Finger injuries are perhaps the most common amongst climbers. [Certainly upper limb injuries would constitute around 80% of all injuries]. Of these, the vast majority involve damage to what is called the pullie apparatus.

Dodgy Elbows Click here to download the pdf which contains the full rehab program. More recalcitrant than Castro, though less charismatic, elbow pain is the most common and debilitating of chronic climbing injuries. It might be called golfer’s or tennis elbow, but it is climbers (and professional knitters) who are most likely to suffer the […]

Ankles Away Climbing Doc Julian saunders gives the lowdown on boulders’ most injured joint Click here to download the pdf Highball atmospherics are the elixir of life. Once you start doing them, nothing else will quench your thirst in the same way. Like narcotics, great sex with someone you don’t like and pre-emptive strikes, this […]

Avoiding Injury A complete guide to your body Click here to download the PDF Snap! Bang! Grind! Ow, FUBAR! Oh, the mellifluous sounds of injury. Their regularity forms the leitmotif of Modern Climbing: the Musical. If you get into the groove, you will end up dancing the Charlie Foxtrot. As training and preparation move into […]

Stretching The Truth Click here to download the pdf The age-old art of bending yourself into positions never before realised sat at the citadel of conditioning theory. Now the news—apparently stretching ‘doesn’t do anything’! The citadel still stands but on shaky foundations; think the Leaning Tower of Pisa! Stretching has been studied primarily on three […]

The Injury Gospel Injured again—bummer. Julian Saunders helps you off the injury treadmill Click here to download the pdf Thou shalt not crimp, much Two groups of people crimp: beginners (because it feels stronger), and those who never grew out of it. Two groups of people crimp significantly less: those who naturally evolved, and those […]

The Big Squeeze NAVIGATING THE SLIPPERY SLOPE OF WRIST HEALTH Click here to download the pdf THE WRIST, INNOCUOUSLY situated between your hand and elbow, home to eight carpal bones and a web of ligaments and tendons, is a Pandora’s box of injuries: cysts, ganglions, repetitive strain injuries (of many painful flavors),fractures, arthritides, ligament and […]

Click here to download the pdf As any biologist will tell you, ‘the Golden Rule’ when studying an organism is that structure governs function. Our shoulders are purportedly designed for everyday dexterity and range of motion, not swinging about on vines— or for that matter, cliffs. Ask a few of your friends; chances are that […]

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Dr. J takes a look at climbing’s most under diagnosed injury: finger stress fractures. Click here to download the PDF You might think it would be difficult to break a finger while climbing. However, the chronic prehensile force generated by a climber is second to none. With training techniques focusing on nano-hold strength, and the […]