🚫 Stay Safe on the Wall: Tips to Avoid Climbing Injuries 🧗‍♂️
Unknown aches and pains are what we want to avoid, but the unknown features of AI generated images are all part of the fun! Is it dungarees? Is it a rucksack? Where’s the belay loop? Who knows!
Our Tips for Avoiding Climbing Injuries
We all know climbing is rich in benefits, in terms of physical, mental and social well-being. Like any sport, though, it doesn’t come without certain risks. Here are a few of our ideas for staying healthy and ultimately being able to climb more!
Comprehensive Warm-Up and Cool-Down:
Aim to begin any climbing session with a 10-15 minute cardiovascular exercise to get your blood flowing. Why not jog, walk or cycle to Boulders? Once you’re feeling warm, follow up with some dynamic stretches focusing on the shoulders, arms, hips, and legs. After climbing, try to cool down with gentle stretching to help your muscles recover.
Technique Over Power:
All too often, injuries result from over-relying on muscular strength alone, especially in the arms. Focus on honing climbing techniques like proper footwork, body positioning, and weight distribution. This approach not only conserves energy but reduces strain on your body, and ultimately improves your abilities as a climber. Check out our different options for developing your climbing technique at Newport Road, Culverhouse Cross or Cheltenham.
Balanced Training Regimen:
Try and work to a balanced training schedule that incorporates endurance, strength, and flexibility training. Activities like Yoga can improve your flexibility and core strength, which are both really helpful in climbing.
Mindful Climbing:
Be conscious of your movements and how your body feels during a climb. Avoid pushing through pain or discomfort, as this can lead to more severe injuries. If you do end up with an injury, rest and recover properly to avoid making it worse.
Regular Rest and Recovery:
Climbing puts significant stress on the body, particularly on the fingers, shoulders, and elbows. Regular rest periods are essential to allow micro-tears in the muscles to heal. Consider incorporating active recovery days with light, non-climbing activities. A factor often overlooked by new climbers is tendon strength, which develops slower than muscular strength. That weird feeling in your forearms after your first climbing session? That’s your tendons letting you know they’ve had a rude awakening! Take it slow while you’re new to climbing, or recovering from injury; building strength on bigger holds can help reduce the risk of tendon damage.
Nutrition and Hydration:
A balanced diet rich in protein, carbohydrates, fats, and micronutrients aids in muscle repair and overall body function. Avoid big meals before climbing, if you can, and follow up your session with something high in protein. Hydration is equally important, as it impacts muscle function and recovery. We’ve got water bottle refill points at all our facilities, so there’s no excuse not to stay hydrated.
Proper Gear and Safety Practices:
Until now we’ve focused on avoiding muscle or tendon injury through the act of climbing itself, but the elephant in the room is that climbing, in all its forms, has risks. For bouldering, remembering best practices is important: climb down whenever possible, don’t climb above anyone (or walk below anyone, and practice falling the right way for when the inevitable happens! If you’re climbing routes, always make sure your equipment is in good condition and use buddy-buddy checks to reduce the risk of mistakes creeping in. If you feel like your knot-tying or belaying skills aren’t what they once were, don’t climb routes until you’ve brushed up and got your confidence back; it’s just not worth the risk. Consider a refresher course if you need some outside input.
This is, obviously, a non-exhaustive overview of the risks that are inherent in climbing!
Seek Professional Advice:
If you're struggling with recurrent pain or discomfort, consult a healthcare professional. They can provide specific advice, exercises, or treatment plans tailored to your needs.
Our Role in Your Safe Climbing Journey
At Boulders, your safety is our top priority. We offer workshops and personal training sessions focusing on injury prevention techniques and safe climbing practices. Our experienced staff are always available to guide you and answer any questions.
Stay Safe and Climb On
By incorporating these measures into your climbing routine, you can enjoy climbing while minimizing the risk of injury. We're always excited to support you on your journey and can't wait to see you reaching new heights, safely and confidently.
Climb happy, climb more!