Shoulder strength and stability is crucial in rock climbing for both performance and injury prevention. There are many different ways to assess shoulder strength, stability and function. The findings of these assessments can give us insights into right to left imbalances and can tell us which muscle groups we need to target in a rehabilitation...
The best predictor of whether or not you will get an injury from rock climbing is whether or not you’ve had a climbing injury previously. Having an injury to a particular body region makes you 6 times more likely to have another injury to that region. So the best way to avoid injuries from climbing...
The rotator cuff is an essential group of muscles that stabilize the shoulder during climbing movements. These muscles are commonly injured by rock climbing and weakness of the rotator cuff can lead to multiple shoulder pathologies such as impingement (subacromial pain syndrome), biceps tendinopathy, and glenohumeral joint sensitivity. The muscles that we treat most commonly...
The trapezius is a large muscle that extends from the base of the skull, down to the T12 vertebra, and out to the scapula and clavicle. This muscle plays a crucial role in performance and injury prevention for rock climbers. Its function is to stabilize the scapula during shoulder movements such as the pull up,...
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....
“Chicken-winging” is a movement that every climber experiences. It is defined as a pattern of movement where the elbows raise to the sides instead of being tucked down closer to the chest. This compensation shows up when we’re fatigued and climbing near our limit. We all get told to avoid this position but many of...
Rock climbing requires extensive strength of the shoulder and scapular stabilizer muscles. Having good strength to these muscles not only helps with climbing performance but also with injury prevention. During arm movements, a relative ratio of degree measurements occurs between the ball and socket of the shoulder and the shoulder blade on the rib cage....
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...
The rotator cuff is an essential group of muscles that stabilize the shoulder during overhead movements such as the strict press, jerk, snatch, and handstand push-up. These muscles are commonly injured by CrossFit athletes and weakness of the rotator cuff can lead to multiple shoulder pathologies such as, rotator cuff tendinopathy, impingement (subacromial pain syndrome),...
The World of Hangboard Somewhere along your jaunt down the nice wandering cobble set path of life you were unexpectedly jabbed by the climbing bug, its infectious poison penetrating all the way into your soul, leaving your mind consumed with the indomitable desire to get vertical. The only way you have found to cull the...
