Whether you are a seasoned competitive climber, or an enthusiastic beginner; you know that rock climbing is an addictive challenge. It’s also a great way to keep fit, strong and flexible. Climbing tests your whole-body coordination, strength and flexibility. But if you’ve spent time on the rock face you will know that climbing can take a toll on your body - and climbers hate to let injuries keep them on the ground.

Does this sound like you?

• Stuffing your toes into shoes that are two sizes to small (Ok – three sizes too small!)
• Straining your hips to the limit as you feel for footholds that are just out of reach…
• Fingers turning white as you hang from a barely-there finger-hold…
• Craning your neck as you belay your climbing partner?

Finger, elbow and shoulder injuries are the most common complaints reported by climbers, as is neck pain (Grønhaug, 2018) – but what you may not realise is that improving your strength and mobility, especially of the body’s core, can help to prevent many of these injuries and help you to reach further, hang in longer and take your climbing to the next level.

Myotherapy can help you to feel great when climbing by treating muscle and joint pain, helping to rehabilitate acute and chronic injuries and increase strength and flexibility.  Myotherapists also treat a wide variety of conditions including: head aches, numbness and tingling in the hands, feet, arms or leg, joint pain, and movement restrictions. (Myotherapy Association Australia, 2019)

The Myotherapy students at Endeavour Wellness clinics will work to thoroughly assess your musculoskeletal condition before developing a treatment plan tailored to your personal climbing goals.

References:

 Myotheraphy Association Australia (2019) What is Myotherapy? Retrieved from https://www.myotherapy.org.au/find-a-myotherapist/what-is-myotherapy/

Grønhaug, G., (2018) Self-reported chronic injuries in climbing: who gets injured when?, BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med, https://doi: 10.1136/bmjsem-2018-000406