Belastningsskader i klatring

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the frequency of overuse injuries in climbing among the general climbers, to investigate the risk factors for overuse injuries and to find the most frequent injury locations of the body. METHOD: 207 climbers of all ages and levels where asked to fill out a questionnaire. The questionnaire focused on exposure to climbing in number of climbing years, level and training frequency. Further the climbers were asked if they did any other sports, if they had sustained any overuse injury and the characteristics of the different overuse syndromes. Statistical analysis included simple cross tabulations and multiple logistic regressions. RESULT: 47 % of the climbers have sustained one or more overuse injuries. Most of the injuries are located to the fingers (45 %). 22 % of the injuries are located in the elbow and 16 % in the shoulder. Overuse injuries in the upper extremities are responsible for a total of 94 % of the overuse injuries due to climbing. The incidence is found to be 13, 5 % and the prevalence 8, 7 %. CONCLUSION: the climbers most prone to sustain overuse injuries are those who have climbed for several years, those who climb at a high level and those who train climbing several times a week. Weight, height, sex or preferred climbing style has no influence on injuries