Great to hear the body heals.
Here are few things I have learned over the years and some recent advice from Andrew a recent grad of kinesiology and Health Education whom I work with. This is a small excerpt from an article I ahve written with Reg contributing photos. Thanks again Reg.
Factors influencing the likelihood of a climbing injury include:
• Hydration is the simplest, yet most overlooked method of preventing injuries. Drink plenty frequently. A body that
is well hydrated has the available energy to perform physical tasks without the worry of cramps which could compromise safety.
• Lack of Preconditioning or maintenance conditioning during the holidays
• Lack of warm-up/stretching, athletes stretch before, during and after their event.
• Heavy muscle fatigue
• Repetitive moves
• Between climbs or work stations
o transitions–stay warm or you will stiffen up potentially aggravating problem are as shoulder, elbow and wrists
• Lack of mental focus –stay relaxed, focus, breathe, imagine and look forward to the steps ahead to anticipate reaching your goal in goodtime safely One injury that tends to be very common among climbers is Carpal tunnel syndrome. One point in my career I had what felt like constant migraines in both elbows and both shoulders at the same time. I had babies to feed and a new biz to keep moving forward and continued to climb. Young arbclimbers should remember your diet, proper work positioning/ergonomics and keep your saws sharp so the pain is minimized and doesn’t contribute to crippling pain in your later years. It should also be noted that the use of saws and rope tools can also lead to injuries of the hand. For example when catching a slip and fall and the throwing and catching of the pwr saw.
The start of something painful – techniques for quick recovery from soft tissue injuries or pulls. A well known and extremely important treatment method in the Sporting community goes by
the acronym R.I.C.E. (Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation). RICE will minimize short and long term effects of injury and should be applied to the majority of soft tissue injuries so that time will heal. One can avoid injury by paying close attention to the early warning signs such as stiffness, tightness of joint/muscle. Early warning signs that our body provides
for our benefit. The concept of prevention rather than treatment is important in an
industry that places such high physical demands on our bodies. Please take the time to warm up and stretch, it
will benefit your body in the long run and significantly reduce the occurrence of repetitive strain injuries. This also applies for the end of the day, stretch sore muscles and stretch to relax because this promotes blood flow to the hard working muscles and helps with recovery.
Cheers
