Upper limb injuries in elite rock climbers

Abstract

Rockclimbing is now a popular sport and its standards have undergone a revolution in the past 10 years. Improvements in protection techniques and the quality of climbing equipment mean that the old problems of broken bones have been replaced by a new set of soft tissue problems. These include the impingement syndrome at the shoulder, lateral and medial epicondylitis and brachialis tendinitis at the elbow, and fixed flexion deformity and A2 pulley injury of the fingers.