Blog

Should I Do Eccentrics to Treat My Elbow Pain from Rock Climbing?

Lateral elbow pain (aka lateral epicondylalgia, aka tennis elbow) is a very common condition experienced by rock climbers. The most common cause of lateral elbow pain is chronic degeneration of the tendons that attach at the lateral epicondyle of the elbow. These structures become painful with the repetitive stress of climbing, particularly with crimping, pinching,...

Utilize Shoulder Strengthening to Decrease Elbow Pain for Rock Climbers

Make sure you’re incorporating shoulder strengthening into your elbow rehabilitation! The elbow is one of the most common sites for pain in rock climbers. Lateral elbow pain (tennis elbow) is a limiting condition causing pain with repetitive movements including crimping or pinching while rock climbing. This condition was previously thought to occur secondary to inflammation...

Climbers with Knee Pain Should Receive Manual Physical Therapy to Improve Hip Strength

During the rehabilitation of rock climbers, many respond favorably to manual therapy techniques such as dry needling and joint mobilizations. Physical Therapy spinal and extremity joint mobilizations are slow passive movements applied to a patient’s joint surfaces. These interventions have been shown to decrease pain, improve range of motion, and increase the immediate force production...

Roam Rolling for Rock Climbers: For Warm Up or Recovery?

Self soft tissue mobilization using a foam roller or other device (stick, ball, etc) is a popular adjunct to training that we see in rock climbers. We often receive questions about how and when foam rolling should be utilized in training and whether it helps with recovery, performance or injury prevention in rock climbing. A...

What Are the Best Subscapularis Exercises for Rock Climbers?

The subscapularis is the largest and strongest of the rotator cuff muscles. Its primary function is shoulder internal rotation and it plays a critical role in stabilizing the front aspect of the shoulder during climbing movements. The subscapularis is the least commonly injured muscle of the rotator cuff, but is still prone to pain and...

Rotator Cuff Tears in Rock Climbers

Shoulder pain is a common problem among rock climbers. It affects 2/3 of adults and is one of the top three reasons patients will seek care from a primary care physician or Physical Therapist. The most probable reason for shoulder pain remains rotator cuff pain including impingement, rotator cuff tendon pain, and rotator cuff tears....