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Damage Control
I'm slowly working my way up (so to speak) in the sport of rock-climbing and spend more and more of my free time clinging to boulders and rock walls. Do I need to worry about long-term ligament damage? I hear these legends of old climbers with creaky joints that can't even hold cans of beer anymore. What should I do to protect myself?
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Anonymous
No doubt about it, hanging around on the rocks can put the musculoskeletal system under a fair bit of stress. This is especially true of the arms—it seems as though somewhere in the evolutionary process clinging to a tiny outcropping with a couple of fingers fell from our design criteria. The fact that we can do this these things is a tribute to our adaptability, but it has a cost.
There are a number of maladies that can occur, singularly or in combination, in a joint placed under high levels of stress. The ligaments that hold the joint together can become damaged, making the joint unstable and subject to excessive wear. The joint surfaces, which should glide across each other, can become rough, causing friction, irritation and pain. The muscles, tendons (they attach muscle to bone) or points where the tendons attach (origin or insertion), can become damaged, limiting the effectiveness of the joint in producing a movement.
Chronic joint pain doesn't have to be a consequence of a climbing lifestyle, although some of us may be predisposed to such problems irrespective of whether we climb on rocks (blame your parents). The better prepared your body is for the demands placed on it, the less likely long-term damage will occur.
This means that a developing climber like yourself should gradually increase the amount of time spent climbing and the difficulty of the routes. Alternate difficult days with easier climbs to give your body a chance to recover. Also, as much as possible, utilize techniques that use a joint in the way it was designed, and do those moves only if you have the strength to do them correctly (have an experienced climber watch your moves and give advice). Finally, get in the habit of regular strength and flexibility training. Develop a routine that strengthens and stretches all the major muscle groups, as well as the smaller ones related to climbing. Make sure to train not only the muscles that are used while climbing, but also the opposite or antagonist groups, to make sure that the body stays in balance.
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