimates of the injury rate range from 4.8 to 248 injuries per 1000 participation hours. In this study, we characterized the types of injuries and determined an injury incidence among water ice climbing participants at the 2019 Ouray Ice Festival climbing manmade ice walls...

BACKGROUND: Rock climbers are particularly susceptible to shoulder injuries due to repetitive upper-limb movements on vertical or overhanging terrain. However, the long-term effects of prolonged climbing on the shoulder joints are still unknown. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to analyze the prevalence of pain and degenerative changes in the shoulder joints after high-level rock climbing over at least 25 years. We hypothesized that specific climber-associated patterns of degeneration would be found...

One of the interesting behaviors practiced by citizens across the globe is the pursuit of outdoor recreational activities featuring elements of personal risk and danger. These types of activities are now becoming a global mainstay for many individuals, economies, and organizations. This study examined the underlying motivations and subsequent behaviors associated with risk-taking recreational activities and used the concepts of eudaimonics and hedonics to examine the motivations for participation from individuals engaging in three different adventure activities occurring in eight different locations...

To elucidate patterns of and risk factors for acute traumatic injuries in climbers in need of professional rescue, a retrospective evaluation was performed of the Austrian National Registry of Mountain Accidents regarding rock climbing incidents over a 13-year timeframe from 2005 to 2018. From 2992 recorded incidents, 1469 were uninjured but in need of recovery, mainly when alpine climbing. Acute traumatic injuries ( n = 1217) were often classified as severe (UIAA ≥ 3; n = 709), and commonly involved fractures ( n = 566)...

Mount Everest is an extreme environment for humans. Nevertheless, hundreds of mountaineers attempt to summit Everest each year. In a previous study we analyzed interview data for all climbers (2,211) making their first attempt on Everest during 1990-2005. Probabilities of summiting were similar for men and women, declined progressively for climbers about 40 and older, but were elevated for climbers with experience climbing in Nepal. Probabilities of dying were also similar for men and women, increased for climbers about 60 and older (especially for the few that had summited), and were independent of experience...

INTRODUCTION: Rock climbing and mountaineering may result in injury requiring hospital admission. Readmission frequency after climbing-related injury is unknown. The aim of this study was to assess readmission frequency, morbidity, and mortality after admission for climbing-related injury. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of the 2012 to 2014 national readmission database, a nationally representative sample of all hospitalized patients. Rock climbing, mountain climbing, and wall climbing injuries were identified using International Classification of Diseases-Ninth Revision-Clinical Modification codes (E004...

OBJECTIVE: We describe the incidence and characteristics of patients with head and neck injuries from rock climbing who present to United States emergency departments and evaluate predictors of hospitalization. METHODS: The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) database was queried for rock climbing injuries to the head, face, mouth, neck, and ear under product code "mountain climbing" from the years 2009 to 2018. Demographics, injury characteristics, and disposition data were reviewed...

The patient's demands and expectations after total hip arthroplasty have increased significantly. In particular, the athletic function is the focus of the patient's interest, whereby not the basic sports ability is inquired, but also the achievable sports level. The benefits of increased activity with a reduction in cardiovascular mortality and the minimization of osteoporosis risk are contrasted by amplified wear followed by prosthesis loosening. Activities are categorized in low-, intermediate- and high-impact kind of sport...

Millions of people engage in mountain sports activities worldwide. Although leisure-time physical activity is associated with significant health benefits, mountain sports activities also bear an inherent risk for injury and death. However, death risk may vary across various types of mountain sports activities. Epidemiological data represent an important basis for the development of preventive measures. Therefore, the aim of this review is to compare mortality rates and potential risk factors across different (summer) mountain sports activities...

INTRODUCTION: Previous research identified a trend for increasing numbers of injuries sustained while rock climbing. This study investigates whether that trend continued and describes characteristics of climbing injuries. METHODS: The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System registry was searched for rock climbing injuries in US emergency departments in 2008 through 2016 among patients aged ≥7 y. Variables included each patient's age, diagnosis, injured body part, mechanism of injury, and disposition...

INTRODUCTION: Rock climbing and mountaineering are popular outdoor recreational activities. More recently, indoor climbing has become popular, which has increased the number of persons at risk for climbing-related injuries. The purpose of this study was to assess the morbidity, mortality, and healthcare cost due to climbing-related injury among persons presenting to US emergency departments (ED). METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of the 2010 to 2014 National Emergency Department Sample database, a nationally representative sample of all visits to US EDs...