Characterizing the consequences of chronic climbing-related injury in sport climbers and boulderers.

Objective: To describe the association between chronic climbing-related injuries and functional and quality-of-life impairments in chronically injured sport climbers and boulderers.

Methods: A retrospective, cross-sectional, anonymous survey was developed to assess the association between chronic climbing-related injuries and severity of injury-related pain, impact on activities of daily living, and impact on continued pursuit of rock climbing and other athletic endeavors. This survey was administered to a convenience sample of chronically injured sport climbers and boulderers recruited from several highly trafficked rock climbing websites.

Results: Four hundred thirty-nine respondents submitted surveys adequate for analysis. These respondents reported 863 chronic injuries. A majority of these were in the upper extremity. Approximately half of respondents reported injury-related pain or functional limitation more than 10 days a month, one quarter reported that their pain caused moderate to severe interference with activities of daily living, most altered their climbing habits as a result of their injuries, and one third indicated that their pain moderately or severely affected their ability to pursue other sports.

Conclusions: This study is the first to suggest that a subset of chronically injured climbers exists whose injuries may cause significant pain and activities-of-daily-living and sports-related functional limitation.