Rock climbers’ management of hand injuries and perceptions on seeking healthcare: A mixed methods analysis

Figures & data

Figure 1. Example of climbing specific hand injury due to the unique anatomical stress of climbing. The “crimp” position handled puts stress on the A2 pulley of the finger.

Note: Drawing courtesy of Julian Saunders, D.O.

Figure 2. Project description flowchart.

Figure 3. Geographic distribution of participants.

Table 1. Climber characteristics*

Climbing habits	Mean (range)
Most difficult climb in the past year	5.12 (5.10c–5.13b) & V12 (V7–V14)
Hours climbing/week	13 (2–30)
Weeks climbing/year	40 (4–52)
Years climbing at this frequency and grade	11 (1–50)
Climbers with primary care physician	15
Climbers with health insurance	19
Rank experience with healthcare in general	N (%)
Excellent	3 (11)
Good	8 (29)
Fair	7 (25)
Poor	8 (29)
Injury prevention methods practiced
Warm up on easier holds	23 (82)
Avoid crimp holds	12 (42)
Taping over pulleys	10 (36)
Hand exercises	5 (18)
Planned rest	5 (18)
Other methods	5 (18)
Number of climbing hand injuries in lifetime	Mean (range)
	3 (1–10)

* Not all surveys were completed in entirety.

Table 2. Number of participants at each data collection site

State	Name of climbing location	N (%)
New York	Local Climbing Gym	2 (7)
	Boulder Canyon	6 (21)
	Clear Creek Canyon	2 (7)
Colorado	Estes Valley	2 (7)
	Independence Pass	3 (11)
	Local Climbing Gym	3 (11)
	Rifle State Park	1 (4)
California	Yosemite National Park	9 (32)

Table 3. Themes derived

N (%)	Why and under what conditions would you NOT seek professional healthcare?	N (%)	Why and under what conditions would you seek professional healthcare?
16 (57)	Trust in the climbing community and one’s own knowledge	16 (57)	A clear serious medical intervention is required, e.g. stitches or joint relocation
10 (36)	Belief that the injury is not serious and will heal on its own	15 (54)	If self-treatment has not yielded the desired results
6 (21)	Belief that medical providers do not know how to help with these types of injuries	6 (21)	If there were a provider whom the climber trusted or known to be knowledgeable on climbing injuries
N (%)	Where do you seek care & information for treating climbing-related injuries?	N (%)	What lessons did you learn from repeated climbing-related hand injuries?
20 (71)	Own knowledge and peer knowledge,	16 (57)	Rest until asymptomatic at least
17 (61)	Media, including climbing magazines, podcasts, books, internet searches	7 (25)	Immediate rest after the injury
		7 (25)	Avoid certain hand positions/moves prone to injury

Table 4. Hand injury characteristics*

Location of hand injury	N (%)
1st digit	3 (5)
2nd digit	3 (5)
3rd digit	22 (37)
4th digit	25 (42)
5th digit	3 (5)
Palm	4 (6)
Hand injury pain severity
1–2	4 (10)
3–4	10 (25)
5–6	10 (25)
7–8	11 (28)
9–10	5 (12)
Cause of injury
General overuse	21 (38)
Crimping	17 (31)
Feet slipping while hand in a precarious position	7 (13)
Fall	2 (4)
Not warming up	3 (5)
Other difficult climbing move/hold	5 (9)
Lessons Learned after 1st hand injury
Take more rest after injury	16 (57)
Rest immediately following injury	7 (25)
Avoid certain holds and moves	7 (25)

* Not all surveys were completed in entirety.