Analyzing Injury Patterns in Climbing: A Comprehensive Study of Risk Factors

Abstract

Climbing, a sport with increasing popularity, poses diverse risks and injury patterns across its various disciplines. This study evaluates the incidence and nature of climbing-related injuries, focusing on how different disciplines and climbers' personal characteristics affect these injuries. Data on injury incidence, severity, and consequences, as well as climbers' personal attributes, were collected through a questionnaire and analyzed using generalized linear models and generalized linear mixed models, Cochran-Armitage tests, and multivariate analysis. Our findings indicate a direct correlation between time spent on bouldering and lead climbing and increased injury frequency, while injury incidence decreases with time in traditional climbing. Interestingly, personal characteristics showed no significant impact on injury incidence or severity. However, distinct patterns emerged in individual disciplines regarding the recent injuries in which age and weight of climbers play a role. While the phase of occurrence and duration of consequences show no significant variation across disciplines, the intensity of the required treatment and causes of injury differ. This research provides insights into climbing injuries' complex nature, highlighting the need for tailored preventive strategies across climbing disciplines. It underscores the necessity for further investigation into the factors contributing to climbing injuries, advocating for more targeted injury prevention and safety measures in this evolving sport.

Keywords: bouldering; climbing phase; indoor climbing; injury severity; risk factors; rock climbing; sport injuries.

Figure 1

Model estimation for the number of injuries depending on the amount of time dedicated to (a) bouldering, (b) lead climbing, (c) traditional climbing (mean ± 95% CI), with the size of the point corresponding to the weight of the point.

Figure 1

Model estimation for the number of injuries depending on the amount of time dedicated to (a) bouldering, (b) lead climbing, (c) traditional climbing (mean ± 95% CI), with the size of the point corresponding to the weight of the point.

Figure 2

Model estimates for the probability of injury during (a) bouldering depending on the amount of time dedicated to bouldering, (b) bouldering depending on the age of the climber, (c) lead climbing depending on the amount of time dedicated to lead climbing, (d) lead climbing depending on the weight of the climber, (e) indoor wall climbing depending on the amount of time dedicated to indoor wall climbing, (f) indoor wall climbing depending on the weight of the climber, (g) other disciplines depending on the amount of time dedicated to other disciplines, (h) other disciplines depending on the age of the climber.

Figure 2

Model estimates for the probability of injury during (a) bouldering depending on the amount of time dedicated to bouldering, (b) bouldering depending on the age of the climber, (c) lead climbing depending on the amount of time dedicated to lead climbing, (d) lead climbing depending on the weight of the climber, (e) indoor wall climbing depending on the amount of time dedicated to indoor wall climbing, (f) indoor wall climbing depending on the weight of the climber, (g) other disciplines depending on the amount of time dedicated to other disciplines, (h) other disciplines depending on the age of the climber.

Figure 3

Spineplots showing proportionally for bouldering (bould), lead climbing (Lead_c), indoor wall climbing (Wall_c), and other disciplines (Others), (a) in which phase injuries occur in different disciplines, (b) the intensity of treatment required for injuries in different disciplines, (c) the duration of consequences caused by injuries in different disciplines (without consequences, almost without consequences, long-lasting consequences, long-lasting serious consequences), (d) the cause of injuries in different disciplines.

Figure 4

Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) diagram shown on the first two axes, explaining 4.20% of the variability, the types of climbing associated with injuries to different body parts (H—head, face; N—neck, cervical spine; S—shoulder; U—upper arm; E—elbow; R—forearm; W—wrist; P—hand, finger, thumb; C—sternum, ribs; D—upper back; B—lower back; G—hip, groin; T—thigh; K—knee; Q—lower leg, Achilles tendon; A—ankle; F—foot).