Indoor rock climbing: who gets injured?

Objectives-To determine the frequency of overuse injury in indoor climbers, the common sites of such injury, and the factors that influence the probab ility that a climber will have sustained an overuse injury while climbing i ndoors. Method-A semisupervised questionnaire was used to survey overuse injury in 295 spectators and competitors at the Entre-Prises World Climbing Champions hips held in Birmingham 3-5 December 1999. Statistical analysis included si mple cross tabulations, calculation of odds ratios, and multiple logistic r egression to explore the effect of several factors simultaneously. Results-Some 44% of respondents had sustained an overuse injury, 19% at mor e than one site. The most common site of injury was the fingers. Univariate analysis showed that the probability of having sustained a climbing injury is higher in men (p = 0.009), those who have climbed for more than 10 year s (p = 0.006), those who climb harder routes (p <0.0005), and those who bou lder or Lead more than they top rope (p <0.0005). The relation between lead grade and climbing injury is linear. Multivariate analysis removed the eff ect of sex as an independent predictor. Conclusions-Many climbers sustain overuse injury. The most at risk are thos e with the most ability and dedication to climbing. Climbers should be awar e of the risk factors that influence injury and be able to spot the signs a nd symptoms of injury once they occur.